Antigone part2 pg (765-783)

1. Antigone part2pg (765-783) Shelby Travis kailey

2. Characters Antigone-daughter of Oedipus Ismene-Daughter of Oedipus Chorus-Theban Elders Leader-(of the Chorus) Kreon-King of Thebes, uncle of Antigone and Ismene Guard Kreon’s men-(silent) Haimon-Son of Kreon Tiresias-Prophet of Thebes Lad(silent) Messenger Eurydike-Wife of Kreon

3. Weekly reading notes • General; • Greek drama. • Focuses on actions of a daughter of Oedipus the King. • Produced shortly before 441BC. • Question of who/what is often brought up in this play. • The role of family and community in the affairs of man is also examined. • Kreon is more than a mere tyrant, he is also a patriotic king. • Antigone was more than a mere heroine. She embodied the strong questions of moral imperatives. • Both sides are arguing the same things, just have different definitions of those things

4. Antigone reading notes overview • The days right after Polyneikes and Eteokles murder each other. • Kreon seized control of the city. • The King of Thebes, Kreon, had complete control. • Antigone seemed crazy for defying the king.  • Basically everyone should listen to the gods, or face the consequences of their wrath. Not even a king is immune to them. Antigone knew that well enough, if only Kreon did. • Quote; • "Never fail to respect the gods, for the huge claims of proud men are always hugely punished- by blows that, as the proud grow old, pound wisdom through their minds."~ Leader

5. Antigone summary • Haimon respects his father, but thinks that he is punishing Antigone too strictly. • Hamion thinks his dad has too much power in the city and “owns” it. • Hamion threatens that if Antigone is killed someone else will also die. • Kreon wants his son to watch while they kill his wife to be(Antigone). • At this, Hamion “runs away”. • Kreon says he will bury Antigone alive. • I think it is super weird that Antigone says she would not have done the same(defined the king to honor her brothers corpse) for her child or husband-because they could be replaced.

6. Antigone summary cont’d • Tiresias tells Kreon that the Gods are going to curse him for not burring Polynices and punishing Antigone(and essentially being a greedy person). • Kreon decides to undo his wrong doing. • Antigone was found in the tomb, hung by the neck. • (DID SHE HANG HERSELF, DID HAMION KILL HER, OR DID KREON KILL HER)??? • Hamion tried to stab his father but missed, then took his own life. • Hamions mom, Eurydice, kills herself because she was so sad about her son. • When she killed herself she cursed her husband because of his terrible pride. • Kreon prays for his own death-he realizes all the deaths are his fault.

7. Discussion • Compare the concepts of duty and obligation as depicted in Antigone and Bhagavad-Gita. What similarities and differences are there? Are any of the ideas unique to these cultures, or can you see evidence of similar ideas in our society? • Duty- the binding or obligatory force of something that is morally or legally right; moral or legal obligation. • Obligation-something that is done or is to be done for such reasons • Someone's duty seems more prideful and more about morals while an obligation is to do something they are told or expected to do • Antigone and her sister come home to try and save their brothers, they are not told or expected to do it there for it is a duty. When they arrive they see that their brothers are dead already and one of their brothers , Eteocles, has had a proper burial but there is a law forbidding them from burying them their other brother, Polyneices, made by their uncle Kreon who had inherited the throne. The obligation here would be for Antigone to not bury her brother, but because of her sense of duty and morals Antigone burys him anyway and is imprissoned for it and kills herself. This may be to not sit in imprisonment or could be looked at as an her having an obligation/duty to kill herself for breaking the law.