Sophocles' Antigone

Sophocles’ Antigone (442 B.C.) is one of the most important Greek tragedies, and if you get interested and decide to read it you’ll understand why.

As usual, I won’t go much into detail. Internet already provides more details than one could read in a lifetime, so I’ll limit myself to describing this tragedy’s main themes.

Antigone is about the fight between the law of the heart and the law of the state; in the Antigone these two codes come to face each other in a challenge that will leave death and destruction on their path.

The reason that brings to this clash is a dead body; the body of Polynices, one of the sons of Oedipus, who died in the fight for the throne of Thebes against his brother Eteocles. They killed each other outside of the city walls, but while Eteocles had the consent of Thebes’ authorities and was buried with all honors, Polynices was left where he fell, and the new king, Kreon, ruled that nobody is to touch or bury the body, the punishment for who does being death.

Against this decision stands Antigone, sister of the dead and niece of Kreon.

The whole tragedy is the description of the inner path that brings Antigone to decide that although the law is sacred, there are things that are more sacred still, like the bond of blood, and giving rest to a soul through burial (in ancient Greece the soul of un unburied body was thought to roam forever without peace…).

Antigone buries her brother.

Compassion for a dead human being is stronger than fear of death, and she follows her heart.

Kreon is therefore put in front of the same decision Antigone took. In his heart he knows that Antigone has no fault, and loves her as future bride of his son, but the same law he decided hoping to help Thebes forget the blood shed in such a recent past, turns against him, commanding that he apply it against someone he knows innocent.

Kreon’s decision, though very tormented, is opposite from the one Antigone chose. He follows the law of the state, and Antigone is buried alive.

After hearing from a prophet that he took the wrong decision, Kreon decides to let Antigone live, but it’s too late. When the grave she’s buried in is opened she is found hanged, and Kreon’s son, desperate, takes his own life.

This is the price Kreon pays for his decision.

In this masterpiece the tragic choice is “doubled”, two figures have to deal with similar choices, and all options of these choices will have negative consequences. Both have strong values, both follow what they believe to be the law, both feel uncertain about how to act, but in the end they make opposite decisions, allowing the reader to experience the consequences of both sides of the tragedy.

Like I said before, this is only meant to be a brief and certainly incomplete description of a fraction of what I consider to be among the highest creations in our history, ancient Greek tragedy.

There would be much more to say, but I hope sooner or later a discussion will start here, making it possible to say more.