West European Studies

Antigone by Sophocles was written close to over two thousand years ago in a land that is presently considered as the source of democracy. As such, customs, politics, traditions and the rules of gods, formed an important aspect of the early Greek life. This is reflected in the themes present in the play Antigone such as religion and gods, role of women, family life, customs and traditions as well as choice and their consequences. These issues make Antigone to tell us about the culture of Greece and what Greece valued in terms of these cultural orientations. Sophocles Antigone depicts a mythological account that comprises of legends belonging to the ancient Greeks. In addition, issues in this play represent certain fundamental challenges faced by mankind in the classical Greece.

Just like in life, issues of choices in Antigone portend their inevitable consequences. From the onset of the play, the decision by Antigone to burry Polynices seals her fate. This is because, she refused to obey the edict of Creon to leave her brothers body to rot or be consumed by wild animals. As a result, Antigone is captured by Creons soldiers and she eventually dies. Arguably, Creons unyielding political administration leads him to choose to ignore the counsel of Teiresius as well as the pleas of Haemon which results in the loss of both his wife and son (56-58). In early Greece, the choices one made determined certain consequences that they got. Issues related to gods and prophesies from gods were meant to be adhered to and failure to which led to dire consequences. It is this fate that Creon and Antigone find themselves in. In Greek culture in the fifth century a lot of emphasis was placed on fate and oracles were constantly consulted as prophesies were made. Although the characters in Antigone make choices out of their own free will, the consequences of these choices are seen to be controlled by fate which was arguably controlled by gods.
 Sophocles may have intended to show that choices made for apparent logical reasons can lead to terrible unforeseen consequences. Antigones burial of her brother according to the unwritten law and Creons need to keep orders after a civil war as well as Ismenes adherence to traditional role of women yields these far reaching effects. As a result, Creon loses his family and power over state, Antigone dies and Ismene is doomed to live the rest of her life alone.

The question of gods and religion was prominent in Greece culture. The edict of Creon that Polynices should not be buried invites disaster on Thebes. Teiresius tells Creon that the gods rejects our prayers and sacrifices and warns the king that the agent of the gods of death are angered and may seek retribution (45-46).
Teiresius further warns Creon that you have dishonored a living soul with exile in the tomb (46-48). In other words, Creon has angered the gods by enacting his own set of laws instead of following the laws that were set down for mankind to follow.

In classical Greece, polytheism was the tradition. This means that they believed in many gods and each god represented a specific aspect of life. For instance, Zeus was the kings of gods and he ruled over all. Antigone severally invokes the name Zeus as she defends her burial of Polynices. She says that it was not Zeus who had decreed that edict and such are not the laws set by the justice of the gods below (37-39). Greek tradition dictated that women in the immediate family of the deceased had the rights to carry out burial rituals for them. With regard to this, Ismene and Antigone were responsible for the burial of both their two brothers.

However, when Creon orders that Polynices be not buried, Antigone felt that she was acting according to the unwritten laws of Zeus by burying her brother (31-33). Accordingly all the dead in Greece should have the honor of burial no matter what they did in life. Teiresius warns Creon that ignoring the unwritten laws of Zeus would bring tragedy to his house. By ignoring prophets, Creon had disregarded both tradition of the prophets, the oracles in Greece and the gods. This disrespect for traditions leads to Creons fall from power (49-50). Accordingly, Greece was under dictatorial rule and authoritarianism and Antigone by Sophocles mirrors this rule to basically caution all Athenians against allowing such type of government to regain power.

For this reason, it can be said that the political power in ancient Greece resulted from the fear of force. Accordingly, Athenians acted out of fear of consequences of disobediences well as in accordance with the desires of self preservation. Inherent in this conception is the understanding that political authority of the classical Greece was a product of the belief in moral correctness of the organization in question. Therefore, implicit in this understanding, individuals were forced to act out of a sense of obligation by respecting and acknowledging the rights of the ruler. The prescribed laws were basically obeyed for their own sake.

In reference to Antigone and based essentially on the argument that is outlined above, it is evident that there is no basis for political authority. Creon, as a king, is respected and obeyed by his citizens out of fear of the consequences of disobedience. Ismene obeys Creons law because she fears death (43-44). In addition, the chorus believes firmly that no individual can risk dying out of moral, political or religious objectives. Those who attempted to disrespect the ruler faced heavy punitive measures. Antigone, as a result of rejecting Creons authority on the basis that such laws are not made in heaven, is condemned to die by the authority of Creon.

One of the most devastating problems for the classical Greeks was the issue of women. In classical Greece, women were not regarded as citizens because there is no single time they held property and to make everything worse, were they allowed out of the house unless under the guards eye. Arguably, the only difference between women and slaves in ancient Greece existed in the name and as a result, Sophocles in Antigone captures this very coherently. Upon the death of king Oedipus sons, leadership could not be passed on to his daughters. This is why Creon had to assume authority because he was the only closest relation of Oedipus (36-39).

By virtue of the fact that women were weaker, Antigone could not take the throne the play Antigone thus reflects the heart of Athens by recognizing the importance of the message of early Greece and its relevance to the current situation. Creon argues that men who live by the law must be defended and for that reason, no woman should be allowed to triumph over them (12-17). As a matter of fact, women were typically viewed to be subservient to men thereby being forced to become submissive in their actions. Sophocles, using Antigone, illustrates not only a woman fighting in honor of her family but also using the laws of the gods to make her point. He used her to contrast the underlying belief and essentially capture the gravity of the matter more intensely.  Accordingly, Antigone was not a typical Greek woman.

The prevailing conventions, as regards society and politics, are succinctly captured by Sophocles in Antigone. Relating closely to the concept of status quo, the play Antigone demonstrates how determination from the early Greeks was the optimum vehicle that one could use to break the chains of status quo. For example, Antigone goes against what is believed to be the typical position of women. She speaks as a true warrior by standing for what she believes in and demonstrates the willingness to execute her convictions without fear or hesitation (29-31). This is a form of determination that classical Greeks embraced in what can be called individual revolution, in a bid to break the status quo. For one, Antigone would rather die at the hands of human laws than defy gods laws which to her are objective and well meant.

To recap, the play Antigone has brought to light an integral concept that Antigone reflects the classical Greece. It talks in depth about the practices and believes of the classical Greece. The themes portrayed resonate concisely with the question of fate, moral law, political authority, obedience and the aspect of God. It is in fate that Antigone successfully elaborates on the tragic nature of the play. From the foregoing discussion, it is evident that Antigone inscribes itself in the vast movement of subversion and contestations of the traditions of the classical Greece. It is plausible to argue that as a play built on Greek mythology, it allows for a re-appropriation as well as revalorization of a forgotten history. Antigone presents a declaration of resistance as well as a plea fro emancipation from traditional, literary and political domination.