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Discuss the contrasting roles of the gods as depicted in antigone
Character of antigone
Character of antigone
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In the story of Antigone, Eteocles and Polyneices are both fighting to be the king of Thebes. They both die in the fight but Eteocles is buried while Polyneices is left to the vultures. Antigone is both Polyneices and Eteocles’ sister, With both brothers dead the throne was given to their uncle Creon, who believes Polyneices is a traitor and should not have a burial. Antigone strongly disagrees with Creon, thus sneaking out and giving him a proper burial. This action was considered punishable by death.
Creon tells the people of Thebes, if they give a proper burial to Polyneices, then they shall be killed. When Antigone, Polyneices sister, finds this out she buries her brother despite Creon’s demand. The sentry, and other men, find that Polyneices had been given a burial, and one of them has to tell the king, so they won’t be killed for a “crime” they did not commit. Because
In the preface of Antigone, she says to her sister Ismene, “ So gracing him among the death below. But Polyneices, a dishonored course ,... No man may bury him or make lament- Must leave him tombless and unwept…”(Sophocles). Antigone is showing the differences in treatment between the burial of her two brothers due to the decree put in place by Creon and this caused her to take a stand. Another quote from the story says, “But by the death commended; and with them I shall abide ever.
The sisters of the dead brothers, Antigone tried to convince Ismene to assist with the burying of the brother’s body, against the edict of the king but Ismene did not concede as she was afraid of the death penalty and still could not dissuade Antigone from doing the deed herself. The Chorus of Theban elders pledged their support on the king’s edict of disposing Polyneice’s body but at that time it was reported that the body has been buried. It was found out that Antigone was responsible and she was questioned but she did not argue or deny her involvement and responsibility. She was made to pay for the disobedience and was put in the under cave. Creon was warned, given the words of wisdom by the gods to let go of Antigone or he will be punished.
In the play, Antigone, daughter of Oedipus learns about the death of her two brothers (Eteocles and Polynices).Creon, the new king of Thebes passed a decree to the city on the burial of the two brothers. In the decree, Creon declares that Eteocles body should be buried with honor and fame for his courage of saving the city from the enemy. Whiles Polynices body is left unburied and rotting for beasts to feed on because he came to destroy the city and enslave the people. Antigone defies Creon 's decree, buries Polynices body and gets caught. Creon imprisons her
In the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, burial customs of the ancient Greeks play an extensive role. The women of the family perform the burial rites, and believed that if their distinct methods were not followed, the soul is destined to suffer between worlds until the correct rites were performed. Antigone, the sister of Polynices and Eteocles, is aware of this and is not going to stand by and let her brother, Polynices, linger between worlds in pain, after being killed by Eteocles. With her ambition and determination she does the deed, and of doing so she follows the god's laws, but breaks Creon’s laws in the midst of it. Creon is also aware of the burial rites but still decides, through his stubbornness, that Polynices shall not be performed these rites, because of his actions against Thebes.
Courage is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery. In the Greek tragedy Antigone, continues to fight for her for her family’s name although it has been slandered because of mistakes her ancestors made in the past. When Creon creates a law that forbids anyone to her brother, Polynices, Antigone heroically attempts to save her brother’s honor her brother even though she knows the harsh consequences that may follow. Although Creon is always loyal to the state based on what he believes, Antigone’s courage to her family can't be matched by any other character. Antigone is the courageous character of this play because she would accept any consequences for her brother, she would die for him, and let her dream of being a mother and wife vanish.
She loved her brother very much, and was extremely loyal to him. When he died, the king declared that his death would be declared a public shame, which meant that he would not receive a proper burial. Antigone decided to give her brother the proper burial, knowing doing this was against the king’s decree. This shows her nobility and virtuosity.
Antigone is the daughter of the late king Oedipus, and Creon is the king of Corinth. The conflict that these two face is the burial of Polyneices, who was Antigone’s deceased brother. Creon was not allowing Polynices to be buried, because he had fought against Athens. To Creon, this was correct: “And yet you dared to overstep these laws?” (Sophocles Line 458)
In Antigone, there was two brothers who shared being the King and one of the brothers, Polynices, wanted to start a war with the kingdom because he wanted to be the main ruler. Polynices and his brother Eteocles fight and they both end up killing each other. Their Uncle Creon, who takes position as King when they are both killed, decides that only Eteocles will have a proper burial and Polynices will be left to rot. Antigone, Polynices and Eteocles sister, thinks that Creon’s decision is unfair and takes upon herself to give Polynices a proper burial. When their other sister Ismene finds out, she is stuck between helping her sister bury their brother and following Creon’s demands.
The burial ritual was very important to those who believed in mythology, as it was what allowed them to cross over into the afterlife. According to tradition, an entire body must be preserved or it cannot cross over. Creon wanted to leave Polyneices’ body to be eaten by wild animals so he would be unable to cross over. Antigone buried her brother anyway and when Creon found out, he threw her in prison. As the story goes on, the general opinion begins to change and more characters begin to side with Antigone.
Antigone believes she should have the right of her brother’s burial. Creon states, “No one shall burry him, no one mourn for him” (Sophocles 2) illustrating that Polyneicis is irrelevant in the city of Thebes. The law in Greek society is a female should not have power or freedom over any circumstance. Antigone demands rights over her brother and will not accept
The drama Antigone places the culture of Greece on display by showcasing the many values that this culture held in reverence, including remaining loyal to family, honoring the dead, and honoring the gods. In Sophocles’ renowned drama entitled Antigone, one of the main values that Antigone chooses to honor is loyalty to family, even when that means that she has to forgo loyalty to her city and community. Even though her uncle the king, Kreon, forbade anyone to bury Polyneikes’ body because he had been on the opposing side in the battle, Antigone felt a duty to her brother to bury him. When speaking with her sister, Antigone says that Kreon’s command “…threatens our loved ones / as if they were our enemies” (Antigone 14-15).
Antigone is a Shakespearean tragedy which always presents a person whose main purpose is to act as a moral compass for a main character and a main character cursed by fate and hold a tragic flaw. In this story, Antigone is the center topic of the story. With a role of the first woman to rebel against the norms of society, Antigone continues to act in ways she believed was morally correct. Although she is characterized by morality, her unfortunate bloodline fails to escape her true destiny of death. By constructing detailed characters and elaborating the plot structure of a tragic story, Sophocles ultimately creates important themes with plot elements, symbolism, characterization, and historic relevance.
Even though Antigone committed suicide, she is still able to bring with her hubris and honor. She is able to prove to the community that even up to now she deserves an applause and respect because of her conviction and determination to do what is right even though men in their times ridicule women for such strength. She will always be remembered as a woman of courage and a woman of her word. The tragedy will never exist if it was not for Antigone’s love for her family and rebellion against King Creon. In other words, tragedy exist in the play because Antigone too