Antigone

The place that Theban King Oedipus mistakenly considers his hometown and a fleeting chance to escape an unenviable fate are what Corinth represent in the play "Oedipus Rex."

Specifically, Oedipus is born the son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes. But according to a prophecy, Oedipus is fated to grow up to kill his father. Killing one's father and sovereign is viewed as seriously as disrespecting the gods.

So Oedipus' parents try to kill him just three days after his birth. They arrange to have him left exposed to the weather and the wildlife on the slopes of nearby Mount Kithairon. Killing one's child is viewed far, far less seriously than killing one's parent and ruler.

But Jocasta's servant instead gives Oedipus to a fellow shepherd who is returning home to Corinth. There, Oedipus is adopted into the royal household of the childless King Polybus and Queen Merope. He is raised without any knowledge of either his true identity or his biological parents.

Upon reaching adulthood, Oedipus hears a rumor that his real parents are other than the Corinthian monarchs he always has considered his mother and father. Then the Delphic oracle tells him of his fate to kill his father and marry his mother.

Oedipus' reaction is to run far, far away from Corinth. Unfortunately, Thebes is where he ends up. So the fate that Oedipus so seeks to avoid easily is carried out to the very last miserable detail.

No, Antigone and Ismene are not both afraid to bury their brother in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone does not fear death. She therefore does not fear risking the death sentence by breaking the law and burying her disgraced brother Polyneices. But her courage is not echoed by her sister, Princess Ismene, who fears being found out and punished to death.

Bury her brother, defend divine will, defy a royal edict, disdain an earthly ruler, refuse help and take her own life are what Antigone does in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone buries her brother Polyneices despite an illegal royal edict of non-burial of the disloyal Theban dead. She decides to break the royal law and honor divinely sanctioned rights of all Thebans to below ground burials and Theban style funeral rites. She makes no effort to hide her crime or to avoid or lessen her punishment. She sabotages her sister Ismene's attempt at a pardon or lesser punishment by claiming to be a participant in the crime. Antigone ultimately takes her own life rather than draw out her death sentence of live burial and starvation.

It is over the information sources that Creon and Haemon disagree regarding government in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Creon believes the best information sources to be one strong man rule. This contrasts with the opinion of his son, Prince Haemon. Haemon declares that the best information sources are the range of opinions from those of standard traditional wise men to the fresh insights of women and youth.

King Oedipus himself is responsible for his own blindness. He's responsible for his physical blindness. He's the one who plunges his wife and mother's brooches into both eyes.

Oedipus also is responsible for his previous, symbolicblindness. He hears a rumor that he isn't the biological son of Corinthian King Polybus and Queen Merope. He doesn't like their lack of a direct answer to this piece of unsettling gossip.

So Oedipus goes off to consult with the Delphic Oracle. He likes even less what he learns there. He's told of his fate to kill his father and marry his mother.

Oedipus doesn't think to check out the rumor that the Corinthian monarchs aren't his real parents. Instead, he goes tearing off to Thebes, which happens to be his real hometown. On the way, he kills a stranger who's old enough to be his father and whom he resembles. It turns out to be his father, Theban King Laius.

Then Oedipus marries a woman who's old enough to be his mother and with whom he may or may not share similar features or personality quirks. She turns out to be his mother, Theban Queen Jocasta. The possibilities are all there for seeing with the eyes and processing with the mind. But Oedipus is figuratively blind to all.

Suicide is the way in which Antigone dies in "Antigone" by Sophocles 9495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone is sentenced to death by being walled up in a remote cave. King Creon, her uncle and intended father-in-law, does the sentencing and speculates that she may take her own life rather than drag the dying out in the scary, lonely darkness. Antigone indeed does decide to hang herself with her own halter.

That bad behavior will be punished and that good behavior will be rewarded is what Creon promises to the people in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Creon announces that he does not want a repeat performance of the bloody first civil war over the Theban royal succession. He feels that punishments for bad behavior and rewards for good will motivate Thebans to behave in ways most conducive to the security of society and the stability of Creon's government. Bad behavior is what is in opposition to him and his rule whereas good behavior is whatever obeys and supports Creon.

That he breaks divine and human laws that he tries not tois the reason why Oedipus suffers in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.)

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus leads an apparently charmed life until early adulthood. Then he hears a rumor that Corinthian monarchs Polybus and Merope are not his biological parents. He seeks the rumor's confirmation or rejection from the Delphic oracle, who says that Oedipus is fated to fill his father and marry his mother.

Oedipus therefore runs away, kills an elderly man in a street brawl, defeats a monster terrorizing Thebes, marries the beautiful widow of Thebes' murdered King Laius, and becomes a role model of domestic bliss and professional success until pestilence comes to Thebes.

But the pestilence reflects divine wrath over Laius' unsolved murder and the lack of punishment of the guilty in this offense against gods and mortals. In the course of trying to hunt down and punish the guilty, Oedipus discovers that he is not at all whom he thinks he is, and the punishment that he seeks for others needs to be carried out against himself.

No, the city does not agree with Creon's actions in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Creon allows Theban loyalists to be buried below ground but refuses that god-given right to his perceived enemies in the recent civil war over the royal succession. By his own admission, his edict of non-burial is not popular with Thebans. The complete lack of public agreement is repeated in comments by Princess Antigone, Prince Haemon and Teiresias the blind prophet.

Antagonistic versus schoolmarmish or motherly is the difference between Antigone and her mother in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone gives the impression of being interested only in voicing, pursuing and defending her convictions. Her interactions with her sister Ismene and with her uncle, King Creon, seem more like a debate that she is bound determined to win even if winning means losing her life. In contrast, Queen Jocasta gives the impression of leading a discussion on the day's classroom instruction or helping a child with homework. She is more conciliatory and seems more bent on a successful group experience than on one triumphant individual.

Strong in terms of Antigone is a way of describing the role of family ties in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone honors her gods, loves her family and respects her city's traditions. She is the strongest expression of the importance of family in the play. She risks her life to give her disgraced brother Polyneices the burial that he is guaranteed as a Theban but that he illegally is denied by his uncle, King Creon.

Both Antigone and Creon meet tragic ends, but Antigone's is more tragic in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, an end is tragic when the outcome of a human life leads to suffering or takes an unfortunate turn. The description fits both Theban Princess Antigone and King Creon. Antigone's end is tragic because she loses her life and therefore forfeits the opportunity to marry her beloved first cousin, Prince Haemon and to have children with him. Creon's end is a bit less tragic since he still lives at the play's end even though he loses everyone and everything that gives his life meaning.