Antigone

Creon's intentions are good in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Creon has good intentions when he issues his edict of non-burial of the disloyal Theban dead. He hopes to discourage people from rebelling when they see that their bodies will be denied god-given below ground burial rights if they do so. The problem lies in his thereby contradicting divine will, denying cherished Theban traditions and fostering division when he needs to promote healing and community.

Ancient Greece is the country in which the play "Oedipus the King" is set.

Specifically, the play's author Sophocles (c. 496 B.C.E. - c. 406 B.C.E.) sets the opening scene outside the royal palace of Thebes. It is clear that he means the ancient Greek city, not the ancient Egyptian place name. One way that Sophocles makes this clear is by having the characters and the chorus refer to other places in Greece, such as Corinth and Delphi. The characters and the chorus also reference names from ancient Greek mythology, such as Cadmus and Zeus.

That marriage and children may have influenced a different choice and that devotion to the gods is what kills her are what Antigone uncharacteristically says in her final scene in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone initially only speaks of feelings for the family into which she is born. She likewise mentions the gods in terms of unquestioning respect. But just before her live burial, Antigone indicates that having a husband and children may have kept her from fighting for Polyneices' burial rights. She also declares that prioritizing divine over royal will is the cause of her death sentence.

Eteocles and Polyneices are Antigone's dead brothers in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Eteocles and Polyneices are the eldest of the four children of disgraced Theban monarchs Oedipus and Jocasta. They are twin brothers, of whom Eteocles is the elder. They end up killing each during the last, decisive battle in the recent civil war over the Theban royal succession.

The state as a ship is the metaphor that Creon uses during his first speech in the first scene of "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the term metaphor describes one person or thing by something quite different. The description fits Theban King Creon's characterization of the Theban state as a ship on the ocean. He likens the first civil war over the Theban royal succession to choppy waves upon which the ship of the Theban state is tossed but ultimately steadied by the gods.

That she does great deeds, has a tragic flaw and suffers an unfortunate end are the ways in which Antigone is the tragic hero of "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone does the courageous, selfless deed of burying her brother Polyneices, whose body is denied its god-given rights to a below-ground burial by an arbitrary, contrary royal edict. But she has the tragic flaw of passionate, stubborn pride whereby she thinks that she does not have to show the respect that she owes King Creon as her uncle, sovereign and intended father-in-law. Antigone therefore loses the slight chance that she has of receiving a pardon or a lighter sentence instead of the death penalty.

Bury Polyneices and release Antigone is what the chorus thinks that Creon should do in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the chorus cannot interact directly with any of the onstage characters. But its leader can do so. The chorus leader in fact asks Theban King Creon to bury the exposed body of Polyneices and to free Princess Antigone from her walled up cave.

That he must not seem weak before his people and that he must protect them from her pollution are Creon's arguments for killing Antigone in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Creon believes that an ordered society requires strict laws, strong rulers, and swift punishment. The king that does not enforce his own laws will be unsuccessful. The ruler who makes exceptions for relatives and women will pollute the environment with unpunished crimes and offenses and bad role models.

Devoted, hostile and weak are the respective kinds of relationships that Polyneices has with his two sisters and his brother in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the relationship between Polyneices and his sister Antigone is devoted, positive, respectful and strong. His relationship with his twin brother Eteocles is negative. Polyneices' relationship with his youngest sister Ismene appears to be weak since Ismene seems unaffected and unconcerned about Polyneices' body being consumed by birds and dogs.

That she admits her disobedience and criticizeshis rule is the way in which Antigone provokes Creon in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone is caught burying her brother Polyneices, whose burial is guaranteed by the gods but denied by King Creon. When arrested by guards and tried by Creon, her uncle and future father-in-law, Antigone brags about the burial, challenges her sovereign's decision-making, and questions his ability to rule Thebes and get along with Thebans. In essence, Antigone does just about everything to get the deathsentence and absolutely nothing to find common ground with Creon and get him to rescind the edict, pardon her, and bury the disloyal dead.

