17: Antigone Flashcards
How does Creon become King of Thebes
- From Sophocles’ Antigone
- Antigone, daughter of Oedipus
- Polyneices and Eteocles, her brothers, die fighting for the throne
- Creon, uncle of antigone becomes the King of Thebes
- Creon’s Edict is that Polyneices has no burial because he is a traitor and Eteocles gets fullf uneral because he is a patriot
Defiant Antigone and polarities
Antigone has a symbolic burial for Polyneices, but Creon’s edict defies divine, unwritten laws so Antigone is imprisoned without food and water. She hangs herself.
Polarities:
* friends v enemies
* male v female
* public v private
Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus
Blind Oedipus goes to Colonus, led by his daughter Antigone. Colonians reject him deems him guilty but if Theseus absolves him he is innocent
What is the Hero Cult of Oedipus and from what book
- Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus
- Delphic Oracle said that the city possessing Oedipus’ Bones cannot be taken
- Oedipus disappears into Grrove of Eumenides aka Erinyes aka Furies
Who are the sons of Oedipus (that are important) and their story
- Eteocles and Polyneices are cursed by Oedipus. Kingdom divided and there are mutual slaughter
- Quarrel over succession
- Eteocles: King of Thebes
- Polyneices: exiled from Thebes
Polyneices’ exile
- Polyneices in exile at Argos
- Takes Harmonia’s robe and necklace for a bribe to win over Allies
- With 6 others, he declares war on Thebes (The Seven Against Thebes)
–> Adrastus: King of Argos
–> Tydeus: Exiled from Arcadia
What happened at the Atack on Thebes, who prophesized and what epic?
- attack on Thebes fails prophesized by seer Tiresias
- 7 hereos on each side at 7 gates
- Eteocles vs Polyneices fight and fulfill Oedipus’ curse “when the gods evil, you can’t escape their gift”
- Silver Latin Epic: Thebaid by poet Statius
Who were the survivors in the seven against thebes fight
- Amphiaraus: a seer was later swallowed up by the earth and becomes chthonic cult hero
- Adrastus: saved by divine steed, Arion, who is the offspring of Poseidon and Demeter
What happens after Polyneices and Eteocles Died adnf rom what book and what polarities
- From Sophocles’ Antigone
- Cren, the uncle of Antigone, becomes King of Thebes
- Creons’ Edict is that Polyneices was the traitor so no burial and Eteocles was the patriot so full funeral honors
- Antigone defies and has a burial of POlyneices so she is imprisoned without food and water and commits suicide by hanging
- Polarities:
friends vs enemies
male vs female
public vs private
Who is Tiresias and what happened to him
- Tiresias is a Theban Seer
- he strikes 2 snakes copulating and is changed into a woman for 7 years
- Jupiter’s questions:
Who derives more pleasure from sex?
T: women (agreeing with Jupiter) - Juno strikes Tiresias blind
- Jupiter grants him gift of prophecy
2nd version of Tiresias’ blindness
- saw Athena and Chariclo bathing in Hippocrene, a fountain on Mt. Helicon
- Athena deprives him of sight and gives him gift of 2nd sight
- lived 7 generations: appears in Homers Odyssey, Euripides’ Bacchae, Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus and Antigone
