Antigone

Joblessness, homelessness and friendlessness is what happens to Creon in the end of "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Creon ceases to be Theban king and royal palace resident when his non-burial law becomes a painful failure and his family and all Thebes turn against him. Additionally, he loses the respect of all Thebans, and his remaining family members commit suicide rather than than keep him company. He still lives at the end of the play, which concludes without specifying what happens other than that he is led away from the sight of his former subjects.

There are two variant versions to Creon's story, with one having him exiled and the other having him murdered while still in Thebes.

That they can be bribed is the motive that Creon assigns to those who oppose him in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Creon announces that opposition exists to him and his rule in Thebes. He characterizes his opponents as powerful and wealthy but cowardly. He describes them as bribing to do for money what they themselves are too cowardly to do.

It is obeying his father that is the law that needs to be fixed in Haemon's heart in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Creon demands absolute obedience from all his subjects. He demands no less from his family. It is in his interaction with Haemon in the third scene that he describes a father's greatest honor as a completely dutiful, obedient son.

That he illegally holds power and is an arbitrary rulerare reasons why Antigone calls Creon a tyrant in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the term tyrant describes an illegal power holder or any harsh ruler. Both descriptions fit Theban King Creon. Creon holds power because he conspires with his nephew Eteocles to deny his other nephew Polyneices' legitimate royal claim. He rules harshly by denying to his perceived enemies their god-given rights as Thebans to below ground burials.

Fear of the consequences is the reason for Ismene's refusal in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone asks her sister Ismene to help her break a royal edict and bury their brother Polyneices. Ismene does not want to help since an act of defiance will be met with a punitive reaction. Ismene in fact fears the consequences since the punishment is the humiliating, painful death by being pelted by stone-throwing Theban peers.

What to do about his law-breaking niece Antigone is the problem faced by Creon in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Creon issues an edict by which god-given rights to below-ground burials and funeral rites are respected for his nephew Eteocles and denied for his nephew Polyneices. Princess Antigone, Creon's niece and sister to the twin brothers, decides to break the law and thereby give Polyneices' body a proper Theban-style send-off to the Underworld of the afterlife. Breaking Creon's law carries the death penalty, but Antigone is not only Creon's niece but also his intended daughter-in-law as the beloved bride-to-be of his only surviving child, Prince Haemon.

That she dies defending the all-powerfulgods is Antigone's criticism of the gods in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone knows that the gods rule in life and death. She obeys divine will and respects Theban traditions. But she recognizes the irony of defending the gods, obeying divine law and yet seeing the gods do nothing when she is executed for her divine obedience and her royal disobedience.

Antigone versus Creon is the female-male opposition in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone and King Creon do not get along. Creon criticizes Antigone for personal and professional reasons. He does not find her an acceptable bride-to-be for his son, an appreciative ward, a docile subject or rational royal. In turn, Antigone objects to Creon as a a domineering relative and harsh ruler.

To enable one actor to play several roles and to increase the dramatic effect are reasons why masks are worn in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the chorus claims twelve actors who each play an individual Theban elder. The main roles may be played by anywhere from one to three actors who don different costumes and masks. Masks modify the voices and remove the personal element of individual actors' features. They promote a feeling of the universality of dramatic themes as opposed to the individualization possible through modern acting.

That her fate is shared by other highly born individualsis the comfort that the chorus offers Antigone in the fourth scene of "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the chorus characterizes fate as moving in mysterious but relentless ways. The members mention the blinding of Thracian brother Princes Plexippus and Pandion by their stepmother Queen Idaea and the eating alive of Edonian King Lycurgus under Bacchus the wine god's vindictive influences. They also reference Argive Princess Danaë, who survives her father King Acrisios' abuse, gives birth to the hero Perseus and founds the Roman provincial town of Ardea.

It is unknown what happens to Ismene after Antigone's death in the play "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Ismene appears in the Prologue in conjunction with her and her sister Antigone deciding what to do or not to do about the non-burial edict against the disloyal Theban dead. She then appears in Episode 2 during Theban King Creon's interview of Antigone about breaking the law and giving her brother Polyneices a partial but still proper Theban-style burial. Ismene makes no other appearances, and there are no references to her. But in Episode 3 Antigone describes herself as the last daughter of the Theban royal house. So either Ismene is dead or Antigone disowns her.

Death, non-burial and burial are what happen to Polyneices in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Polyneices dies in the war over the Theban royal succession that takes place just before the play's opening scene. Theban King Creon initially refuses to honor Polyneices rights as a Theban born and bred to proper funeral services and below-ground burial. But as the horrors of pestilence and death as well as the hatred of his people grow, Creon ends up granting Polyneices' body his rights in full.

That she doesn't change in her convictions is the reason why Antigone is considered a static character. A static character doesn't change. Antigone takes a stand and doesn't back down even in the face of death.

Specifically, Antigone chooses to obey divine laws over the laws of mortals. In obeying one set of laws she breaks another. She decides to respect divine laws and disobey mortal laws. Her reasoning recognizes the more serious harm from divine wrath than from mortal fury. Her life is over in this world and the next if she disobeys the gods. But it's only over in this world if she disrespects mortals.

That's her position, and she sticks to it.

Curses, fate, flaws and punishment are four themes revealed by the chorus in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the chorus of Theban elders devote the parados and the first ode to the human flaw of pride and recklessness. They discuss the divine curses on Theban Princess Antigone's father Oedipus and great-grandfather King Labdacus in the second ode. They mention fate in the third ode. They refer to punishment throughout all of the odes.

Very badly is the way in which Creon reacts to Haemon's arguments in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Prince Haemon argues that rulers need to be open to the opinions of others. He also indicates that his father's non-burial edict represents only one man's opinon and needs to be reversed because of widespread opposition and suffering. But King Creon shows no interest in anything other than his opinions and his longevity as king.

Thebes is the city that has seven gates in a yawning ring in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the interior of the city of Thebes can be accessed by seven gates. Each of the gates directs incoming and outgoing Thebans through a different entrance. But all paths lead the traveller to the city's center.

Because she has a different opinion and because she is young, female and related to Oedipus, Creon is hard-hearted towards Antigone in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Creon thinks that as monarch he has the monopoly over making decisions and carrying out policy. He accepts no opinions, input or influence from others. In particular, he disparages the opinions of the young and inexperienced and of women. Additionally, he considers Antigone, his niece and intended daughter-in-law, a younger, feminine version of his brother-in-law and former royal colleague, the impetuous, incestuous Theban King Oedipus.