Antigone

"All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride." ― Sophocles, Antigone.

Overview of the sotry, information on creon and prophet, Why was the sotry written, context, 

Antigone is an Athenian tragedy written by Sophocles in 441 BC and first performed at the Festival of Dionysus of the same year. Antigone is one of The Three Theban Plays: Oedipus Rex (also called Oedipus Tyrannus or Oedipus the King), Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone.

Story: 

To understand Antigone you must know the context: Oedipus is the son of Laius and Jocasta. At birth a prophet called Tiresias warned Laius and Jocasta that their only son will marry his own mother and ill his father. Afraid, they ordered one of their servants to kill Oedipus. The servant took the baby away, onto a hilltop, but he could not kill the innocent child. He left Oedipus instead with a shepherd, who brought him across the mountains to the king of Corinth. This king claimed the boy and raised him as his own. 

When Oedipus grew to manhood, the same prophet Tiresias warned him that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Not knowing that he had been adopted, and that his real parents were Jocasta and Laius, Oedipus left the country to avoid committing such crimes. While crossing over the mountain, he fought a caravan of men who tried to force him off the road. He killed them all.

From there, Oedipus came to the outskirts of Thebes, which he did not know was his original country. Thebes was being menaced then by the Sphinx, who would ask its visitors a riddle. When they could not answer correctly, the Sphinx would kill them. The riddle was this: "What has four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs at night?" Oedipus was good at solving riddles and went to the Sphinx, who asked him its question. Oedipus thought for a moment and then answered, "A Man! As a baby he crawls on his hands and knees, as an adult he walks on his two legs, and as an old man he walks with a cane!" The Sphinx, shocked by this mortal's correct answer, fell over dead. As a reward from the Theban people, Oedipus was named King, for the former king had recently been killed. His bride was the queen, Jocasta.

Several years later, after they had four children, plagues began to destroy the people of Thebes. Oedipus strove to discover the reason .A prophecy gave him a hint, that the murderer of the former king, Laius, was living unpunished in Thebes. Until this murderer was punished, plagues would sweep the country.

Oedipus questioned everyone: old servants, his wife, his brother-in-law, and the famous seer Teiresias. As he questioned them about the former king's death, he slowly put together the facts, the terrible facts that seemed to point to himself!

At last, the entire mystery revealed itself to him. He understood who his true parents were – Jocasta and Laius. One of those men he had killed while crossing over the mountain had been his father! He himself had killed Laius! Cursing his fate that had doomed him to do what he had meant not to do, he blinded himself, as he could not bear to see the children he had fathered with Jocasta, his wife and mother. Jocasta for her part hanged herself.

Oedipus, in disgrace, left his country, and, as a blind beggar, wandered in the countryside. Oedipus was the unhappiest man who ever was. He lived in suffering to an old age, accompanied by his daughter Antigone, until the gods, pitying his pain, whisked him off the face of the earth at a sacred place near Athens.

Thebes was left without a King. The twins Eteocles and Polyneices, who had been cursed by their father to die at each others hands, Oedipus, failed to agree on which of them was to succeed to the Theban throne and decided to rule in alternate years. However this arrangement did not work out as after Eteocles rule he did not want to hand over the crown, outraged, Polynices leaves Thebes and raises an army to overthrow Eteocles. As they were prophesised they killed each other in the battle. The thrown was left to Creon, Oedipus's brother in law. 

After performing an elaborate funeral service for Eteocles, he forbade the removal of the corpse of Polyneices, condemning it to lie unburied, declaring him to have been a traitor. Antigone, moved by love for her brother and convinced of the injustice of the command, buried Polyneices secretly. For that she was ordered by Creon to be executed and was immured in a cave, where she hanged herself. Her beloved, Haemon, son of Creon, committed suicide. As a result of this Eurydice also killed herself from grief. 

Themes:

• Pride - This is mainly explored through Creon, he is too prideful to admit and repent for the mistakes he made which eventually leads to him losing everything
• Emotion VS Reason - There are many examples of characters becoming too emotional to think with reason, e.g. Haemon killing himself
• Destiny VS Self-determination - The prophet Tiresias foretold everything which begs the question was it avoidable or fate
• Men VS Women - There are many references to sexism and objectifying women especially by Creon
• Power - Antigone's lack of power and Creon being power drunk. 
• Mortality 
• Divine Law VS Martial Law - Creon's ignorance when he dismisses the words of the Gods believing he will still triumphant. 

Tiresias:

First of All, prophets were believed to be mouthpieces of the Gods. They were the Kings advisors warning them when they are on the wrong path or something tragic will happen. Tiresias is the prophet to the King of Thebes. In Antigone he warns Creon that his pride will lead to his downfall and he should not execute Antigone otherwise his child will die. Creon still chooses to ignore him despite their past and the terrifying prophecies. I believe that this ignorance would annoy Tiresias which causes him to tell Creon all the horrible prophecies. Furthermore, Tiresias is prominent throughout all three plays, he tells prophecies to Oedipus and Oedipus's birth parents. 

Tiresias himself is extremely honest and is not afraid to say what others do not want to hear, his blindness is a symbol of his knowledge, while his ability to clearly see truth illuminates the metaphorical blindness of those who hear of his visions.

Our extract:

I an performing an extract between the prophet Tiresias (Me) and Creon (Will) (P110 - P114). We are setting the scene in the 1990s and are changing the situation to a prime minister and his advisor who are old friends. I believe this will make it so that Tiresias's message is more impactful and Creon's pride is more evident. 

Goodreads.com. (2020). Antigone Quotes by Sophocles. [online] Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1052210.

www.longwood.edu. (n.d.). Odeipus. [online] Available at: https://www.longwood.edu/staff/mcgeecw/Odeipus.htm.