Oedipus Rex, Antigone (both by Sophocles), and Medea (by Euripides) are Greek dramas; each of these dramas takes place in Ancient Greece, during 5th century B.C., and include these three significant points: a king’s fíat, revenge, and suicide, all of which influence the entirety of each play’s plot. Oedipus, the king of Thebes, proclaims he will locate and penalize Laius’s (previous king of Thebes) murderer; anyone who withholds information will be subjected to punishment. Creon, successor to the throne of Thebes, issues a decree stating whoever buries Polyneices will be publicly stoned. Creon, king of Corinth, mandates Medea into exile. Revenge provokes the gods to send a plague among the people of Thebes. Haemon (Creon’s son) commits suicide
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“Suicide is… retreat from life… when [someone] feels [he/she can] no longer… endure suffering in the present or pain in the future” (Crichton-Miller 1). Oedipus Rex and Medea each have one example of suicide; however, Antigone contains multiple instances of "taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally" (Merriam-Webster). Jocasta (Oedipus's wife) commits suicide after Oedipus begins to unearth his true identity, and she realizes the prophecy has been fulfilled. "... we saw the woman [Jocasta] hanging... in a twisted noose" (Sophocles Oedipus Rex 56). It was prophesied that the son born to Jocasta and Laius would eventually kill his father and marry his mother; in order to prevent this from coming true, Jocasta and Laius have their son's feet bound and have him brought to the mountains to die. Jocasta realizes as Oedipus continues to investigate the murder of Laius that Oedipus is the son that she thought was dead; she married her son. Jocasta cannot handle the reality of what has happened, so she commits suicide. In the Greek drama Antigone, three suicides occur; each suicide influences the next one. The first character to commit suicide is Antigone; she would rather die by her own hand than die as a result of starvation. When Haemon discovers Antigone’s body, he takes his own life to get revenge against his father; Haemon is betrothed to Antigone, and she dies because of his father’s decree. Haemon’s mother (Creon’s wife), Eurydice, is the last to take her life: “She [Eurydice] with a sharp-edged dagger in her heart lies at the altar” (Sophocles Antigone 50). After hearing of the death of her son, Eurydice takes her own life because she has nothing left to live for; her son committed suicide because of her husband's actions. Creon, king of Corinth, knows it was a mistake to agree to allow Medea to reside in Corinth for a single day before entering
“Suicide is… retreat from life… when [someone] feels [he/she can] no longer… endure suffering in the present or pain in the future” (Crichton-Miller 1). Oedipus Rex and Medea each have one example of suicide; however, Antigone contains multiple instances of "taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally" (Merriam-Webster). Jocasta (Oedipus's wife) commits suicide after Oedipus begins to unearth his true identity, and she realizes the prophecy has been fulfilled. "... we saw the woman [Jocasta] hanging... in a twisted noose" (Sophocles Oedipus Rex 56). It was prophesied that the son born to Jocasta and Laius would eventually kill his father and marry his mother; in order to prevent this from coming true, Jocasta and Laius have their son's feet bound and have him brought to the mountains to die. Jocasta realizes as Oedipus continues to investigate the murder of Laius that Oedipus is the son that she thought was dead; she married her son. Jocasta cannot handle the reality of what has happened, so she commits suicide. In the Greek drama Antigone, three suicides occur; each suicide influences the next one. The first character to commit suicide is Antigone; she would rather die by her own hand than die as a result of starvation. When Haemon discovers Antigone’s body, he takes his own life to get revenge against his father; Haemon is betrothed to Antigone, and she dies because of his father’s decree. Haemon’s mother (Creon’s wife), Eurydice, is the last to take her life: “She [Eurydice] with a sharp-edged dagger in her heart lies at the altar” (Sophocles Antigone 50). After hearing of the death of her son, Eurydice takes her own life because she has nothing left to live for; her son committed suicide because of her husband's actions. Creon, king of Corinth, knows it was a mistake to agree to allow Medea to reside in Corinth for a single day before entering