In order to respect the ancient Greek ideal of the dramatic unity of time, plot and place as well as the sensitivities of the audience and to heighten the dramatic impact of learning along with the characters are the reasons why Antigone, Eurydice and Haemon die offstage in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the ideal play in Greece respects the guidelines of a problem being presented and solved in one place and within a 24-hour period. In terms of "Antigone," the play takes place outside the main entrance to the royal palace the day after the end of the recent civil war over the royal succession. Relevant events from other places and times are made known to the audience through the onstage conversations of the characters and comments of the chorus. This allows the dramatist to limit the amount of upsetting incidents onstage and to maximize the emotional involvement of the audience, whose learning takes place along with the characters onstage.

Tragic is the kind of character that Antigone is in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, tragic refers to an unfortunate turn in or end to life. The description fits Theban Princess Antigone. She ends up being buried alive and killing herself because she breaks a royal edict that contradicts the deep divine truth that all Thebans get below ground burials when they die.

The prevention of three deaths is the effect if Creon changes his mind earlier in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Creon does not change his mind about his non-burial edict until after meeting with his son Prince Haemon, then Teiresias the blind prophet and finally the chorus leader. Between the first two meetings, Princess Antigone is escorted to her live burial in a cave outside Thebes. A change in mind at that point or between the second and third meetings may have prevented the suicides in quick succession of Antigone, Haemon and Haemon's mother Queen Eurydice.

That he fights against his hometown of Thebes is the reason why Polyneices' burial is forbidden in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Polyneices' body deserves a below-ground burial because all Thebans have divine guarantees of below-ground burials and proper funeral rites. But Polyneices' uncle, Theban King Creon, decides to deny these rights to Thebans fighting with Argive invaders in the recent civil war over the Theban royal succession. He calls for non-burial of the dead, which is to be expected for non-Thebans but unexpected even for disloyal Thebans.

To control mortals, decide laws, determine punishments, and monitor adultation and sacrifices are the roles of the gods in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the gods control every mortal move through life and death by way of divine laws and Theban traditions. They design the most humiliating and painful of punishments for even the slightest of human commissions and omissions. They require regular offerings and sacrifices as well as total incorporation into the daily life of mortals.

Yes, it is ironic that Antigone is represented as a mother in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, irony refers to the contradictory way in which a situation is presented in comparison to the way that it is in reality. The description fits the representation of Theban Princess Antigone as a mother. Antigone in fact does not have any children and never will since she is being sentenced to death by live burial and starvation.

That she is too proud to do anything other than spout her opinions is the way in which Antigone's pride leads to suffering and sorrow in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone boasts of burying her brother, dishonoring her uncle King Creon's law and respecting the gods. She does not try to get Creon to reverse his edict or soften the penalty for its violation. She is so proud of her convictions and deeds that she enjoys throwing his disdain for her uncle in his face.

That he is king is the reason why Creon is at the center of all conflicts in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Creon is king of Thebes. That makes him the highest of non-divine authorities on earth. He therefore participates in all events, harmonious or conflictual, that affect his city and his people.

Her sister Ismene is the person whom Antigone asks to help bury her brother in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone decides to bury her brother Polyneices and thereby break a royal edict against burial of the disloyal Theban dead. But her own strength is not enough to give Polyneices a below-ground burial. She needs help, which she thinks should be forthcoming from Polyneices' only other surviving relative, Princess Ismene.

The end of environmental pestilence, divine wrath and Creon's rule are the effects that Polyneices' burial has on Thebes in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Creon denies Polyneices' god-given rights as a Theban to a below ground burial. Birds and dogs drink his blood and eat his flesh. The birds that then become ritual sacrifices for interpretation of divine will end up polluting the altars with foul smells and mixed animal and human body parts. But the pestilence is dispersed when Creon reverses his edict of non-burial of the disloyal Theban dead and buries his nephew Polyneices.

It is Antigone's and Creon's determination that is paradoxical in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the term paradox describes something that seems to be true but that whose effects actually are contradictory or illogical. The description fits the strong, uncompromising, unyielding will that Theban Princess Antigone and King Creon bring to bear in their interactions with each other and in fact with everyone else in the play. That determination initially gives them what they want but then boomerangs.

That whoever killed Laius must be found and punished is what must be done to cure the plague in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. -- 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the killing of a king is an offense against gods and mortals. It cannot go unsolved, and the perpetrators cannot go unpunished. That Theban King Laius' death is not looked into and that the guilty are not brought to justice contaminates the Theban environment and opens the city up to all sorts of horrors, such as plague and pestilence.