Cadmus, the first king of Thebes, is alluded to in the concluding paean of Antigone by Sophocles (GreekMythology).The Paean, which can be found on page 1102, is a celebration and praise of the god of wine and fertility, Dionysus. It simultaneously serves as an outcry to the god, which explains why it is placed immediately after Scene 5. In this scene, the blind prophet Teiresias tells Creon that the gods are upset with the wrong that he has done. Teiresias states, “The gods are deaf when we pray to them, their fire recoils from our offering” (l. 783). The blind prophet explains Creon has disobeyed the gods’ law by denying Polyneices a burial and punishing Antigone. The Paean’s contextual placement also portrays the text’s main purpose; restoring Thebes’ favor with the gods. The hymn states, “The shadow of plague is upon us: come with clement feet” (l. 787). Here, we are brought to think about the …show more content…
Cadmus proved to be very persistent. He was the last of his brothers to give up on the quest to find their sister Europa. He was also the only one wise enough to consult the oracle of Delphi. While his men were all slain by the great serpent of Ares, Cadmus was ultimately able to overpower and finally kill the beast, telling us of his great strength. He was also humble enough to pay tribute to the gods- particularly Athena - after overcoming his every endeavor. Although he probably didn't find his sister Europa at the end, the Fates had planned a great life for him. Cadmus, the legendary hero who came to Greece from Phoenicia is also credited with the introduction of the Hebrew alphabet to the Greek language. Although his character is not thoroughly developed in the play, the allusion to his familial domination and importance serves as an indirect passing reference which helps the reader better understand the desperateness of Thebes under the rule of
Ever since the beginning of days, people have pondered the question of whether or not any gods exist and if they do, are they in control? In Sophocles’ Antigone, the reader is introduced to two opposing characters: Antigone and Creon. Creon, the king of Thebes, decrees that Polynices, who led an army against Thebes, is a traitor and therefore may not be buried. Antigone, a strong and persistent woman, disagrees with Creon’s decision to deny Polynices a proper burial and is determined to bury him, disregarding Creon’s ruling. As the monarch, Creon represents human law and the power of kings, while Antigone represents divine law and the belief that the gods are in control and will punish anyone who defies them. At the conclusion of the play, both characters’ futures are doomed, but the original question of is was correct still remains.
First, Creon is a tyrant. His rule will not be remembered for many reasons, one being that he desecrates family honor. When a son or father dies in battle, they are carried home to be properly buried by their families. Eteocles, Antigone’s other dead brother, is a patriot and is buried because he fights for Thebes. However, Polynices is not buried because he rebels against Thebes. Creon leaves Polynices’ body out to be attacked by dogs and vultures. This angers the people of Thebes because family honor is very important to them. Therefore, the people of Thebes will not remember Creon because of his offensive deeds performed while he is on the throne.
According to the play the major actions that Creon took to cause the downfall of Thebes are that he did not want to burry Polyneices nor did allow any body to do it. Creon broke the burial law of the Gods and punished Antigone for following their laws. The people of Thebes knew that Creon made a mistake but still were too afraid to speak up. Antigone thought that she should get honored for that what she did, but Creon did not think that way.
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
Antigone is a play about the tension caused when two individuals have conflicting claims regarding law. In this case, the moral superiority of the laws of the city, represented by Creon, and the laws of the gods, represented bt Antigone. In contrast, Oedipus The King is driven by the tensions within Oedipus himself. That play both begins and concludes within the public domain, the plot being driven by the plague that troubles the city, and which is so graphically brought to life by the Priest. In both Antigone (ll179-82) and Oedipus The King (ll29-31) the city is likened to a storm tossed ship, and it cannot be merely coincidence that Oedipus The King was written at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War, a time when Athens itself was suffering the effects of plague. Oedipus The King reaches its climax with a now blinded Oedipus daring to show himself to the people of Thebes, forgetting that he is no longer the leader of the state. In Antigone, it is Creons abuse of absolute power that leads to his tragic downfall. Whilst Oedipus determinedly tried to get to the root of his peoples ills, ultimately discovering that he was in fact the cause of them, Creon morphs from a supposedly caring leader into a tyrannical despot, eager to take the law into his own hands. It is the actions of Antigone that helps to bring about Creons fall from grace, as her steadfast refusal to accept th...
