Sophocles

In Sophocles Electra one might find many different aspects of human experience, mainly because there are many different things at play. Love, lust, betrayal, fidelity, hope, morality and finally the experience which stands out most Revenge. Ah yes revenge, a very powerful human experience that controls and over comes many of the main characters that are found in the texts we read. Not only do we find this in the texts we read but also in our everyday life, everyday people, politician or government heads all of these people can be motivated by revenge. Whether it be holding a grudge from a past war, a past political campaign or a past wrong all of these people have something in common they all want justice for what they believe is a past wrong…

When the question was asked by E.R. Dodds saying, “In what sense, if any, does the Oedipus Rex attempt to justify the ways of God to man?” The candidates’ answers fell into three groups. The first group said how you get what you deserve, saying how Oedipus was not a good man and deserved his punishment. The second group said that the play was a “tragedy of destiny” because the play proves that no man has free will because they are just puppets in the gods show. The third group said that…

that can define how and why a person acts. In Sophocles’ Antigone, the boundaries of loyalty are tested in every degree—the duty to one’s state versus the duty to family and the Gods. In a patriarchal society dominated by a tyrannical ruler and unjust laws, a young woman decides to pay the ultimate price for what she believes. Antigone buries her brother Polyneices against Creon’s decree because of her loyalty. In this play, the different aspects of loyalty to religion, state and family are…

Sophocles’ plays Oedipus Rex and Antigone present the Greek city state of Thebes in turmoil as citizens attempt to deal with the problems created by their leaders’ questionable actions and decisions. The chorus of Antigone presents the concepts of paternalism and anarchy in opposition in order to depict Antigone as ironically trapped between the edicts of two paternal figures: her uncle the king Creon and the ultimate father--Zeus. Throughout Antigone, Sophocles establishes anarchy as a…

a trilogy written by Sophocles probably before 441 BC. The tragedy took place in Thebes city, right after the end of a war that doomed the city. The dispute mainly was between the king of the city Creon and his niece Antigone, when she disobeyed his orders and went on with burying her brother. The goal behind Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone was to show which matters are more important obeying the laws of the city or honoring the laws of gods and family. Antigone and her sister get back to the city…

Sophocles, one of the three Greek tragedians whose plays survived, notably stated that “There is no witness so terrible, no accuser so powerful as conscience which dwells within us.” Despite living nearly 2,500 years ago, his quotes still live on. During his time, Sophocles was the most celebrated playwright in the dramatical competitions that took place in Athens. This quote can be powerful when deciphered, and therefore, appears in many self-reflective readings. Sophocles’ quote means that…

philosophy that a good and correct tragedy must have specific elements incorporated into these parts. It is by these elements that Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus is one of the best examples of a tragedy writing piece. According to Aristotle, the most important part of a poem is the plot. More specifically, Aristotle provides insight on three elements that a literary piece must contain to be considered in his definition of a tragedy. One of the elements that Aristotle finds is key to the formation…

King, Jr. and Sophocles both had the same idea of selfishness causing destruction Sophocles just wrote a play displaying that idea instead of saying it. In Antigone the famous play written by Sophocles, Antigone and her sister Ismene also Oedipus’s children decide to return to Thebes with the intention of helping their brothers, Eteocles and Polynices to avoid the fate that displays they will kill each other in a battle for the throne of Thebes. But upon her arrival in Thebes, Antigone learns…

The nature of power is not only reflected in Sophocles’ play, Antigone, but also embodied by one of the main characters of the play, Creon. As newly anointed sovereign of the state of Thebes, Creon has many reasons to seek to establish himself as a powerful leader. Creon wants to maintain the peace throughout his recently war-ravaged country, ensuring that there is little resistance to his form of government. The main form of resistance to Creon revolves around the main conflict of the story.…

In the play, Antigone, Sophocles develops Creon as a tragic hero by establishing his hubristic nature, in order to emphasize how excessive pride and arrogance results in the tragic downfall of an individual. When the reader is first introduced to Creon, his overly arrogant nature is evident through his interactions with others. After arresting Antigone and sentencing her to death, Haimon goes to his father and implores him to free his fiancee. Creon, in response to his son, justifies his…