Antigone

It is Oedipus who kills his father and marries his mother in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the actions actually do not take place in the above-mentioned play. Instead, they occur as back-stories during the course of "Oedipus Rex." The latter play describes the rise and fall of Antigone's father, disgraced Theban King Oedipus. The former covers what happens to Oedipus' children.

It is Antigone and Haemon and then Eurydice that the first and second messengers respectively report as dead in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the first messenger announces the suicides of Theban Princess Antigone and then of her first cousin and husband-to-be Prince Haemon. Queen Eurydice hears the news and quietly goes inside the palace. The second messenger then makes an appearance to announce Eurydice's suicide.

It is in the way that he addresses his father and the words that he chooses that Haemon speaks diplomatically to Creon in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Prince Haemon comes to get an unjust edict reversed, his first cousin Polyneices buried and his beloved Princess Antigone pardoned. He opens by addressing King Creon as his father. He presents respectful suggestions of adjusting policy to reflect diverse opinions and differential impact. He refrains from direct contradictions until he is overwhelmed by his father's cruelty, insults and tunnel vision.

A rod is run through both ankles of the infant Oedipus in the play "Oedipus Rex."

Specifically, the rod pins the infant's ankles together. It makes it easier to cast the infant on a hillside for death by wildlife, weather, starvation, exposure and dehydration. But the three-day-old infant is not cast on a hillside and therefore is freed from the rod. But as a consequence, Oedipus grows up with swollen feet, permanent scars, and a shuffling gait.

Yes, Teiresias the blind prophet of Thebes knows the truth about Oedipus' life in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. -- 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Teiresias has held down the job of advisor to the king and prophet of Thebes ever since the city's founding four generations before Oedipus' birth. He knows all, through a combination of divinely given knowledge and through skilled reading of ritual sacrifices. But he can tell all only upon the request of the reigning king. That is why he sits on his knowledge of Oedipus' misdeeds until sent for.

No, "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.) is not a poem.

Instead, "Antigone" is a dramatic form of literature that is called a play, often to be performed on a stage before a live audience. Its genre is tragedy, because it tells of the unfortunate turns in the lives of Theban Princess Antigone and of her close relatives within the Theban royal house. The story is told as a play and therefore in prose, but choral interludes between the play's scens incorporate poems.

It is in pointing to the need to be strong after a violent civil war that Creon defends himself in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Creon characterizes Thebes as a city ravaged by yesterday's end to the first bloody civil war over the Theban royal succession. He does not believe that municipal security or governmental stability can be served without the strong rule of one decisive man. He feels that he must not back on whatever he considers for the greater good of his city, his government and his people.

Suicide is what happens to Creon's wife in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Queen Eurydice is King Creon's wife. She hears of the suicide of Prince Haemon, her only surviving child, and of Princess Antigone, her intended daughter-in-law. Eurydice decides to stab herself with a sharp knife rather than spend the rest of her life with a husband she hates and without the grandchildren she so desires.

Proud boasting is what Zeus utterly abhors in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the chorus leader identifies Zeus the chief god's pet peeve just after the opening interaction between Theban Princesses Antigone and Ismene. He describes the prideful boasting in the case of Polyneices amassing an army of disgruntled Thebans and supportive Argives to attack his own hometown of Thebes. Ironically, Polyneices in reality can be said to be in the right for defending his legitimate claim to the Theban royal throne, and his claim is vindicated when his son Thersander takes over the throne and keeps it within the hands of his descendants.

It is against his perceived enemies that Creon issues his order in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Creon issues an edict of non-burial of the disloyal Theban dead. He knows that his edict is unpopular since it denies to some but honors to others the god-given rights of all Thebans to below ground burials. He maintains that this is a necessary move to discourage future rebellion. He says that his enemies remain so in death. Enemies should not be treated in the same way as supporters.

Embrace Antigone is what Haemon does before he dies in the play "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Prince Haemon finds his first cousin and bride-to-be Antigone hanging from the halter by which she kills herself. He first tries to kill his father, Theban King Creon, whom he blames for Antigone's death. He is unsuccessful, turns the sword on himself and makes sure that he dies embracing the love of his love and death.

