According to the online dictionary, a hero is a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal. According to myself, a hero is someone who is courageous and brave. A hero is someone who can take whatever talent, gift, personality, quality, and utilize it to help build others. A hero is somebody who puts themselves last and puts everything on the line for other people. Heroes are described all over in different aspects of literature and life, which is why I am choosing to discuss the ancient Greek drama Antigone and how I define her as heroic. At the beginning of Sophocles play, “Polynices and Eteocles (Antigone and Ismene’s brothers) kill each other in a dispute
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Loyalty is a big word when it comes to Antigone; she sacrifices her life in the name of family devotion and becomes a symbol of family loyalty and blood ties. When Antigone first pitched her idea of giving Polynices a proper burial, her sister Ismene disagreed. She created an entire argument to advise Antigone not to disobey Creon and the law. In the play she says, “No, no, we must remember we were born women, not meant to strive with men” (Fiero 92) and “To defy the State—I am not strong enough for that” (Fiero 92). This shows how weak Ismene was compared to Antigone and how much she feared Creon and the law. However, Antigone responds to Ismene, “He (Creon) has no right to keep me from my own. Do as you think best. As for me, I will burry him; and if I die for that, I am content” (Fiero 92). This quote shows Antigone’s strength. She is not afraid of men, death, or what anyone can and will do to her. She is loyal to her family and herself. She also demonstrates loyalty to the gods when she says, “You, if you wish, may dishonor the laws which the gods have established” (Fiero 92). Antigone could care less about the laws of man, represented by Creon and held the Gods divine laws more sacred. Which was further demonstrated when she appoints dust over Polynices’ …show more content…
A hero is someone who puts themselves last and is willing to put everything on the line for someone or something, and that’s exactly what Antigone displayed. She is such a noble and dignified person that the entire city stood behind her for what she believed it. In fact, Creon’s son, Haemon follows Antigone and feuds with his father to try and persuade him not to execute her. However, at the end of the story Antigone is sentenced to death. She accepts her punishment and knows deep in her heart that her actions should not be frowned upon and she has done nothing wrong. She demonstrates this by saying, “No; there is nothing shameful in piety to a brother” (Fiero 95). Antigone was a strong person who touched many lives of the people around her. People such as Haemon, who felt so strongly about Antigone and her logic for her actions that he committed such an act that reflected how essential she was to him; he took his own life. Antigone was so substantial that people were willing to die for her
Loyalty is a big word when it comes to Antigone; she sacrifices her life in the name of family devotion and becomes a symbol of family loyalty and blood ties. When Antigone first pitched her idea of giving Polynices a proper burial, her sister Ismene disagreed. She created an entire argument to advise Antigone not to disobey Creon and the law. In the play she says, “No, no, we must remember we were born women, not meant to strive with men” (Fiero 92) and “To defy the State—I am not strong enough for that” (Fiero 92). This shows how weak Ismene was compared to Antigone and how much she feared Creon and the law. However, Antigone responds to Ismene, “He (Creon) has no right to keep me from my own. Do as you think best. As for me, I will burry him; and if I die for that, I am content” (Fiero 92). This quote shows Antigone’s strength. She is not afraid of men, death, or what anyone can and will do to her. She is loyal to her family and herself. She also demonstrates loyalty to the gods when she says, “You, if you wish, may dishonor the laws which the gods have established” (Fiero 92). Antigone could care less about the laws of man, represented by Creon and held the Gods divine laws more sacred. Which was further demonstrated when she appoints dust over Polynices’ …show more content…
A hero is someone who puts themselves last and is willing to put everything on the line for someone or something, and that’s exactly what Antigone displayed. She is such a noble and dignified person that the entire city stood behind her for what she believed it. In fact, Creon’s son, Haemon follows Antigone and feuds with his father to try and persuade him not to execute her. However, at the end of the story Antigone is sentenced to death. She accepts her punishment and knows deep in her heart that her actions should not be frowned upon and she has done nothing wrong. She demonstrates this by saying, “No; there is nothing shameful in piety to a brother” (Fiero 95). Antigone was a strong person who touched many lives of the people around her. People such as Haemon, who felt so strongly about Antigone and her logic for her actions that he committed such an act that reflected how essential she was to him; he took his own life. Antigone was so substantial that people were willing to die for her