Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Sophocles philosphy
Antigone character
Antigone character analysis
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The true tragic hero of the play Antigone, by Sophocles, is Antigone’s uncle Creon, the king of Thebes. During a battle over the throne of Thebes, the sons of Oedipus, Eteocles and Polyneices, kill each other in battle. Creon give Eteocles a proper burial, but forbids anyone from burying Polyneices’. However, his niece Antigone defies his orders and tries to bury her brother, which leads to a chain of reactions. Creon, the king of Thebes, is giving Eteocles, one of Oedipus’s sons, a proper burial after his death in battle against Polyneices, the brother of Eteocles. However, he forbids anyone from burying Polyneices, saying “Never with me shall wicked men usurp the honors of the righteous…” (Sophocles, 12). Polyneices tried to overthrow
In the play Antigone Sophocles presents the tragic consequence of a bloated ego. The play is set in Thebes, Greece before the Common Era. King Oedipus renounces his throne after discovering that he has unknowingly married his mother and inadvertently killed his father leaving the thrown to his wife’s brother, Creon (725). Oedipus’s two sons, Eteocles and Polyneices, die in war. The newly crowned King Creon, buries Eteocles with full honors for his support of Thebes and refuses the burial of Polyneices as punishment for fighting against Thebes. The play’s name sake and daughter of Oedipus, Antigone, is forced to go against the command of her uncle to bury her brother and is sentenced to imprisonment until death for defying his command. Haimon, Creon’s son, hears of his future bride’s sentence and attempts to reason with his father. However, blinded by rage and ego Creon will not listen to reason.
Antigone’s views of divine justice conflict with Creon’s will as head of the state. Two brothers fighting against one another in Thebes’ civil war died while fighting one another for the throne. Creon, who had become the new ruler of Thebes, decided that one brother Eteocles would be honored, while Polyneices would be put through public shame. The body of Polyneices was to not be sanctified by holy rites, but was planned to be left unburied on the battlefield for animals to prey on it. Antigone, the sister of the two brothers wants to properly bury Polyneices’ body, but in doing so she would by defying king Creon’s edict. When Creon’s orders the Sentry to find out who had buried the body of Polyneices, Antigone is found to have buried the body of her dead brother. Since she disobeyed authority, her and her sister are temporarily imprisoned. He then wishes to spare Antigone’s sister Ismene and bury Antigone alive in a cave. To some up the foregoing, in honoring her brother she is performing the role of woman and warrior...
Antigone, as a character, is extremely strong-willed and loyal to her faith. Creon is similarly loyal, but rather to his homeland, the city of Thebes, instead of the gods. Both characters are dedicated to a fault, a certain stubbornness that effectively blinds them from the repercussions of their actions. Preceding the story, Antigone has been left to deal with the burden of her parents’ and both her brothers’ deaths. Merely a young child, intense grief is to be expected; however, Antigone’s emotional state is portrayed as frivolous when it leads her to directly disobey Creon’s orders. She buries her brother Polynices because of her obedience to family and to the gods, claiming to follow “the gods’ unfailing, unwritten laws” (Sophocles 456-457). CONTINUE
Sophocles’, Antigone is written about the tragedy of a woman named Antigone has to deal with the loss of her brother. She buries her brother, Polyneices with a proper burial, and must deal with the consequences from her uncle, also known as King Creon. She is justified for her actions because she gave her brother a proper burial and ethically did the right thing, although, she did break the Kings law of letting Polyneices rot. Antigone is a strong individual character, who is not willing to allow her brother to be dishonored, no matter what the cost is to her nor her body. Creon is also a strong character, who knows the law and knows that he must follow it, given that this is justified in the society in which he lives in. While Antigone
1. "Antigone" is an ancient play by Sophocles. "Antigone" begins with the death of two brothers, Polyneices and Eteocles, sons of Oedipus who were on opposite sides in Thebes's civil war. The new king of Thebes, Creon, proclaimed that Eteocles would be honored and receive a proper burial, but Polyneices was to be shamed and would not receive a burial, being left to rot. Upon hearing this news Antigone, sister of the two recently departed brothers, secretly met with her sister Ismene to tell her the news and ask her for her assistance in burying their brother Polyneices. She refused in fear of the law but Antigone went on to do it by herself. While Creon was discussing the ruling
The two brothers of Antigone, Polynices and Eteocles fights with each other for the control of Thebes. The two kill each other but are treated differently after death. Eteocles is regarded as a hero while Polynices is regarded as a traitor and the enemy of the state. Creon then commands that no one can bury Polynices because he is a traitor but gives Eteocles a proper funeral. Creon orders to bury Eteocles because he recognizes Eteocles’ bravery in fighting for his own state, Thebes, against his brother Polynices: “Eteocles, who died fighting for Thebes, excelling all in arms: he shall be buried, crowned with a hero’s honors, the cups we pour to soak the earth and reach the famous dead” (The Three Theban Plays; Antigone; Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus 68).
Antigone, by Sophocles is a tragic greek play that centers around family loyalty. In this play, Antigone is trying to bury her brother, Polynesicus who is a “traitor” to their city and family, and was left dead for the animals to eat off of. While her other brother Eteocles, is getting a traditional military memorial service. But, there is a problem. Creon states that if anyone moves Polynesicus’ body or tries to bury it, they will get stoned to death in the city hall. Antigone, being the loyal and determined sister she is decided she is going to bury Polynecious’ body since it’s the right thing to do in the God’s eyes and they are of equal blood, even if it is against the law. Even this is such a noble thing to do, Antigone doesn't realize it will hurt her in the end.
