Antigone

That one is worthless and the other is worthwhile is what Creon thinks about Antigone's brothers in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Creon expresses different feelings towards his twin nephews. He feels that Eteocles is a worthwhile person who deserves to be buried below ground. But he is so antagonist towards Polyneices that he denies him his god-given rights as a Theban to a below ground burial.

That she does not back down from burying her brother and enduring the punishment is the way in which Antigone is strong in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone demonstrates strength when she breaks her uncle King Creon's law of non-burial of the disloyal Theban dead. She exhibits strength when she confronts Creon with her crime. She expresses strength when she endures Creon's insults and threats. She manifests strength when she processes to her live burial without breaking down or making a scene.

The original title, in Greek, is : Οἰδίπους Τύραννος. The author, Sophocles of Greece, is thought to have written the play, one of three pertaining to the life of Oedipus and his children by Sophocles (known as the Theban Plays) sometime around 432 B.C.E.* Scholars indicate that the origins of the story are far older.

Variations in the translation and spelling of the original Greek title abound, as do variations in the translation of the work as a whole.

In Latin, the title was translated as "Oedipus Rex." However, the original Greek title was also used, transliterated into Latin, as "Oedipus Tyrannvs."

Latin lacks the letter "u, " using, instead, the letter "v." So it seems that, in many cases, the Latin transliteration of the Greek title has been transliterated into English as "Oedipus Tyrannus."

Transliteration of the original Greek title directly into English results in the variant spelling, "Oidipous Tyrannos."

More recent translations, in English, commonly give the title as "Oedipus the King."

According to Arlene Saxonhouse ( The Tyranny of Reason in the World of the Polis, Arlene Saxonhouse, University of Michigan. The American Political Science Review, Vol. 82 No. 4, December 1988), "The tyrannos is the new ruler, the one who has come to power in the city by means other than birth or established precedent. Therewith his illegitimacy - but also his freedom... Among the ancient Greeks, tyranny incorporated a freedom to break away from what was old and limiting. Released from traditions, the tyrant could transform the world in which people lived."

*Before the Christian Era.

In Greek, it is known as Oedipus Tyrannos. But the title should only be 'Oedipus'

It is Haemon who warns Creon not to retaliate against Antigone in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.C. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Prince Haemon loves his first cousin and bride-to-be Princess Antigone. He meets with his father King Creon in an attempt to get him to pardon Antigone for breaking the royal edict of non-burial of the disloyal Theban dead. Haemon warns his father that all Thebes is on Antigone's side but fear Creon so much that they keep silent despite building anger and opposition to Creon's rule.

Taking bribes from Thebes' enemies is what Creon accuses Teiresias of in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Creon seeks to end the pestilence in Thebes. He requests information from Teiresias the blind prophet. He dislikes Teiresias not rubber stamping royal actions and therefore accuses him of taking bribes.

The getting of specific information about the murder of Theban King Laius is why Theban King Oedipus wants to see the sole survivor of that crime. Oedipus at first accepts hearsay information. He finds nothing questionable in the information that Laius and all but one of his escorts were attacked and killed by robbers. But then he learns that the killings took place at a crossroads somewhere between Delphi and Thebes.

Around the time of that killing, Oedipus was carrying out his own bloodbath. He took the lives of a stranger who was old enough to be his father, and whom he resembled, and of the stranger's companions. The killings all happened at that same crossroads.

So Oedipus needs to find out whether Laius was killed by a lone perpetrator or if he met death at the hands of a group of thugs. Such information only can be gotten from the sole survivor. That survivor can be counted on to tell the truth. He in fact is the most devoted and trusted servant of Theban Queen Jocasta, wife of Laius and wife and mother of Oedipus.

To bury Polyneices and free Antigone is the chorus' advice by way of the leader in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the chorus does not interact directly with the other characters. The their leader does speak for the chorus members. The chorus leader hears what Teiresias the blind prophet says about ending the mourning, pestilential environment and polluted wrath in Thebes. He states that Theban King Creon needs to do what Teiresias says is the way to end the above mentioned problems: Give a proper burial to Polyneices' body and release Princess Antigone from her live burial in a remote cave.