Sentence her to death is what Creon does to Antigone in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone deliberately breaks a royal edict recently issued by King Creon, her uncle and intended father-in-law. Creon tends to have a negative attitude towards women in general and towards Antigone in particular. Nevertheless, Antigone does nothing to try to get Creon to pardon her or give her a sentence other than death.

Suicide and blinding are the violent actions committed offstage respectively by Jocasta and Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Queen Jocasta and King Oedipus of Thebes are upset about finding out that they are not only wife and husband and but also mother and son. Jocasta locks herself in the bedroom and hangs herself with the threads from her own robes. Oedipus blinds himself with two golden brooches from Jocasta's robes.

Because its author was competitive and respectedand because its subject dealt with a relative of Dionysos, the play "Oedipus Rex" was presented at Dionysia.

Specifically, Dionysia was a festival that was held each year in the ancient Greek city of Athens. Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.) was a respected dramatist who was born in Colonus but lived out his professional life in Athens. He also was a competitive writer who entered and won many dramatic contests, of which those at the Dionysia were among the most famous. Additionally, Sophocles' play told the story of Theban King Oedipus, who was first cousin thrice removed to the wine god Dionysos, in whose honor the festival was held.

That there is a real threat to Theban security and survival and that Creon acts in Thebes' best interests since the gods do not is a way to prove Creoninnocent in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, this is a difficult situation because the gods rule in the world of life and the Underworld of the afterlife according to the ancient Greeks. The gods particularly dislike disobedience of their clearly expressed will, which is the case here. Additionally, Theban King Creon cannot plead ignorance of divine precedent and Theban traditions because he is Theban born and royally raised. A successful plea of innocence assumes that the gods can be beaten at their own control-freak game in ancient Greece and shown not to have at heart best mortal interests, which in fact they appear not to have.

Stressful and then polluted describes the atmosphere in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, stress is shown with the official end of the recent civil war over the Theban royal succession. Victory in fact does not heal divisions, but increases them through the arbitrary denial of god-given below ground burials to the disloyal Theban dead. The exposure of the unburied bodies to ravaging weather and wildlife brings pestilence into Thebes and pollution into the city's sacred altars.

Disrespect clearly expressed divine will is what Creon does wrong in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, all Thebans benefit from god-given guarantees of below-ground burials and proper funeral rites when they die. But Theban King Creon feels threatened and vindictive regarding the recent civil war over the Theban royal succession. He therefore issues the edict of non-burial of the disloyal Theban dead. He ultimately loses everyone and everything that give his life meaning just because he is foolish enough to go against the gods.

It is the individual assertion versus the collective denial of human rights that the individual versus the state is about in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone symbolizes the power of one. But she actually represents all Thebes in their oppression, repression and suppression by her uncle, King Creon. Likewise, Creon symbolizes the power of many. But he actually represents the self-service of one, namely himself.

Love is what what Haemon symbolizes in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Prince Haemon is engaged to marry his first cousin, Princess Antigone. No one knows what Antigone thinks of her husband-to-be since she never mentions him. But everyone knows what Haemon thinks since he defends Antigone against his daunting father, King Creon. Additionally, Haemon takes his life after finding Antigone hanging dead from the halter of her own dress.

That she is dear to her is Ismene's line that indicates her true feelings about Antigone in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Ismene does not agree with her sister Princess Antigone's decision to break the law and bury their brother Polyneices. She makes an effort to talk Antigone out of a civil disobedience that carries the death penalty. She finally realizes that it is hopeless and asks Antigone to be careful on such a foolish, impossible errand.

That his rights are disrespected is the way in which Polyneices suffers in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Polyneices dies during the final battle battle in the first civil war over the Theban royal succession. He has a legitimate claim to the Theban throne, but his army loses to that of his twin brother Eteocles and his uncle Creon. Creon is vindictive in denying to Polyneices' body the god-given right of all Thebans to below ground burials. Polyneices therefore suffers the disfigurement and dismemberment of his body by birds and dogs until Creon relents and approves the burial.