Oikos are the unwritten laws, connected with the moral sense of humans. They are the religious values of the family, dominated and represented by female characters. In contrary, Polis is referred to as the man-made laws and religious values of the city, dominated and represented by male characters. In Sophocles’ “Antigone”, Creon is the representation of Polis while his niece, Antigone, is representing oikos. In Aeschylus’s “Agamemnon” also the tyrant king, Agamemnon, is the depiction of polis and his wife, Clytaemestra is the opposition to this depiction. Both tragedies center around the conflict between oikos and Polis and its consequences. In an oikos-based society, the family is the most important element of human life. Therefore any
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By stating this, Creon shows his disagreement with Polyneices’ act of invading the city and even though Polyneices is Creon’s niece, the king choses polis over oikos and decides not to give him the right of being buried as everybody else. In contrary, Antigone who still feels loyal to her own family and brother (her philos), decides to confront Creon and bury Polyneices, accepting all the consequences of her action. She is the depiction of oikos and female values inspired by the nature of family love and blood relation. The divergence between the oikos and polis is the key conflict of the tragedy. Although Antigone and Creon live in the same society and come from the same background, they are in different social situations. Antigone is a Greek woman and Greek women of those times were assigned the rule of oikos. In this play, she takes her role as a woman in the patriarchal society seriously; hence she illustrates the religious values of family. As in the part of the text where she says to Ismene, her sister,“My brother and yours, though you may wish he were not, I never shall be found to be his traitor”(45-47), not only she does not consider Polyneices an enemy but also she feels loyal towards him. …show more content…
Agamemnon embodies polis and protects religious values of his city. He is rational with the sufficient level of pride to sacrifice his own daughter to the gods and prioritize polis over oikos. As in part of the text where he says“ I take my way with, greeting to the gods within who sent me forth, and who have brought me home once more. My prize was conquest; may it never fail again”(852-855), he shows his satisfaction with his victory and expresses no regret or agony about sacrificing his own child. On the other hand Clytaemestra, Agamemnon’s wife, stands against his action and plans his death. She is the representation of oikos in this play, and protects the religious values of her family and follows her motherhood instincts. As a woman in the patriarch society of that time who has lost her child to male power, she plans to kill the king secretly. In comparison with Antigone, she acts in a smarter way that does not end in her death. She seeks help from Aegisthus to achieve her goal. She somehow uses the help of a male character, embodying male values, to fight with the king and his polis-based ideology. As she murders Agamemnon, she considers this act as the justice of their daughter’s death, stating this in the part of the text where she says
By stating this, Creon shows his disagreement with Polyneices’ act of invading the city and even though Polyneices is Creon’s niece, the king choses polis over oikos and decides not to give him the right of being buried as everybody else. In contrary, Antigone who still feels loyal to her own family and brother (her philos), decides to confront Creon and bury Polyneices, accepting all the consequences of her action. She is the depiction of oikos and female values inspired by the nature of family love and blood relation. The divergence between the oikos and polis is the key conflict of the tragedy. Although Antigone and Creon live in the same society and come from the same background, they are in different social situations. Antigone is a Greek woman and Greek women of those times were assigned the rule of oikos. In this play, she takes her role as a woman in the patriarchal society seriously; hence she illustrates the religious values of family. As in the part of the text where she says to Ismene, her sister,“My brother and yours, though you may wish he were not, I never shall be found to be his traitor”(45-47), not only she does not consider Polyneices an enemy but also she feels loyal towards him. …show more content…
Agamemnon embodies polis and protects religious values of his city. He is rational with the sufficient level of pride to sacrifice his own daughter to the gods and prioritize polis over oikos. As in part of the text where he says“ I take my way with, greeting to the gods within who sent me forth, and who have brought me home once more. My prize was conquest; may it never fail again”(852-855), he shows his satisfaction with his victory and expresses no regret or agony about sacrificing his own child. On the other hand Clytaemestra, Agamemnon’s wife, stands against his action and plans his death. She is the representation of oikos in this play, and protects the religious values of her family and follows her motherhood instincts. As a woman in the patriarch society of that time who has lost her child to male power, she plans to kill the king secretly. In comparison with Antigone, she acts in a smarter way that does not end in her death. She seeks help from Aegisthus to achieve her goal. She somehow uses the help of a male character, embodying male values, to fight with the king and his polis-based ideology. As she murders Agamemnon, she considers this act as the justice of their daughter’s death, stating this in the part of the text where she says