Women's Role In Sophocles Antigone

Antigone, by Sophocles, is a drama belonging to the Greek theatre, which revolves around the central character Antigone, who wants her brother Polynieces to be given a decent burial and decides to revolt against Creon’s dictum. The play portrays in an accurate manner of the social situations that existed in the ancient Greece, and how the people reacted to it. The drama begins with the death of brothers, Eteocles and Polynieces, who kill each other for the throne. By this act, Creon decides to give a decent burial to one of the brothers, Eteocles, while leave Polyneices corpse unburied and as a meal for the animals, as he was considered as a traitor for Thebes. This act taunts Antigone, and she decides to rebel against the dictator Creon and fight for the burial of her brother Polynieces. The act of rebelling against the justice system elevates the role of women in the Greek world.

Men are considered as Primary citizens, who had primary authority to any act in the Greek world, and they belonged to the working class, who weren’t restricted to home, like women. The characters of Creon, Haemon, Teiresias, and sentry elevate the superior attitude of men during the 5th century Greek. In the drama, we see Creon taking the decisions and punishing those who do not follow, while his wife Eurydice is seen knitting majority of the time. This act certainly tells the reader that women did not have any primary authority, even though if they were part of the royal family, like Eurydice. The women belonging to the royal family too did not have an option to voice out their