ANTIGONE

Introduction

In ancient Greek legend, Antigone was the daughter—and the sister—of Oedipus, the mythical king of Thebes who tore out his eyes after discovering that he had unwittingly killed his father and married his own mother, Jocasta. The most famous account of Antigone's story is in Sophocles' Theban trilogy: King Oedipus (performed c. 427 BCE), Oedipus at Colonus (performed posthumously in 405 BCE), and Antigone (performed before its thematic prequels in 441 BCE). Aeschylus also touches on the Theban legend in Seven Against Thebes. (Sophocles, 2007, 90-110).

Discussion

Aeschylus' tragedy tells the story of the mortal conflict between Antigone's brothers, Polyneices and Eteocles, which forms the prologue to the events detailed in Antigone. In Sophocles' play, Antigone comes into conflict with the new king of Thebes, Creon, the brother of Jocasta, when she insists on burying Polyneices against Creon's direct order. Antigone's significance has been seen as lying in her advocacy of the importance of family loyalties, in positing a conflict between human and divine law, in representing an early account of the demands of conscience against socially imposed obligations, and in raising the question of the role of women in public life. (Sophocles, 2007, 90-110).

Following the death of Jocasta and the expulsion of the now-blind Oedipus from Thebes, which occur at the end of King Oedipus, Antigone, despite being the younger of the sisters, accepts responsibility for the care of her father and accompanies him on his wanderings. By the time of Oedipus at Colonus, Oedipus is a very old man. During that play, Ismene seeks her father out in Athens to tell him of the impending battle between her brothers for control of Thebes. Unable to prevent this, Oedipus dies, and the play ends with Antigone resolving to return to Thebes to try to stop her brothers from destroying each other. (Aeschylus, ...