Essays on Eteocles

The play Antigone presents a duality concept that is represented by Antigone and Creon. Both are extreme characters and hold absolute principles that eventually lead to their collision. Antigone supports adherence to the laws of the gods while Creon is in support of the laws of the state.

This paper will evaluate the morality of either Antigone’s position or Creon’s support for civil obedience.

Antigone’s brother Polynices fought to take the throne from his brother Eteocles leading to their deaths. As a decree, Eteocles was provided a decent burial while Polynices was subjected to rot to death. Antigone protested Creon’s decree in lieu of observance of the laws of the gods. Both Antigone ...

Basic Conflict and its Context

The main conflict in Sophocles’ Antigone revolves around the burial of a corpse. Antigone wants her deceased brother Polyneices to have a proper burial, and is decided to have this happen in spite of the obstacles that she may find in her way. On the other hand, King Creon prohibits this because he believes that Polyneices is a traitor, saying that he died “laying waste the land for which he fought” (Sophocles). This obviously clashes with Antigone’s set desire, as the titular character is intent on burying him, claiming that this is right, regardless of what Creon’s ...

Antigone and Creon are characters who assume parallel perspectives. There is a sharp contrast between the two and in almost all instances—they do not seem to be in harmony. Oedipus was Antigone’s father. There arises great tension after his departure on who would be the next king. Antigone’s brothers, Eteocles, and Polyneices had agreed to share the leadership roles in the throne. Creon is Antigone’s father (Schakel, and Jack 1105). The two are brought out as very different characters with conflicting ideologies on religious law and the law of men. They also differ on issues ...

Theme of loyalty to family and traditions is illuminated in a tragedy Antigone written by Sophocles. The woes and misfortune of Oedipus`s family line are passed to his children now, thus been born in misery Antigone and Ismene face another calamity. Their brothers Eteocles and Polyneices have killed each other in a battle against the Argive army who tried to assault Thebes. Furthermore, by Creon Polyneices is declared to be a traitor; therefore he cannot be buried with military honors and is left in fields for vultures and dogs unlike his brother Eteocles who had a soldier's funeral. ...

Antigone is a tragedy written by Greek playwright Sophocles in the year 442 BCE. The play carries on in a series of plays such as Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus as well as Seven Against Thebes, which tell the tale of social classes, family feuds, and civil law in ancient times. The play tells about the reversal of fortunes between people in the high social class who are forced to live very lowly lives and to suffer emotionally and physically due to the operation of the constitution. The play deals with the burial of Antigone’s brother ...

Answer the five questions on the syllabus from the perspective of Haemon. Discuss the change in the way Antigone conducts herself in this portion of the play. Has your emotional response to her as a character changed? Consider each conflict from the perspectives of the various characters or authors involved in them. Then judge the speech and deeds of these characters/authors by the communal values that they either call into question or affirm. In particular, I would like you to ask yourselves the following questions from the perspectives of each of the main characters/authors: (Answers must all be adjectives) ...