uncle has buried one of your brothers and has banned the burial of the other. In the Greek tragedy, Antigone, this is the harsh reality that the titular character has to face. Creon, Antigone’s uncle and the king, buried one of her brothers, Eteocles, and has banned the burial of the other brother, Polyneices, because he believes that Polyneices has betrayed the city of Thebes. Antigone believes that since Creon was the one who banned the burial and not the gods, then she should bury her brother. Antigone
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Oedipus Rex and Antigone- Sophocles “Oedipus Rex” and “Antigone”, plays by the Greek playwright Sophocles take place in the land of Thebes and have their central ideas as the question of justice. The two plays have several attributes in common and also have some differences. Both plays fall under the tragedy genre where the respective kings, King Oedipus in “Oedipus Rex” and King Creon in “Antigone”, display lack of justice and get punished as a result. In “Oedipus Rex”, King Oedipus displays
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What would you consider a hero? Someone who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding and noble qualities? Would you consider a hero typically a man or woman? Well, in this case it is a woman. In the play Antigone, Antigone is well known for becoming a hero because she was willing to sacrifice her own life, doing what she believed was the right thing to do. In the play, Antigone believes in the power of law and tradition. Even though King Creon orders that the traitor, Polynices should not
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interpreted as an individual in conflict with her society to a certain extent. She can be identified as predominantly rebellious at different times within the play. The gender of Antigone as well as the gender related expectations of the society of Thebes also plays an important part in analysing how Antigone is in conflict with her society. Coupled with exterior factors such as religion, sacrifice, and human law, an audience can make commentary on how Antigone is at conflict with her society, and
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if thou must; No woman shall be the master while I live.”(522-524). The Greeks held several virtues in high regard. Many characters in the play Antigone, either are an example, or just the opposite, of one or several of the virtues. The ruler of Thebes, King Creon, illustrates several of the Greek virtues throughout the play. The three that the king exhibits rather well are Kalokagathia, Sophrysne, and Arete. Balance can be a difficult thing to not only achieve but more often is even harder to
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Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald created the English version of “Oedipus Rex” which was about a king that did not know about his identity as a child or who exactly his parents were and was on a mission to find out. Oedipus has been made King of Thebes since Liao’s the former king, had shortly before been killed, Oedipus was honored king by the hand of Queen Iocaste. The new king’s search for the murderer of Liao’s soon led to the discovery of who the killer was and also allowed Oedipus to find
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suggestions of his rule to govern a place in a way that is beneficial to its’ residents. In Sophocles’ play Antigone, which is a continuation of Oedipus Rex and the last play in the Oedipus Cycle, this standard is ignored. In the play, the current king of Thebes, by default is Creon. This supposed righteous king is the source of the problems that arise in his country, mainly because he displays ignorance to the Thebans. His shortly fused temper and defensive nature proves to get the best of him. Additionally
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resources were expended on creating prestigious burial places for absolute rulers or wealthy officials. Tombs contained elaborate grave goods (mostly plundered soon after deposition), representations of “daily life,” or less commonly of religious subjects, and some texts that were intended to help the deceased attain the next world and prosper there. The texts came increasingly to be inscribed on coffins and stone sarcophagi or deposited in burials on papyrus. Some royal tombs included long passages
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process the king of Thebes. When the truth of this became known to him, he blinded himself. This story is the subject of the first two plays by Sophocles in the Oedipus cycle, Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus. Four children were born of that incestuous marriage–two boys, Eteocles and Polynices, and two girls, Antigone and Ismene. When we join the action here, Antigone’s two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, have died at each other’s hands, Eteocles while defending Thebes and its new king Creon
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is a debate of who is the tragic hero of the story Antigone or Creon. According to the definition the tragic hero of Antigone has to be Creon. Antigone starts medias res, Creon declares that his nephew Polynieces is not to get the proper burial, “ No burial of any kind. No wailing, no public tears. / Give him to the vultures, unwept, unburied, / To be a sweet treasure for their sharp eyes and beaks” (l.28-30). Creon was feared by all of his subjects so they obeyed his command no matter how immoral
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