Antigone, the first Theban play written by Sophocles yet chronologically last in the cycle, is a masterpiece of classical antiquity which examines the conflict between public duty and personal loyalty. Following the banishment of Oedipus, his two sons Eteocles and Polyneices have died leading opposite sides in Thebes’s civil war, fighting each other for the throne. Queen Jocasta’s brother Creon, now the ruler of Thebes, declares that Eteocles will be honored but Polyneices is to be publicly shamed by refusing him burial rites. Creon declares that anyone attempting to do so will be put to death. In ancient Greece the refusal of burial rites was one of the most disrespectful acts that could have been shown to a person and their family. Antigone finds herself compelled by familial duty and disregards Creon’s edict by scattering dirt across Polyneices’s corpse. Creon, whose son Haemon is engaged to Antigone, finds himself torn between a personal loyalty to his family and a civic duty to punish Antigone for this crime. One of the greatest dramas from classical antiquity, Antigone, along with its Theban counterparts, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus, established Sophocles as one of the most renowned dramatists of his era.
Antigone raises issues of law and morality that are just as relevant today as they were more than two thousand years ago. Whether this is your first reading or your twentieth, Antigone will move you as few pieces of literature can.
Antigone raises issues of law and morality that are just as relevant today as they were more than two thousand years ago. Whether this is your first reading or your twentieth, Antigone will move you as few pieces of literature can.
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Background
Antigone is the third part of a three part series. Below you will find some background on Antigone (the character), her family (its weird), and her background (it is beyond complicated).
Fate, Family, and Oedipus Rex:
Crash Course Literature 202
John Green teaches you about one of the least family-friendly family dramas in the history of family dramas, Oedipus Rex. Sophocles' most famous play sees its main character, who seems like he's got it all together, find out that he's killed his father, married his mother, had a bunch of incest children, and brought a plague down on his adopted hometown. He doesn't take this news well. John touches on all the classic Oedipus themes, including hamartia, fate, and the wrath of the gods, and even gets into some Freud, although Oedipus was notably not a sufferer of an Oedipus complex. In any case get ready for mystery, incest, bird entrails, and self-inflicted blindness. Very dramatic.
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Classics Summarized:
Oedipus Rex
Greek literature really is a fascinating cesspool of ridiculousness. Our boy Oedipus even got a mental condition named after him!
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