Antigone Essay - 1008 Words

Antigone nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Antigone, by Sophocles, is a story about the struggle between Antigone, who represents the laws of the gods and Creon, who represents the laws of the state. The play takes place circa 442 B.C. in the city-state of Thebes. The story revolves around the burial of Polyneices. Polyneices led an army against his brother, Etocles, the King of Thebes. They killed each other in battle and the new king, Creon, made a decree that only Etocles was to be buried because Polyneices was his rival. Antigone, sister of Polyneices and Etocles, feels that she needs to bury Polyneices in accordance to Zeus’ law, but this went against Creon’s decree. Also, Antigone has to bury Polyneices without the help of her sister†¦show more content†¦After Creon’s wife, Eurydice, found out her son was dead, she stabbed herself to death. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Creon is not wholly wrong in forbidding people to bury Polyneices. His intentions are good because he wanted to show how evil Polyneices was in attacking the city and that in order for the government of Thebes to work, they have to stay united. According to Creon, â€Å"For I- be Zeus my witness, who sees all things always- would not be silent if I saw ruin, instead of safety, coming to the citizens; nor would I ever deem the country’s foes a friend to myself; remembering this, that our country is the ship that bears us safe, and that only while she prospers in our voyage can we make true friends†(Sophocles, page 121). nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Creon justifies his position to the others in the play by stating that Polyneices was evil and it would be unjust to Etocles, who died with honor, to share a spot in the earth with an evil person like Polyneices.(Sophocles, page 129). Creon states, â€Å"†¦Polyneices, who came back from exile and sought to consume utterly with fire the city of his fathers and the shrines of his fathers’ gods, sought to taste of kindred blood and to lead the remnant into slavery†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Sophocles, page 121). Creon also states, â€Å"A foe is never a friend-not even in death†(Sophocles, page 129). nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;I think Antigone is a righteous martyr for wanting to bury herShow MoreRelatedAntigone By Sophocles Antigone1525 Words   |  7 Pagesnothing that the gods demand† (1349-1350). Sophocles’ Antigone takes place in a trying time for the city of Thebes, when Oedipus, their king, and most of the royal family have died, and Creon has just been appointed the new king. Throughout the play, Creon tries on his power as the new ruler, and seems to believe that the gods will not be angry with some of his choices as king, even though they directly violate the divine law. 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In â€Å"Sophocles’ Praise of Man and the Conflicts of the Antigone,† Charles Paul Segal takes the stand that there are two protagonists in the drama (which conflicts with this reader’s interpretation): This is not to say that there are not conceptual issuesRead More Antigone Essay1318 Words   |  6 PagesAntigone Essay In any story or piece of literature, there will always be the main characters to fill the pages with incessant adventure. The characters whose names appear on almost every page and the characters whose actions the story revolves around. However, a story will also always have its minor characters. These are the characters that contribute heavily to the plot, yet arent mentioned quite as often and are underestimated regarding their importance in the story. In the Greek masterpieceRead More Antigone Essay3001 Words   |  13 PagesSUBJECT Antigone is a play about a woman who disobeyed the Kings order to not bury her brother. 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