The theme of Antigone by Sophocles is that the gods control the destiny of man. No matter how much power a man on earth has, whether he is king or peasant, he can not control his own destiny. The gods will always be able to control the things that a man can not, such as health. A man can control his wealth, but can not keep himself from dying. In Antigone, there are a few examples of how the gods can control the destiny of man, even if that man is King.
The first example in Antigone is when King Laius, the king of Thebes, takes his son, Oedipus, to the oracle at Delphi. The oracle told King Laius that Oedipus, his son, would kill his own father and then marry his mother. King Laius thought he could change the fate if he got rid of his son. The King ordered his servant to take his son into the woods and kill him. Oedipus was found by a peasant in Corinth and adopted
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Creon thought that his power on earth surpassed the power of god. Later, Teiresias tells Creon that he will lose one child for the crimes of leaving Polyneices unburied and putting Antigone into the earth. The Chorus tells Creon, he needs to free Antigone then bury Polyneices. Creon does the exact opposite, so the gods punished him. Antigone died so the gods to Polyneices life. Once Eurydice has found out that her son has died, she kills …show more content…
In the first example, both King Laius and Oedipus thought that they could change destiny by providing obstacles on earth. Neither staking Oedipus’ ankles in the woods nor moving changed the fate of King Laius getting killed by his son. In the second example, Creon thought he could kill Antigone without being punished by the gods, but the gods, in turn, killed his family and left him
One example that sticks out is in book 9, Odysseus and his crew find a cave filled with food and sheep. Odysseus chooses to linger a while longer and soon the Cyclops living in the cave returns. The Cyclops imprisons the crew and Odysseus to keep for a meal. Odysseus comes up with a plan in book 9, Odysseus tells his men, “Then, in my courageous heart I formed a plan to move up close beside him, draw the sharp sword I carried on my thigh, and run my hand along his chest, to find exactly where his midriff held his liver, then stick him there” (Homer). Odysseus changed his plan to stabbing the Cyclops in the eye instead of the chest.
However, Creon becomes a ruthless leader who did not abide by the laws of the gods and rules by his own will. In the book, Creon decides not to bury Polyneices after being told by Antigone that it is against the gods to not bury someone who fought with valor. After being told numerous times by Antigone to bury Polyneices, he decides to punish her by imprisoning her. This shows that Creon believed that not even the gods can go against his decision. In other words, Creon is concerned only with his
So, in the end Antigone got what she wanted, which was a proper burial for Polyneices, to die a hero, and to live an eternity with Haimon, but Creon did not get what he wished for. For Creon, the play ended with his furious son killing himself right in front of Creon, and his wife stabbing herself in vein of him. While both character’s fates were greater than they deserved, Creon will suffer from guilt for as long as he is living, he also dreadfully said, “Let death come quickly, and be kind to me. I would not ever see the sun
The Chorus points out that her fate could have been avoided if she had let go of her pride and passion, and bowed to Creon’s edict, as did the citizens of Thebes. This quotation portrays that play writer, Sophocles, views that one’s blind and obsessive passion can result in negative consequences. The downfall of Antigone derives as a consequence to her obsession in acting against the King’s edict to glorify her brave act of reverence to her family and the gods. When Antigone expresses her defiance to Creon’s
One example of this is when Odysseus get rid of the suitors in his home. Odysseus is trying to protect his wife and his son from them. He may have killed them but they were trying to marry his wife even if he was still alive. The suitors did try to kill his son when telemachus was trying too find any knows of odysseus whereabouts. Another example of odysseus is when he saves his men from circe's house.
Some people think that elders are always wise and true, but not in this case, “It is not right if I am wrong. But if I am young, and right, what does my age matter?” (Antigone. III, 96-99). The play Antigone, written by Sophocles, tells the story of how a girl named Antigone who buries her dead brother Polyneices breaking a law, causing a huge controversy between Creon, the ruler of Thebes, and Antigone.
Sophocles addresses the issue of government authority over the people of Antigone through his incorporation of continuous unsuccessful as well as unjustifiable acts of power. Throughout the tragedy, Sophocles strongly exposes the lack of political authority at the time through his depiction of what he advocates as a corrupt monarchy. Considering Creon’s unceasing disregard for the opinions and desires of those around him, including his son Haemon when it came to Antigone's situation, his known brutality caused his citizens to obey him strictly out of fear of the potential consequences, such as when Ismene's obeys his edict is because she fears death. In addition, Sophocles addresses the issue of government authority by including the role
When Antigone attempts to bury her brother, according to Creon’s laws, she had committed treason. He states, “Let’s lost a man at least! Is a woman stronger than we?” (Sophocles 792). His egotistical refusal to relent and mercifully let Antigone grieve her brother, was his initial mistake (Bloom).
According to Creon, Polyneices is a “traitor” because he fought against his state. Because of Polyneices’s actions, Creon states that Antigone should “leave Polyneices without burial” and “watch
n Sophocles’ play “Antigone”; written in 441 B.C., Antigone is a woman of impact, and her choices as a upstander affect the other characters. She was righteous in her pursuits to restore justice with her choices, that are taken because of Kreon unjust ruling. The first move was his, when she lawed the burial of Polyneices, whom is unhonored for being soldier of the enemy. Her choice to secretly bury him affected not only her life, but also Kreon and his family. She impacted her own life with her choice also to kill herself, and the lives of others.
In Sophocles's Antigone he makes it seem like the characters are defying the rules of the gods. Characters in the story seem to be branching out, and choosing their own fate. Creon defied the rules of the gods, and refused to allow Polyneices to be buried. Antigone defied the kind, and buried Polyneices. Antigone also chose her own fate by hanging herself in the tomb.
The play, Antigone, is a tragedy written by the Greek poet Sophocles. A common theme among tragedies is that they have a tragic hero, and Antigone is no different. The tragic hero of this poem is Creon, the King of Thebes. Creon is faced with the difficult task of punishing his niece, Antigone. She has broken one of his laws stating that no one is to give proper burial rites to Polyneices, Antigone’s brother, because he tried to overthrow Creon.
In this essay, I will have to decide if fate for free will dominates in this book. Antigone’s fate could have played out so many ways. Antigone could have done
Many say that this play occurred because of Antigone’s decision to bury Polyneices. However, if Creon did not make the decision of not giving Polyneices a proper burial, then the whole tragedy would not have occurred. There would be no consequences for the reason that the gods would be happy. In other words, one could say that Creon’s actions lead into this tragedy. Not only does Creon lead the way for this play, but he is able to make very important choices, giving him the title of a leading
First, he was blind to the truth about his own life. Oedipus had no idea that his real parents were Laius and Jocasta, he was so blind that he got mad at anyone that would even suggest an idea such as that. As the story went on though, Oedipus could no longer run from the truth; he was forced to open his eyes to the reality and truth of his life. Oedipus killed his father and married his mother; he is the brother to his own kids and the son of his own mother. Oedipus was the one that was causing all of the downfall and bad times in Thebes.