Antigone

That her mother and she each commit suicide, her father dies a special death and her brothers kill each other is what happens to Antigone's family.

Specifically, ancient Greek dramatist Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.) explains that Theban Queen Jocasta, Princess Antigone's mother and grandmother, hangs herself during the course of the play "Oedipus Rex." Disgraced King Oedipus, Antigone's father and half-brother, is there one minute and gone the next in a secret place of death outside the ancient Greek city of Athens in Sophocles' play "Oedipus at Colonus." Antigone's twin brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, kill each other in the final battle of a civil war over the Theban royal succession just before the opening scene of Sophocles' play "Antigone." It is unknown what happens to Princess Ismene, but other sources suggest that she dies during the civil war that ends with her brothers' deaths.

Capture the law breaker is what the sentry plans to do in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the sentry fears Theban King Creon's temper. He knows that he will be tortured and killed if the real law breaker is not caught. He plans to stake out the area where the bodies of the disloyal Theban dead are exposed until he witnesses the perpetrator in the act.

That they are polluted, that they in turn pollute the environment and that they offend the gods are the reasons that Teiresias identifies for why the gods refuse the sacrifices in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, it is accepted practice for the enemy dead to be left unburied in ancient Greece. But it is not accepted practice for Thebans to leave unburied fellow Thebans regardless of whether the latter die in defense of or offense against their hometown. The unburied bodies pollute all Thebes with their decay and are being consumed by birds destined to become ritual sacrifices to the gods. Polluted sacrificial offerings represent supreme blasphemies against the gods, who therefore refuse the sacrifices and turn their backs on Theban suffering.

That she does great deeds, has great powers and is the main character are reasons why Antigone is the hero in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone does the great deed of burying her brother Polyneices. She has great powers of faith in her gods, love for her family and loyalty to her people and their most cherished traditions. She is the main character who affects the course of events and around whom all action centers.

The three day old infant Oedipus has a rod run through both ankles. The reason is the ease with which a baby can then be left or tossed onto a hillside to die from exposure to the weather and the wildlife. The rod through the ankles tells any passersby that the infant is being abandoned deliberately, not accidentally.

In this case, Oedipus is left to die because of a prophecy. His parents, King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes, are warned that their son will grow up to be a father killer. They hope to save the one by killing the other. In their ancient city of Thebes, and in fact throughout all ancient Greece, the killing of a father and of a sovereign are considered among the most dastardly and heinous of crimes. The killing of a child is viewed less seriously.

It is to a mother bird that the sentry compares Antigone in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the sentry describes Theban Princess Antigone's pain on finding her brother's body exposed once more. He explains that the removal of the layer of dust from Polyneices' body distresses Antigone. He likens her plight to that of a mother bird returning to the nest and finding all her chicks gone.

That she lets her sister know what is going on and that she risks her life for a dead family member are the ways in which Antigone is family oriented in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone cares about her very different sister Princess Ismene. She lets her know that she is welcome within the family circle ... as long as she behaves courageously instead of cowardly. Additionally, she risks her life for her unburied brother Polyneices.

Polyneices' burial is not mentioned in "Oedipus Rex"because he still lives. But a below-ground burial with proper funerary rite is mentioned as to how Polyneices eventually is buried in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Polyneices as Theban born and bred is supposed to receive a proper Theban-style burial and funeral service once he dies no matter how he lives his life. Theban King Creon initially denies that right to Thebans such as Polyneices who die fighting against their own hometown. But he ends up having Polyneices' scattered body parts gathered together and given a proper below-ground burial and appropriate funeral services.

Yes, the unities are followed in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the dramatic ideal is the solving of a problem presented in one place during one 24-hour period. The description fits the play "Antigone." It deals with the problem of which of two conflicting laws to obey and resolves it in front of the main entrance of the Theban royal palace the day after the end of the recent civil war over the royal succession.

By being buried alive and starving is the way in which Antigone is to be killed in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone breaks a royal edict against burial of the disloyal Theban dead in the recent civil war over the Theban royal succession. She is supposed to die from a shower of stones thrown by Theban citizens. But her uncle, King Creon, makes a last-minute change in the sentence to death by being buried alive in a remote cave, in which she is left with a limited supply of food. Antigone in fact takes her life shortly after being walled up.

Pathos refers to suffering that manages to gain sympathy from a story's reading and viewing audience. It's a good word to describe the suffering that the audience finds in 'Oedipus Rex'. One example of an element of pathos in the play is Theban Queen Jocasta's committing suicide.

Life becomes unbearable when Jocasta realizes that the killer of her first husband, Theban King Laius, is her second husband, Theban King Oedipus. It becomes even more unbearable when she realizes that her second husband is none other than her only child by her first husband. She's tainted by the heinous crimes of father and king killing, through her interactions with the killer. She's tainted by the heinous crime of incest, through her wedding and bedding with her own son. These are all horrible crimes that she never wants to commit. Yet they're all on her doorstep. The only way to face such a life is to end it, according to Jocasta's tormented spirit and tortured mind.

Another example of an element of pathos is Oedipus' self mutilation. He blinds himself once he sees himself and his life for what they really are. He thinks of himself as a model sovereign, husband and father. He finds out that he's the exact opposite. He's a model king, because he's the killer of his royal predecessor. He's a model spouse and parent, because he's the wedder and bedder of his own mother.

Still another example of an element of pathos in the play is the struggle by Jocasta, Laius, and Oedipus toavoid their horrific fates. The harder they try to escape or subvert fate, the closer they embrace their horrendous destinies. Unfortunately, each one of their actions involves poor choices and poor decisions that betray their attempts at flight from, or negation of, their fates.

Bury her alive is what Creon decides to do to Antigone in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone breaks a recent royal edict by burying her brother Polyneices. The punishment calls for Antigone to die under a shower of stones thrown by the Theban people. But Antigone's uncle, King Creon, changes his mind and decides that he wants to get Antigone out of sight, out of mind of all Thebes.