Tiresias tries to explain to Creon that he is the cause of the problems in Thebes. Tiresias reveals that through Creon’s stubborn actions he is causing a plague on Thebes:
To begin with, an in depth analysis and understanding of Creon's intents and actions must be established in order to evaluate the reactions of Antigone and Ismene. The central conflict of Antigone derives from Polyneices' betrayal to the city of Thebes. As the ruler, Creon naturally feels compelled to exert his authority by refusing Polyneices a proper burial "for the birds that see him, for their feast's delight" (162). The grotesque imagery evoked not only illustrates Creon's endeavor to discourage further rebellion, but also portrays a personal defense to protect his pride; this need to reassert his pride significantly heightens with Antigone's involvement. From Creon's perspective, leniency represents vulnerability within a leader "if he does not reach for the best counsel for [Thebes], but through some fear, keeps his tongue under lock and key"(167). Throughout the play, the symbol of "tongue" frequently recurs, illustrating how society cond...
Creon, in his paranoia was plagued with the feeling of incompetence and need to establish dominance. His decree that no one would bury Polyneices only provoked the people of Thebes into thinking of him as insensitive to their culture. When his ruling was disobeyed, only led him to him to believe that conspiracy was about and that no matter, family or not, he would punish Antigone, causing a chain reaction of events causing the loss of his entire family, except Ismene. Leaving the audience experiencing pity and fear for both characters.
Sophocles play titled Antigone, embellishes the opposing conflicts between Antigone who stands for the values of family, and Creon who stands for the values of state. Sophocles explores the depths of Antigone’s morality and the duty based on consequence throughout the play, as well as the practical consequences of Creon who is passionate and close-minded. Although Antigone’s moral decisions appear to be more logical and favorable than Creon’s, a personal argument would be that both characters’ decisions in society can be equally justified.
Creon a new king of Thebes, demanded that Antigone shall not bury her brother Polyneices and yet she buried him anyway. Creon thinks that Polyneices is a betrayer and he did not deserve to be buried and should be fed to the animals. Antigone follows orders from the gods, but she does not seem to listen to Creon's laws. This causes Antigone to hang herself and her husband after that, hangs himself too. The only one left of her family is her sister who escapes the curse, but she has to deal with the suffering of her family. After hearing about her son’s death, Eurydice(Creon’s wife) kills herself too. In the end the chorus learned that Creon made a mistake not letting Antigone bury her brother. On page 55 it says, “Future is in greater hands.” This is saying your fate can not be changed and your fate is chosen before you are even
In the Antigone, unlike the Oedipus Tyrannus, paradoxically, the hero who is left in agony at the end of the play is not the title role. Instead King Creon, the newly appointed and tyrannical ruler, is left all alone in his empty palace with his wife's corpse in his hands, having just seen the suicide of his son. However, despite this pitiable fate for the character, his actions and behavior earlier in the play leave the final scene evoking more satisfaction than pity at his torment. The way the martyr Antigone went against the King and the city of Thebes was not entirely honorable or without ulterior motives of fulfilling pious concerns but it is difficult to lose sight of the fact that this passionate and pious young woman was condemned to living imprisonment.
In addition, Creon disregards what had historically been the best counsel for the city, the blind prophet Tiresias. Despite Tiresias’ warnings that his “high resolve that sets this plague on Thebes,” will “strike [him] down with the pains [he] perfected,” Creon’s stubborn commitment to the laws of state turns to be his error. Eventually convinced by Tiresias’ warnings, Creon resolves to release Antigone from her isolated tomb. Regrettably, he’s too late and the consequences of his insolence for the divine laws were far worse than if he had “[L]ay[ed] [my] pride bare to the blows of ruin” (1220). Creon’s undoing can be viewed as an allegory of the calamities that ensue when the laws of man pursue to challenge the ancient laws of gods.
Antigone utilizes her moral foundations, her religious roots, and the events of her past to form a sophisticated argument. Despite being unable to convince Creon to reverse her punishment, Antigone is able to convince the people of Thebes that she was right in her actions. After Antigone’s death, and the deaths of several others, Creon reflects on this monologue and realizes the honest truth behind Antigone’s actions and words.
In Sophocles’ Antigone, Antigone saw her action of burying her brother as a just one. It may not have been just in the eyes of Creon and the people of Thebes, but she was not concerned with the laws that mortals had made. Antigone saw the divine laws of the gods to be much more important than those of mortals. She felt that if she died while upholding the laws of the gods, that her afterlife would be better than if she had not. Our lives on this earth are so short, that to see a good afterlife over the horizon will make people go against the laws of humans.
In Antigone, Creon becomes king of Thebes after Polynices and Eteocles commit fratricide in battle. Antigone commits her ‘crime of reverence(74)' by burying Polynices after a direct order from Creon dictating that everyone leave him on the ground, unburied. Creon first accuses the council of elders of being stupid and old (281) when they suggest that the gods were behind Polynices' burial. After this, he goes on a tirade against men who supposedly were not happy with his leadership and therefore paid off the watchmen to bury the body. Creon blames the watchman of burying the body for money and the watchman tells him that, "It's terrible when false judgment guides the judge (323)."