Oedipus and Antigone

The Greek used plays to talk about moral and social issues. For example comedies were humorous and mocked or made fun of social issues, people, and custom. The plays were also shown outside. In document 6, there is an excerpt from the play Antigone by Sophocles. The play is considered to be a tragedy, which is a type of drama. Tragedies tell a story about suffering and usually end badly or in disaster. In the play Antigone overstepped Creon’s laws and buried her brother. In the excerpt from document 6 Antigone states, “Nor do I think your orders were so strong that you, a mortal man, could overrun the gods’ unwritten and unfailing laws..” This shows us how the gods’ were very important in Greek life. Antigone believed that Creon’s laws are his and not the gods’. Antigone also believed that Creon was just a mortal man and that she should obey her conscience. Today, we still incorporate our own values and what is important to us into plays. Therefore, this proves how the ancient Greeks have made many contributions in the areas of architecture,art and performing arts to the Western civilization.

Sophocles was a greek poet known for his greek tragedies, stories and plays popular all across Greece, and even have a strong influence on today’s culture. Tragedies, which was such a large form of amusement that men who were actors could get out of military service at the time. Sophocles is prominent for his plays: Ajax, Antigone, The Women of Trachis, Oedipus the King, Electra, Philoctetes and Oedipus at Colonus. Despite the many plays he has made, the ones being distinguish here are Antigone and Oedipus the King. Antigone and Oedipus were tragic heroes. It is beneficial to know that Oedipus is Antigone’s father and sibling due to him unknowingly marrying his mother, Jocasta, and killing his own father Laius, committing

The play Antigone by Sophocles is a play like no other. There are three major themes or ideas which have a very important role in the play. The first major theme is fate, on how the play comes about and the turn of events that come about throughout it. Another main theme or idea is the pride the characters have and their unwillingness they have to change their minds once they are set on something. The last major theme is loyalty and the practical problem of conduct involving which is a higher law between the divine laws and those of the humans. It is an issue of which law is the "right" law, and if Creon and Antigone's acts are justifiable or not. The issues that Antigone and Creon have between them

Daniel Nierenberg Comparative Essay 11-20-01 "Oedipus Rex" & "Antigone" It is only natural that an author use similar vessels of literature, such as figurative language, literary devices, and elements in his/her work. It is even more apparent between works that are connected by character, time, and theme. Sophocles did this when he wrote "Oedipus Rex" and "Antigone". When comparing the two pieces, it becomes evident that very similar vessels connected these very different plays.

Sophocles Playwright, The Three Plebian Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus written by Sophocles, is one of the many plays that shows the audience heroic figures and the outcome of being exposed to fate. Creon and Anitgone both show nobility throughout the play showing that they are both admirable and human. Antigone copes with the situation she has fallen in. She rebels the governments decree so she could have a proper burial for her deceased brother. Doing this Antigone did not only prove that she is brave and showed great fortitude, but in the process Antigone also defends her faithfulness for her family. This makes Antigone the

The character Creon in “Oedipus the King” and in “Antigone” is quite present in both plays. He is a vital character. In “Oedipus the King”, Creon was sent to the Oracle of Delphi to find out how the city could be saved from the plague. He was later accused of being against Oedipus when Creon brought the news that he was the killer of King Laius, Oedipus must die to end the plague. After all the truth was released, Creon tries to convince Oedipus to be buried in Thebes when he was dying, because a prophecy once said that the land would be blessed wherever Oedipus eternally rests. In “Antigone”, Creon is the new king of Thebes. One of Antigone’s brothers were fighting for the country and one was fighting against it. Creon’s edict was that Eteocles, the brother fighting for the country, would have a traditional burial and will be honoured. On the other hand, Creon forbids that Polyneices has a burial. He wants his body to rot because he was fighting against the country. He proclaims that anyone who buries him will be sentenced to death. By the time Creon reconsiders and realizes how stubborn he was acting, it is too late and he is cursed with death upon his family.

Aristotle once said that a Greek Tragedy must include an important person that has a flaw. By this flaw, the audience should feel pity and fear. Creon, a character in the Greek tragedy “Antigone”, resembles a perfect example of a tragic hero. This play was written by Sophocles, a historic playwright during the 5th century. It begins with the illegal burial of Polyneices, Antigone’s beloved brother. Creon, the King of Thebes, is coerced to condemn his niece Antigone to death. Being loyal to his city, Creon follows through with his punishment of Antigone. By doing so, his character is changed forever. Creon has the qualities of a tragic hero: he is a good person with superior status, he has a tragic flaw, and he comes to realize the role he

Antigone, the final play in a series including Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, discusses the ideas of leadership, family, and choices. It features two central characters: Antigone, a girl who chooses to illegally bury her brother, and Creon, a king who decrees the burial of the brother to be illegal. Upon the first encounter of the text, it appears that Antigone is the “hero” of the play, but on further analysis, one realizes that the tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, is actually Creon.