Before Creon, Oedipus (king at the time) was banished, leaving his sons, Polynices and Eteocles, to rule together. The two brothers arranged to alternate custody of the throne each year; yet, after only the first year, Eteocles, the younger brother, refused to step down from the throne and then drove his brother into exile in Argos, where Polynices married the daughter of the king in Argos. The king sent his army into Thebes to protect Polynices, except both brothers died killing each other in battle. Consequently, in Creon's mind, since Polynices attacked Thebes, he must be a traitor and is unworthy of a burial, while, since Eteocles was protecting Thebes, he must be a hero of Thebes and earns a proper burial regardless, that he was keeping his older brother from the agreement they had to their father. Thus, Creon believed that, in creating the law to deny Polynices' a burial, he is re-establishing law and order in a distressed Thebes and placing himself as the new and reliable king. Creon and Antigone act as each others foil throughout the play, as Creon seems to suggest a scheme of rule that takes priority over the importance of family, and Antigone, through her persistent refusal to be frightened into overlooking her morality, presents the contrary. In this play, both viewpoints are shown to lead to death, that Sophocles seems to indicate is the only way to resolve this
Possibly the most prominent theme in Sophocles' "Antigone" is the concept of divine law vs. human law. In the story the two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices have slain each other in battle. The new King Creon, who assumed the throne after Eteocles' death, decrees that because Polyneices committed treason against the king, he shall not be buried, but instead "He shall be left unburied for all to watch
Despite its age, Antigone by Greek playwright Sophocles is still relevant to many issues plaguing modern society to this day. Over the course of Antigone, both the actions and the inactions show parallels to modern life, some of which can be troubling, others are perfectly acceptable. By examining Sophocles’ tale, readers will handily notice the timeless nature of Antigone, and how it is connected to modern life. Antigone takes place shortly after a war which claimed the lives of the two sons of Oedipus, Eteocles and Polyneices, Eteocles was given a burial, but Polyneices was not. Creon, the uncle of Antigone and new ruler over Thebes, issued a decree which banned any funerals of Polyneices which may have been planned, due to his belief that
In Sophocles' Greek tragedy, Antigone, two characters undergo character changes. During the play the audience sees these two characters' attitudes change from close-minded to open-minded. It is their close-minded, stubborn attitudes, which lead to their decline in the play, and ultimately to a series of deaths. In the beginning Antigone is a close minded character who later becomes open minded. After the death of her brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, Creon becomes the ruler of Thebes. He decides that Eteocles will receive a funeral with military honors because he fought for his country. However, Polyneices, who broke his exile to " spill the blood of his father and sell his own people into slavery", will have no burial. Antigone disagrees with Creon's unjust actions and says, " Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way." She vows to bury her brother so that his soul may gain the peace of the underworld. Antigone is torn between the law placed against burying her brother and her own thoughts of doing what she feels should be done for her family. Her intent is simply to give her brother, Polyneices, a proper burial so that she will follow "the laws of the gods." Antigone knows that she is in danger of being killed for her actions and she says, "I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down with him in death, and I shall be as dear to him as he to me." Her own laws, or morals, drive her to break Creon's law placed against Polyneices burial. Even after she realizes that she will have to bury Polyneices without the help of her sister, Ismene, she says: Go away, Ismene: I shall be hating you soon, and the dead will too, For your words are hateful. Leave me my foolish plan: I am not afraid of the danger; if it means death, It will not be the worst of deaths-death without honor. Here Ismene is trying to reason with Antigone by saying that she cannot disobey the law because of the consequences. Antigone is close-minded when she immediately tells her to go away and refuses to listen to her. Later in the play, Antigone is sorrowful for her actions and the consequences yet she is not regretful for her crime. She says her crime is just, yet she does regret being forced to commit it.
Creon, (brother of queen Jocasta,who was the wife of Oedipus) ends up being King of Thebes, declares that he would not give Polynices proper burial and that "No man is to touch him or say the least prayer for him; he shall lie on the plain, unburied"(Antigone 169-171). Creon, does this in order to establish
Imagine two friends, one burns down your house and the other tries to put the fire out. You would be happy with the one that tried to put it out? That is premise in the play Antigone written by Sophocles. The two nephews of Creon, Eteocles and Polyneices alternate the throne of Thebes. But one year Eteocles refuses to step down and Polyneices is infuriated. Polyneices and six foreign princes march on Thebes, but are unable to conquer it. Both brothers end up dead in a duel leading Creon to become king. Creon declares it unlawful to bury Polyneices body, while Eteocles is to receive a full military burial. Although both Eteocles and Polyneices are nephews of Creon, Creon is right to bury Eteocles and to not bury Polyneices.
Using Creon and Antigone, Sophocles illustrates the way that nomos and physis support their opposing viewpoints. When Antigone's two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, kill each other in battle, Creon, her uncle, succeeds to the throne. Once in power, he makes a law that no one can bury Polyneices because he was un-loyal to his native land. If anyone defied his new law by burying him, then the perpetrator would be killed and left unburied. However, Antigone felt that both of her brothers should have a proper burial, and disobeyed Creon's law by burying Polynneices knowing she would have to suffer the consequences. When brought before Creon, she defended her actions through phys...
Antigone is a play written by Sophocles, between approximately 496 – 406 B.C. The play begins after the siege of Thebes by Polynices; Polynices and his brother, Eteocles, are killed by their father, Oedipus. Antigone tells her sister, Ismene, that Creon has ordered for Eteocles to be buried with honors, but Polynices will be left to rot; Antigone and Ismene plan to bury Polynices, but before they are able to do so, Creon hears of their plan and declares that both of the women will be put to death. Creon’s son and Antigone’s lover, Haemon, confronts his father to advise him to reconsider the decision of killing Ismene and Antigone; eventually, Creon replaces his pronouncement and says that Ismene will be freed and Antigone will be sealed in