Sophocles' Antigone Study Guide

Setting, Dramatis Personae, and Antecedent Curse

• Setting of the Play:
  • Location: Before the Palace of Creon, King of Thebes.
  • Architectural Features: A central double door flanked by two lateral doors. A raised platform extends the entire length of the palace façade, with three steps leading down into the "orchestra" (the chorus-ground).
  • Time: Dawn of the day immediately following the repulse of the Argive army's assault on Thebes.
• Dramatis Personae:
  • Antigone: Daughter of the late King Oedipus and Iocaste; sister to Ismene, Polyneices, and Eteocles.
  • Ismene: Sister of Antigone, who initially refuses to assist in defying Creon's edict.
  • Creon: King of Thebes, brother of Iocaste, uncle to Antigone, Ismene, Polyneices, and Eteocles.
  • Haimon: Son of Creon and Eurydice; betrothed to Antigone.
  • Eurydice: Queen of Thebes and wife of Creon.
  • Teiresias: A blind prophet of Thebes.
  • A Sentry: A guard posted to watch over the unburied body of Polyneices.
  • A Messenger: Reports the deaths of Antigone and Haimon.
  • Chorus: A council of Theban Elders.
  • Choragos: The leader of the Chorus.
• The Antecedent Mythological Background (The Curse on Oedipus):
  • Oedipus, former King of Thebes, unknowingly killed his father, Laios, and married his mother, Iocaste.
  • Upon discovering these abominations, Oedipus gouged out his own eyes and went into self-imposed exile from Thebes.
  • His twin sons, Eteocles and Polyneices, quarreled over the throne. Eteocles drove Polyneices out of Thebes.
  • Polyneices fled to Argos, raised an army (the Argive army), and launched a war against his native city to reclaim power.
  • In the resulting clash, the two brothers fought face-to-face and killed each other in a single hour of combat.
  • Upon their deaths, Creon, as the closest living male relative (next in blood), assumed absolute kingship over Thebes.

Prologue: The Conflict Between Divine Law and State Edict

• Antigone's Disclosure of Creon's Decree:
  • Antigone summons Ismene outside the central palace doors at dawn to speak privately.
  • Creon has commanded that Eteocles be buried with full military honors and a proper soldier's funeral, as fit for a hero.
  • Conversely, Creon decreed that Polyneices—who fought against his home city—must lie unburied on the open plain, untouched and unmourned, left as food for scavenging dogs and carrion birds.
  • Penalty for Disobedience: Public stoning to death in the city square.
• The Contrast in Sisterly Ideologies:
  • Antigone's Stance:
  • Views Creon's law as an offense against her family and the divine laws governing the dead.
  • Declares her intention to bury Polyneices herself, asserting that it is a "holy crime."
  • Believes the dead demand loyalty far longer than the living, as death is eternal.
  • Prefers death with honor over living a life marked by dishonor and betrayal of divine obligations.
  • Ismene's Stance:
  • Recalls the devastating history of their family: Oedipus dying hated after gouging his eyes out, Iocaste hanging herself with twisted cords, and their two brothers dying in mutual slaughter.
  • Emphasizes their status as women, asserting that women cannot fight against men or defy those in power.
  • Argues that they must submit to the law made for the public good and begs the dead for forgiveness, concluding that meddling beyond one's power is dangerous and unwise.
• The Escalation of Character Division:
  • Antigone rejects Ismene's help, stating she would no longer accept her assistance even if requested later.
  • When Ismene promises to keep Antigone's plan a secret, Antigone commands her to shout it to everyone, predicting that Ismene will be hated even more if her prior knowledge comes to light.
  • Ismene exits into the palace while Antigone departs to perform the burial rites.

Parodos: Victory of Thebes Over the Argive Invasion

• Poetic Recounting of the Battle:
  • The Chorus celebrates the dawn breaking over "Thebes of the Seven Gates" and the waters of Dirce's stream.
  • Polyneices is metaphorically depicted as a wild, screaming eagle hovering over the land with snowy wings, shields, and crested helmets.
  • The Argive military surrounded the city's seven gates in a yawning ring with hungry spears.
  • Before the enemy could sate their jaws with Theban blood or burn the city towers with pine fire, Thebes rose like a dragon behind them, driving them back in terror.
• Divine Intervention and Fate of the Combatants:
  • Zeus (God) utterly detests bragging tongues and struck down the swaggering Argive attackers with thunderbolts as they scaled the walls.
  • An Argive soldier holding a flaming torch fell from the ramparts to the earth below.
  • Seven Argive captains yielded their armor at the seven gates to the god of war.
  • Eteocles and Polyneices clashed in single combat, mirroring each other's violent deaths.
  • The Chorus calls for night-long celebrations, dancing, and hymns of victory across Theban temples.

Scene I: Creon's Governance Philosophy and the First Report

• Creon's Address on Regal Authority:
  • Creon compares Thebes to a "Ship of State" that has safely reached harbor after violent storms through heavenly guidance.
  • He outlines his core political principles:
  • A leader who fears taking the best course for the State out of hesitation is contemptible.
  • Anyone who places private friendship above the public welfare is worthless.
  • True personal friendships cannot exist if they risk destroying the security of the State.
  • Reaffirms his official edict regarding the sons of Oedipus:
  • Eteocles: Hero's burial with full ceremonial rites.
  • Polyneices: Left to rot on the plain, denied all prayer and burial, exposed to birds and dogs.
  • The Choragos submits to Creon's authority, acknowledging his right to enforce any law over the living and the dead.
• Arrival and Trepidation of the Sentry:
  • The Sentry arrives out of breath, not from running, but from stopping repeatedly to deliberate whether to flee or face the King.
  • Reports that someone has performed a symbolic burial on Polyneices' body by sprinkling light dust over the corpse ("just enough for the ghost's peace") and pouring no liquid, leaving no trace of digging or wagon wheels.
  • No wild animals or dogs had touched the body.
  • The guards accused one another, almost coming to blows. They offered to hold hot iron, walk through fire, and swear by the gods that they were innocent and had no knowledge of the perpetrator.
  • They threw dice to decide who would deliver the bad news to Creon; the Sentry lost the toss.
• Creon's Reaction and Conspiracy Theory:
  • The Choragos asks if the burial could be an act of the gods.
  • Creon flies into a rage, calling the Choragos