That Eteocles refuses to honor Polyneices' legitimate claim to the Theban throne is the reason why the twin brothers fight in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Eteocles and Polyneices inherit the Theban throne from their disgraced parents, King Oedipus and Queen Jocasta. They expect to alternate years of rule in a joint power sharing arrangement. But Eteocles refuses to give up the throne when his year is up and even exiles Polyneices from their hometown. Polyneices takes his legitimate claims to Argos, where he marries into the royal house and succeeds in raising an army of disgruntled Thebans and supportive Argives.

Young and scared but practical is Ismene's personality in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Ismene demonstrates youth in her hesitation. She expresses fear in her references to her parents' fate and to the punishments for civil disobedience. But she manifests practicality in her reasons for obeying a controversial royal edict.

Drawing on the advice and experience of others is Haemon's good advice to his father in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Prince Haemon says that it is always helpful for a ruler to compare perspectives with the experienced, the wise and the young. He states that fresh insights make for happier citizens and successful rulers. He suggests that policies need to be modified in the face of contradictory evidence and negative impacts.

First, Antigone is angry with Ismene for docilely and passively accepting the rule of mortal men. Ismene thinks that men rule and women obey. Antigone doesn't think that way at all.

Second, Antigone is angry with Ismene for not helping to bury their brother Polyneices. Antigone doesn't have the strength to do a below ground burial. Without Ismene's assistance, their brother will get a symbolic burial by being covered with a thin layer of dirt. That isn't going to be much protection against the weather and wildlife.

Third, Antigone is angry with Ismene for suggesting that the illegal partial burial and funeral service be kept secret. Antigone equates that with cowardice and self centeredness.

Fourth, Antigone is angry with Ismene for trying to join her in a death sentence after not joining in on the lawbreaking. Antigone has a strong personality that's motivated by passionately held convictions. As far as she's concerned, you don't change horses in mid stream. So she takes someone at their first word and accepts no flip flopping. You're either with her or against her, with nothing in between.

It is by suicide that the three sudden deaths occur in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone hangs herself by the halter of her dress. Prince Haemon, her betrothed and first cousin, turns his own sword upon himself. His mother, Queen Eurydice, uses a sharp knife to stab herself to death.

As the adopted son and intended heir to the throne, Theban King Oedipus also becomes King of Corinth in the play "Oedipus Rex."

Specifically, Oedipus is brought by a trusted shepherd from Thebes to Corinth. In Corinth, the infant is adopted by the childless royal couple, King Polybus and Queen Merope. Much later, as a young man, Oedipus hears of a prophecy that he is fated to kill his own father and marry his own father. He does not share that revolting news with anyone, instead choosing to flee what he thinks is his hometown of Corinth for Thebes, his real hometown. Decades after his flight, Oedipus learns that the man whom he always considered his father is dead. The Corinthian throne is his if he wants it ... until the twists and turns of the plot reveal themselves in their full horror.

Antigone is the person to whom Creon accuses Haemon of being enslaved in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Creon considers all opinions unwelcome other than his own and all people as replaceable. He particularly disdains the feelings and opinions of women. He therefore dismisses his son Prince Haemon's devoted defense of Antigone as a sign of weakness, as enslavement by a completely replaceable woman.

It is by burying her brother that Antigone breaks a moral law in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the phrase moral law describes the enforcement of right and wrong in society. The description fits the non-burial edict that is issued by Theban Princess Antigone's uncle King Creon. It is right for Antigone to respect Creon as her guardian, relative and ruler. It therefore is wrong for her to break his law.

"Nothing painful is there" is an example of a syntactic device in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the above mentioned phrase is an example of an anastrophe. The term anastrophe is applied to a situation in which the logical order of the parts of a sentence are changed, for effect, emphasis or rhythm. The above mentioned phrase is found in Theban Princess Antigone's opening lines to her sister Ismene.