Along with the contrasting conflicts the main characters, Oedipus and Antigone, are also very different in regards to their behavior and how they handle situations. Antigone is much more level headed than Oedipus. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus immediately kills a man just for being in his way and forcing him off the road a bit. Antigone on the other hand, does not take any physical action toward Creon despite not giving her brother a burial. Another difference in character is Oedipus’s defiance to the gods and the oracle while Antigone obeys the laws of the gods. Oedipus, to the people of Thebes, claims if they pray to him he himself would rid the city of the plague; making an implication that he is above the gods. Antigone however, wishes to obey the laws of the gods and demands her brother be given a proper burial. A closing example of the difference in how each character is rendered is how Antigone knowing breaks the law (defies Creon) for what she believes is right while Oedipus breaks the law without knowing; Antigone is

Standing for what you believe in and know what's right and wrong is important . In the play, Antigone, Sophocles demonstrates that through the conflict of the character. The play is a well-known tragic drama about the conflict between Antigone and her uncle Creon who is king of Thebes.Both character have different believes, idea and opinions regarding divine law and civil law. In Antigone the author Sophocles demonstrates the how important one's moral beliefs is, through the actions of the characters and how the beliefs impact the outcome of the play.The conflict between civil and divine law through Antigone and Creon, shows the important one's beliefs and how it impacts the outcome of the play. A reader can Identifying which law is more important in the play by looking at how the laws impact the characters and the outcome of the play. Both Antigone and Creon go at it expressing each others believes and whether one is right or wrong.Throughout the play civil law is more significant and powerful.

Sophocles’ play “Oedipus Tyrannus” is about how Athenians view their gods and their fate. Athenians believed that their fate was not left up to man, but that is provided solely on the whims their gods. The interesting aspect of this story is not that one believes that fate is real but that fate can be changed by not following the predictions of the oracle (seer/mediator for the god. If fate does take place for whatever reason than one took the wrong step in changing it.

Considered one of the greatest dramas of all time, Sophocles’ play Oedipus the King follows the tragic life of Oedipus, king of Thebes. Considered a Satyr play, the Oedipus trilogy is perhaps the most famous of Sophocles’ plays. Oedipus the King, is an Athenian tragedy that was first performed somewhere around 429 BC in Athens, Greece. Originally, the Greeks referred to the play as simply “Oedipus,” as that was what Aristotle referred to it as in the Poetics. Perhaps what makes this play so memorable, is Sophocles’ uses of the tragic hero as the main theme. Sophocles uses characterization and conflict to portray Oedipus as an Aristotelian tragic hero.

Society has always idolized the rebel, the outcast, the person with the moral compass directed away from the norm, who, despite direct opposition from those in power, is ultimately proven to be right. Heroes aren’t strictly aligned with authority, they veer off in a direction more suited to what they believe is right. Not all in that position, however, have shown utter selflessness and true leadership, as demonstrated by the title character and ‘heroine’ of one of Sophocles’ most famous plays: the daughter of Oedipus, Antigone. Though her life had been a pathetic one due to her convoluted family history, her attempt at realizing her own beliefs resulted not in reform, but the deaths of two innocents, along with the loss of her own life.

Sophocles Influenced then and influencing as well as today. Many great classics and tragedies in literature are associated to ancient Greek philosophers, Sophocles. Not only did he provided the world with endless intriguing ideas, he also was the mastermind behind everlasting tragedies such as Oedipus the King. His ideology, artistry, and perception have served to impact genius minds of the past and both future playwrights. The writing of the play Oedipus the King, the action, the plot, the atmosphere, the characters everything get along so well with the whole play. In Aristoteles “Guide to Playwriting” book he mentioned “Oedipus the King” as a classic tragedy, and pointed out so many things for the young playwrights to follow. Although written

Nearly every Greek play has a clear central theme that is emphasized by both its characters and its structure. The everlasting Theban plays are no exception to this. Of the three Theban plays, Oedipus the King is the finest example of how a drama’s structure and characters heavily contribute to the development of the theme. In the prologue of Oedipus the King by Sophocles, the audience learns that the city-state of Thebes, ruled by a beloved man by the name of Oedipus, is in shambles. However, almost immediately after the audience discovers this, the supposed solution is revealed. In order to cure the city of Thebes, Oedipus must delve deeper into the mysterious death of the previous king, Laius, and punish whoever is responsible for his