Antigone

That almost everyone dies and that the most prominent survivor is ruined is the way in which the resolution stresses the tragic nature of the characters in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the resolution describes the ending just before the final closing comments by the chorus. It ends with disgraced Theban King Creon being led away for house arrest pending divinely expressed punishment. Creon is miserable because his persecution of Polyneices and Antigone boomerangs and costs him his family, home, job and reputation.

That she is the daughter of a frightened king, the lover of the chief god, the mother of a great hero and the originator of the Latin culture of modern Rome is the story of Danaë.

Specifically, Argive Princess Danaë is the only child of frightened King Acrisius. Her father imprisons her in the hope of keeping her from having a son who is prophesied to grow up and kill his famous grandfather. Danaë nevertheless has a love child, the subsequent hero Perseus, with Zeus the chief god. She and Perseus escape even though her father locks them in a chest and tries to drown them. She becomes the founder of the ancient city of Ardea, in the Latium province of central-west Italy where the area now is taken up by the city and province of modern Rome.

His two daughters, his twin sons, and his wife make up the immediate family of Theban King Oedipus. His young daughters are Antigone and Ismene. His twin sons and royal heirs are Eteocles and Polyneices. His wife is Theban Queen Jocasta, who also is his mother.

The extended family of Oedipus includes his brother-in-law, Theban King Creon. As Jocasta's brother, Creon is uncle to Oedipus. He also was brother in law to Jocasta's first husband, Theban King Laius. Laius was the father of Oedipus. But he isn't part of the living family of Oedipus. In fact, he died during a street brawl with a stranger who turned out to be none other than his son, Oedipus.

Zeus is the god's name in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Zeus is the chief god. Both Theban Princess Antigone and King Creon mention him. The chorus and characters reference other gods as well: Aries the war god, Bacchus the wine god, Hades the Underworld god and Persephone the Underworld goddess.

That others know who is guilty of Laius' murder and that Oedipus does not know is an example of the dramatically ironic knowledge of the audience in the play "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. -- 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Laius, the previous king of Thebes, is killed without the guilty being sought or punished and without cleansing rituals being carried out. Teiresias the blind prophet, Queen Jocasta's most trusted servant and audiences familiar with the Oedipus story all know in advance that the killer is Oedipus. This is dramatically ironic since Oedipus has no clue that the person he promises to track down and punish is himself.

That she seeks to share her sister's punishment or possibly effect a lighter sentence or even a pardon may be reasons why Ismene admits to being guilty in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone admits to breaking her uncle King Creon's law and burying the body of her disgraced brother Polyneices. Her sister, Princess Ismene, does not help but suddenly claims to be an accessory if not a participant in the crime. She gives no explanation other than that she does not want to lose her only sister. But she may be claiming guilt so that her sister does not die alone. Or she may claim guilt in an attempt to get a lighter sentence or even a pardon from Creon, who favors Ismene and disfavors Antigone.

Sisters and cousins is the relationship between Antigone and Ismene in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Antigone and Ismene are the daughters of disgraced Theban monarchs Oedipus and Jocasta. Their parents both are direct descendants of Cadmus, Thebes' founder and first king, but by different grandchildren. Their parents therefore are cousins to each other as are the sisters Antigone and Ismene.

Presenting a situation in which two authority figures conflict is the purpose of Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.) in writing "Antigone."

Specifically, divine law guarantees all Thebans of below ground burials. But a recent royal edict lets those rights be respected for Theban loyalists and denied to Theban traitors. Theban Princess Antigone must decide whether to honor or dishonor divine or royal authority since her brother Polyneices is given a traitor's non-burial.

That they seek to overthrow him and that they are cowards in the pay of his enemies are what Creon assumes about the motives of those who disobey him in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Creon issues an unpopular edict whereby god-given below-ground burials are denied to the disloyal Theban dead in the recent civil war over the royal succession. Creon assumes direct and indirect involvement in the breaking of the law. He accuses his enemies of seeking to overthrow him but of not doing the deed themselves. Instead, his enemies bribe others who actually do the deed for money. Either way, Creon sees his opponents as despicable cowards.

Theban is Creon's nationality in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Creon is king of Thebes. He is a Theban born and bred. In fact, he is a direct paternal descendant of Cadmus, Thebes' founder and first king.

The play "Antigone" was set in the kingdom of Thebes.

Most of the action took place in and around the royal palace of King Creon. Some of the action took place in the forsaken area in which the dead Argive invaders and their equally dead Theban allies were left exposed to the elements, dogs, and birds. Some of the action also took place in the isolated, rocky cave that became Antigone's last home on earth.

Go back to check on her work and get arrested for reburial are what Antigone does after burying her brother's body in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone announces to her sister Ismene at the play's beginning that she will break the law, bury her brother, and expect to be caught and punished. She buries her brother, and no one is the wiser. She returns to the burial site, finds her brother's exposed corpse, attempts to rebury him, and accepts her arrest and death sentence.

That she functions as a foil and that she represents one of the two sides in the conflict are reasons why Ismene is an important character in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Ismene functions as a foil when she is the cautious, logical and reasoned opposite to her sister Antigone's emotional outbursts and passionate recklessness. She represents one of two sides in the play's conflict when she defends civic duty over religious devotion. She stands for the separation of church and state whereas her sister Antigone argues for divine will and cherished Theban traditions.

Recognition of Theban King Oedipus as the killer of King Laius is what makes the lone surviving slave of the royal party plead his departure from Thebes. The sole survivor sees Oedipus taking over his royal predecessor's job and wife. This survivor is the most trusted servant of Theban Queen Jocasta. So he knows she'll grant his request for a hasty departure before he possibly may be recognized by Oedipus.

The surviving slave ultimately can draw on knowledge that will ruin the life of the Queen whom he respects. He's a former shepherd whom Jocasta entrusts with the killing of her three day old son. The killing of a child is deemed far less heinous than the killing of one's father and sovereign in ancient Greece. And that's exactly what the child's fated to grow up to do, and more.

So when all the pieces of informaton from the surviving slave are put together, Oedipus also stands to lose all that he cherishes in life: his wife, his sense of self, his reputation, his possessions, his job, his home, and his family. The reason lies in the person that, albeit unknowingly, he really is: a murderer of father and king, and a sex offender with his own mother.