What is the mythological context of Antigone?

Antigone is famed in Greek mythology for her unwavering beliefs. Her father, King Oedipus of Thebes, married his own mother Jocasta. Thus Antigone was both sister and daughter to Oedipus, and both daughter and grandchild to Jocasta. She was called Antigone, which means “in place of one’s parents”.

How does Antigone relate to Greek mythology?

In Greek mythology, Antigone was the daughter of Oedipus and his mother, Jocasta. Oedipus, king of Thebes, unknowingly married his mother Jocasta, and had four children, Antigone, Ismene, Polynices and Eteocles. As a result, Antigone buried her brother by herself, leading to her arrest. …

What did Antigone do to bury Polyneices?

Why Did Antigone Bury Polyneices? Antigone buried her brother out of devotion and loyalty to both the Gods and her family. Without one or the other, she would not have had the courage or thought of going against Creon’s law and putting her life out on the line.

How is Polyneices buried?

In Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone, Polynices’ story continues after his death. King Creon, who ascended to the throne of Thebes, decreed that Polynices was not to be buried or even mourned, on pain of death by stoning. He then went to bury Polynices himself, and release Antigone.

Was Antigone buried alive?

Antigone is brought before Creon, and admits that she knew of Creon’s law forbidding mourning for Polynices but chose to break it, claiming the superiority of divine over human law, and she defies Creon’s cruelty with courage, passion, and determination. Creon orders Antigone buried alive in a tomb.

Is Antigone a Greek mythology?

Antigone, in Greek legend, the daughter born of the unwittingly incestuous union of Oedipus and his mother, Jocasta. Antigone, moved by love for her brother and convinced of the injustice of the command, buried Polyneices secretly.

What does Antigone do in Antigone?

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.

Is Antigone ever apologetic for burying Polyneices explain?

Though Antigone bemoans her fate and believes death is a cruel and unnecessary punishment for burying Polyneices, she is never apologetic for actually covering his body. She believes until the end that she did the right thing.

Why does Antigone feel it is her duty to bury Polynices?

Antigone ‘s primary reason for wanting to bury Polynices is that it’s in accordance with divine law. Once someone dies, their body isn’t supposed to be just left to rot out in the streets; they must be buried according to the appropriate funeral rites.

Why can’t Polyneices be buried?

Creon also declared that Polyneices would not receive a proper burial because he committed treason against his own city. Creon punishes Antigone to death.

What does Sophocles think of Antigone about burial?

Their sister, Antigone – believes this act to contravene the much more important cultural, religious and social convention that burial rites should always be given to everyone – irrespective of their behaviour – in order to ensure that their soul makes it way safely through the underworld and that the gods are not …

Why did Antigone hang herself?

Antigone’s life, like her father Oedipus’s, is filled with grief and tragedy. When King Creon finds out, he becomes furious and orders Antigone to be walled up alive in a tomb. Rather than live in dishonor, Antigone sees it as her religious duty towards the gods and her brother to take her own life by hanging herself.

Why does Antigone feel it is her duty to bury Polyneices?

Antigone feels that it is her duty to bury Polyneices because he is her brother, and it was a sacred duty to bury the dead so that they could pass the river that encircles the kingdom of death. She disobeyed Creon ’s commandment, but followed the scared/religious laws.

Why does Antigone accept her fate in ‘Antigone’?

Aware of the kind of fate her family has been allotted, Antigone feels she has nothing to lose. The thought of death at Creon’s hands that so terrifies Ismene does not even faze Antigone, who looks forward to the glory of dying for her brother.

What is the tragedy of ‘ Antigone ‘?

Antigone is a tragedy because, following Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy, it imitates an action that has serious consequences. The play is about the ability or inability of a citizen to defy the wishes of the state and to prioritize one’s family over the state.

Does Ismene kill herself in “Antigone”?

No she doesn’t kill herself. She asks to be killed in solidarity with her sister Antigone. Antigone thinks that Ismene’s loyalty comes a little too late. The Chorus urges Creon to change his mind and, in the end, he decides not to kill her. I’m pretty sure she is still alive at the end of the play.