Sophocles The King And Antigone Essay - 1566 Words

Sophocles wrote about kings. Mythological, or at least long dead, the regal protagonists of fraction of Sophocles’ surviving work embody the political realities of the ancients’ time. By examining and analyzing the origins and nature of kingship in Sophocles, one can glean a sliver of insight into a civilization that has all but disappeared. Sophocles’s kings were great human leaders, reaching their position through impressive deeds or standing in the community. Although they wielded great power and were dispensers of justice, ultimately, they answered to the gods and were beholden to divine power. The gods oversaw severe punishments for kings that defied them or proved wanting in any way. Both Oedipus the King and Antigone demonstrate how Sophocles’ kings rose to their position on a meritocratic basis, tasked with dispensing justice and protecting their community, and answered to the gods in the end. To understand the nature of kingship in Sophocles†™ day, the first task is to determine the origins of the king’s power and position. One must analyze how a community selects a king to reign over them, or what makes an individual worthy of holding the title of king. Following from their origins, the king’s power must be examined next. The limits of the power, the source of power, and what motivates a king to use his power all must be determined. Next, an inquiry will follow into how kings use their power, how they determine their duty, and who provides them with tasks thatShow MoreRelatedAntigone, By Sophocles, The King And Oedipus1465 Words   |  6 PagesSophocles’, The Theban Plays, takes place during the intellectual experiments in the Age of Enlightenment in Greece. The Theban Plays is dramatic literature consisting of a trilogy of plays: Oedipus the King, Oedipus of Colonus and Antigone. Oedipus the King and Oedipus of Colonus were written in a very male-focused manner. Throughout these plays, Sophocle s’ main characters and main plots are written around Oedipus, Creon, Polynices, Tiresias, Theseus and very few spotlight is given to the femaleRead MoreOedipus as King of Thebes: Antigone by Sophocles1380 Words   |  6 Pagesof pride is the centers piece of man’s perpetual role in his own destruction. This is illustrated by various characters’ such as Creon in Antigone by Sophocles, Oedipus in Oedipus the King by Sophocles and the Trojans in the Aeneid by Virgil. In the Antigone we see the consequence of one’s pride and desire for power take hold, when Creon decides to punish Antigone for disobeying the law off the land and proving Polynices with a burial. The disregard for any form of sympathy would eventually come toRead MoreComparison Of Oedipus The King And Antigone By Sophocles944 Words   |  4 PagesMany lessons can be learned from Sophocles plays Oedipus the King and Antigone. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus caused his fate to become real by runn ing from it. He killed his father and made love to his mother even though he had no idea who they were he was still punished. He passed the punishment of his sins to the rest of his family when he gouged out his eyeballs and banished himself from the city. In Antigone Oedipus’s sons killed each other in battle over the throne and helped Creon take overRead MoreThe Tragic Heroes Of Sophocles Oedipus The King And Antigone1275 Words   |  6 Pagesis one of the most hidden but controlling characteristics one may have. It carves the path for many plays and stories and is usually not recognized until a situation is too late to fix. This is represented in the two plays Oedipus the King and Antigone by Sophocles. Oedipus and Creon, the two the tragic heroes, have ignorance built up inside of them, though both are different. They then both then have realisation of their blindness by self-love, either by themselves or others. It is only two lateRead MoreContrast Between Oedipus the King and Antigone by Sophocles744 Words   |  3 PagesContrast between Oedipus the King and Antigone Sophocles, a famous and renowned Greek dramatist, is the playwright to both the play Oedipus the King and Antigone. Along with Antigone and Oedipus Sophocles had also wrote Electra and Fete. Sophocles wrote many Greek tragedies which are plays in which the main character in the play suffers a tragedy due to some flaw of theirs. An example would be how Oedipus (thinking he is defying a prophecy) murders his father and weds his mother. His flaw was himRead MoreAnalysis Of Sophocles Antigone, Creon, The King Of Thebes1280 Words   |  6 Pagesthem† (Sophocles 222). In Sophocles’ tragedy â€Å"Antigone†, Creon, the obstinate king of Thebes, embodies the stereotypical monarch. Ancient Athens, where Sophocles called home, used plays to educate their audience and persuade them to think a certain way; thus, Sophocles wrote of the struggle between Creon, and his son, Haimon, from the perspective of a member if a democratic government. Sophocles sought to influence his a udiences political beliefs by creating the character Creon, the King of Thebes’Read MoreEssay about Tragedy in Sophocles Oedipus The King and Antigone 1403 Words   |  6 PagesTragedy in Sophocles Oedipus The King and Antigone The Greeks considered tragedy the greatest form for literature.   However, the tragic ends for the characters were not ordained or set by fate, but rather caused by certain characteristics belonging to that person.   Such is the case with the characters of Sophocles plays Oedipus the King and Antigone.   Oedipus from King Oedipus, and Antigone and Creon from Antigone posses characteristics, especially pride, that caused their tragic ends.   AsRead More Comparing Female Characters in Euripides Medea and Sophocles Oedipus the King and Antigone1555 Words   |  7 PagesComparing Female Characters in Euripides Medea and Sophocles Oedipus the King and Antigone      Ã‚  Ã‚   In the times of the ancient Greeks, women had an unpretentious role. They were expected to do take on the accepted role of a woman.   In most cases, a womans role is restricted to bearing young, raising children, and housework. In Sophocles Oedipus   the King, Antigone, and Medea, the dominant female characters impacted upon men with authority and political power.   It is Read MoreThe Prevailing Message Throughout Sophocles Antigone And King s Letter From Birmingham Jail1251 Words   |  6 Pagesprevailing message throughout Sophocles’ Antigone and King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is that civil disobedience serves the purpose of fighting and correcting injustice in situations where systemic breaks in adherence to natural law occurs. Injustice here as used here is not to be synonymous with things that are simply unlawful or unfair, but instead takes on a deeper and more specific definition pertaining to the natural moral codes that all laws, as argued by King and Antigone, ought to be based uponRead MoreAntigone By Sophocles Antigone1478 Words   |  6 PagesThroughout Antigone, Antigone is a presented as a strong woman who is both dedicated to her family and her community. That said, there is much conflict between these two dedications. In this paper, I will give examples of Antigone’s different individual responsibilities and her philosophies and explain how those conflict with the commitment that she is to have to her community and indirectly, her king. Ultimately, I will argue that Sophocles demonstrated his values of family, the way of the gods