Anitigone

A detailed Summary of Anitigone

In Ancient Greece, after 800 bc., new ideas came to the forefront concerning the governing of society. These ideas led to a more organized leadership and a government whose decisions were primarily based on majority rule. This system took the form of city-states, large self-governing towns. These city-states were founded on principals of "freedom, optimism, secularism, rationalism,...[and] the glorification of body and mind". Accompanying these principals was an obligation of fierce loyalty to the city-state and a willingness to shed blood for its betterment. These ideals, while ambitious and noble, often ran in stark contrast with those previously laid down by Greek gods, whose routes went back to the chaotic Dark Age of Greece(1150-800 bc.). Problems of this sort were probably commonly debated in city-states during the time Sophocles wrote "Antigone".

In the play "Antigone", Antigone is faced with an extreme example of this conflict. Her Brother, considered a traitor by the king, has died, and she must decide whether to give him a proper burial or yield to the king's wishes and allow his body to be desecrated. She chooses to bury him, citing the will of the gods. "I will bury my brother, and if I die for it...convict

The tragic ending of "Antigone" seems to make it pretty clear which side of the argument Sophocles is taking up. The play ends with Creon riddled with guilt, ready to die. "I am nothing. I have no life. Lead me away...my hands have done amiss, my head is bowed" , he says in a pitiful final speech. In this moment he knows he has been wrong, blinded by pride and loyalty to his state. But while it is obvious that Sophocles is condemning Creon, the reasons for his demise are open to debate.

Creon's actions, although seemingly savage and unjust, can easily be justified within the culture of the Greek city-state. In this society, freedom and leisure time were enjoyed with the assumption that when the time came, every able bodied man would be willing to fight for his people. Indeed, political leaders and local authority figures were usually heroes of war. A policy Creon wholeheartedly endorses, "Alive or dead, the faithful servant of his country shall be rewarded." But Creon seems to take his loyalty a step further, perhaps to set the standard for the remainder of his term in office. It is in one of his first orations as king that he says, "As God is my witness...no man who is his countries enemy shall call me a friend." . It is clear that he aims to establish himself as a true patriot of the state. In this fiery speech Creon also foreshadows the tragic end, "I have always held the view..

Some common words found in the essay are:
Creon Antigone, Ancient Greece, Antigone Antigone, Teiresias Sophocles, Achilles Odysseus, Age Greece1150-800, creon antigone, proper burial,

Approximate Word count = 947
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous