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Why Is Antigone Still Relevant Today

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Recommended: How does antigone defy traditional gender roles

Neva Perrine
Mrs. Cain
W4
February 8, 2023

Abstract Antigone is a beautiful story still prevalent in society today even though it is old. Women’s rights, or the lack thereof, was discussed in detail. As well the effect activism can have on society. Another big point was power and who should truly have it. Quality of life was also something spoken on, and how it can change depending on what you are experiencing. Antigone is helpful to understand civilization today.

Introduction Antigone was written by Sophocles in 441 BC, and even though it is such an ancient text it still holds prevalence today. It discusses many social issues including treatment of women, death, politics and power, and many others. History …show more content…

This is an important piece of information because it shapes many aspects in the narrative including the treatment of women. The quote, “I’m not dishonoring anyone! And even still, I’m just a woman! Only men get a say in how the city is run, you know that.” (Sophocles 441BC), shows in its pathos that women were held in much less regard than men. The women in this period did not have the ability to make political decisions and were more so just forced to follow what men said. Antigone showed how little women were able to make verdicts in Ancient Greek society, and how there are similarities still present …show more content…

There is a central idea that no one truly wants to die, but some causes and events make them impartial to it. The excerpt, “Who would end their dying song if they knew that the final note would be their last?” (Sophocles 441BC) through its pathos shows that people don’t need to worry about death, and instead live. People need to have full lives before they are ready to die. If society constantly fears or longs for the end, they will never truly live but instead just exist. To add, another overreaching theme is religion. What the gods want and how they would react to things. An excerpt that illustrates this is, “Who knows what the gods consider holy” though its Kairos it shows how big of a point in society it was then. This is still an issue today through religion. People will kill others for not staying in what they find holy, but they forget to ask themselves if this would please their

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Just as in King’s time where African-Americans struggle with gaining any say or power just because of the color of their skin, Antigone and other women in their own time battle social customs that assume women are the weaker gender compared to men. These men hold all the political offices, and therefore create the laws. Despite being a member of a royal family, Antigone has no real power over

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Along the way faces many challenges such as societal norms, suicide, and questions of morality. Was Antigone a tragic hero, or was she to stubborn to foresee the cataclysmic results of her actions? Or was it simply society and the role it played in this story? Antigone was young and a woman, but it had no effect on her willingness to do what she believed was

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Antigone had the right to challenge the government. Because as every human being we all have a different points of view. In the past, women were less valued. There were two different plays written by Sophocles in the Ancient Greece, “Oedipus Rex” and “Antigone”. In fact, “Oedipus Rex” is considered his greatest work.

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Antigone is seen as a feminist for her actions against Creon but her actions are a bit extreme. While referring to Antigone, Creon thinks her hate for the anarchy is ruining the good name of the City he is trying to restore. “What evils are not wrought by Anarchy! She ruins States, and overthrows the home, She dissipates and routs the embattled host; While discipline preserves the ordered ranks.” Antigones suicide is her regaining control, they go back and forth between each other even to her death.

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However, both works emphasize the need for society to take action to address gender inequality. This includes dismantling patriarchal norms, recognizing the value of women's voices and contributions, and implementing policies that promote gender equality. The characters in “Antigone” and the real-life experiences of women during the pandemic both demonstrate the importance of agency and autonomy for women. Antigone's decision to defy Creon's orders to bury her brother despite the consequences speaks to the idea of women's agency and the importance of standing up for one's beliefs. Similarly, the pandemic has highlighted the need for women to have agency in their lives, including the ability to work in jobs that provide fair pay and benefits, access to healthcare, and support for unpaid domestic labor.

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In spite of this, it appears that he has no issue with women gaining political power and even insults the previous rulers of Athens by describing a typical Congress day as the men slandering “each other like men on benders, and then the police come along and sling out the drunks,” (18). Furthermore, the husbands of the women who gain power do not seem to hold issue with them ruling and only complain about the sexual implications of it. They worry that they will struggle with their sex lives, questioning, “suppose they put the pressure on and coerce us?”(35). There is no angry outcry against the women gaining power

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When Antigone asks Ismene for help burying their brother, Ismene responds by saying, “You ought to realize we are only women, not meant in nature to fight against men, and that we are ruled, by those who are stronger, to obedience in this,” (70-73). Antigone is a women in a society ruled by men. Ismene knows that their position gives them no power over the situation. Realistically, Antigone has no power over her world, but she still seeks unsuccessfully to take control. She wants to be able to take action outside of the law and to do what she thinks is right in the eyes of the gods.

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What is worth mentioning in Sophocles’ play is that he not only showed the weak side of women but also the strong ones. For example, Ismene is the traditional role of women in ancient Greek—coward, fear of men power and feeble. For Ismene, "we must remember we were born women, not meant to strive with men" (Antigone). She even chose to die with Antigone while hearing her sentence, for she was afraid that she would be alone, she could not be able to fight against Creon, this men-dominant society. In contrast, her sister Antigone presents the “women power”.

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It is well known that for much of history, females have been largely oppressed and given few rights, unlike the male gender. Traditionally, a women’s role in society was to be a submissive housewife and to raise children. In Sophocles’ play, Antigone, a young woman goes against the law to give her dead brother a proper burial, defying the typical role expected of a female during this time period. Antigone can be seen as a role model for women because she knows her own mind, stands up to her uncle, and sacrifices herself for someone she loves. Women during this time period were expected to listen to the men in society and follow their rules.

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Antigone is a very courageous person. Not only did she do what was right. She also change the way that women though of themselves. women in though time were not equal to men.

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In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Antigone, a woman’s individual conscience trumps state law when Antigone displays time and again that she values her divine motives higher than those of the state throughout the tragedy. Her continued defiance of the state’s authority marks the importance of her individuality through various scenes in Antigone. Knowing full well her role as a woman in a patriarchal society, Antigone goes beyond the powers of the common man to carry on morals of herself and family exceeding beyond immortality and death. Engulfed in the menacing misogyny King Creon set forth in the state, Antigone is determined to thrive and keep the sacred deeds of herself and family in tact despite the fate it bears. The character of Antigone exhibits

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what Antigone puts forward is we should stand up for justice and not get supressed by an external force. This is precisely what she does, which ultimately claims her

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(Book 13, 396-403) Greek literature sometimes showed signs of female empowerment, but most mortal female characters were nothing more than wives or maids. Antigone was one of the few exceptions. She was strong, smart, and didn’t care what people thought of her. She was fearless, unlike her sister Ismene, who felt limited in her options because she was a woman. She did not think a woman could ever bury her brother’s body,

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Sophocles play “Antigone” introduces a lot of debatable topics such as Human law vs Divine laws, pride, but most importantly the topic of woman’s movement for empowerment. Long before 442 B.C.E, women were belittled because of their gender however, after the birth of “Antigone” it demonstrated a strong outreach towards women and their roles in society ”Antigone, a woman who defines King Creon’s edict without any fear, doubts, or regrets. This courageous woman, the fruit of incest, has fascinated philosophers in the nineteenth century, inspired playwrights in the twentieth century, and intrigued feminist thinkers and activists for decades” (Söderbäck). Birth from a respected bloodline, Antigone doesn’t feel respected at all within her town, especially from her uncle Creon who became entitled as the King after Antigone’s blood

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Introduction The purpose of this essay is to investigate the women’s role in Classical Greece society and literature (5th/4th century b.C.). Therefore, I decided to discuss and analyse one of the most controversial comedies of that time, “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes. This text shows how women, sick of their submissive and powerless position in the political scenario of Athens and Sparta, come on the scene and, through a smart stratagem, achieve their expected result.

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