Antigone Flashcards
What is Antigone’s Harmatia?
Her fixation on martyrdom and personal honour leads her to death
What is Creon’s Harmatia ?
Dictatorial obsession for Polis law leads to destruction of Oikos
He has an inflexible attitude towards authority
How is Antigone hubristic?
Excessive desire for glory causes her to shun Ismene
Transgressive in viewing herself as the bride of death and comparing herself to divine figures like Niobe
How is Creon hubristic?
He conflates law of polis with divine law
He is excessive in tyrannical use of power
What is the Peripeteia in Antigone?
Teiresias prophesies imminent destruction of Oikos and informs Creon
What is the Anagnorisis?
Creon laments that he is responsible for the deaths of Antigone, Haemon and Eurydice
What is the Agon ?
Antigone argues that she was justified in defending divine laws of burial
Creon argues that this was not justified we the Gods don’t value traitors
Who is Tiresias?
Blind prophet who prompts Creon’s Anagnorisis
What happens in the prologue?
Antigone asks for ismene’s help in burying Polynices. Ismene refuses and Antigone rejects her
Antigone tells Ismene of the emergency decree
What is the emergency decree?
New law made by Creon
Polynices is not allowed to be buried or mourned
Punishment is being stoned to death
Why does Antigone want want to bury Polynices (4)
Divine law dictates corpses should be buried
Family ties and loyalty to brother
To redeem polluted Oikos
GLORY
Why does Ismene not want to help Antigone?
She does not want to break state law
She stresses that they are only women
She is confined by patriarchal values
How does Antigone reject Ismene in the prologue?
She says even if Ismene changes her mind she does not want her help
She will hate her for her silence
What does Ismene say to show she is crushed by the Patriarchy?
“We must submit in this and things still worse”
What does Antigone say in the prologue about glory?
“I will suffer nothing as great as death without glory”
What happens in the parados?
The chorus thank the gods Polynices is defeated and they want to celebrate
Metaphor of Polynices
“Eagle screaming winging havoc over the land”
What happens in episode 1? (6)
Creon presents his ethos
1) you are nothing if you put personal relationships before the state
2) leaders should not be Afraid of implementing laws. If he does be is worthless
He stresses the need for loyalty from the chorus
They react with a tentative “I suppose”
He tells of what he will do to Polynices
Sentry enters and says body has been buried.
Leader of the chorus questions whether it could be the work of the gods
Creon gets mad and threatens sentry with death and torture
Who are the chorus
12-15 old citizens of Thebes
Why does Creon not bury Polynices ?
State law
To set an example to citizens to consolidate and showcase his power
How is Creon excessively paranoid ?
He threatens the sentry with torture and RAHHH
He assumes he has been bribed
How does the sentry reveal Creon’s Harmatia?
“It’s terrible when the one who does the judging judges all wrong”
What happens in the first stasimon?
The chorus sing an ode to man
They stress that people who live by the god’s laws and the state laws are the happiest
This relates to the two extremes of Antigone and Creon
What happens in episode 2
Antigone is brought before Creon and confesses she buried her brother. She was found trying to bury her brother again
Creon and Antigone engage in an Agon
Ismene claims she helped but Antigone rejects her
What evidence do we get in episode 2 that Antigone buried Polynices for personal glory
She was found by the body. She went back deliberately to be caught to get glory. She had already buried him.
She rejects the help of Ismene to have all the glory herself
What happens in the second stasimon?
Chorus reflect on terrible fate of Antigone and the divine curse of Oikos
Why does Ismene say she did it as well in episode 2?
To die with her sister
What form was the Agon in?
Stichomythia
What happens in episode 3?
Haemon argues with his father as he loves Antigone
Creon decrees that Antigone be entombed alive in a cave
Why is Creon sentencing Antigone to death ironic
Reverse polis of polis law!
Doesn’t bury the dead but will bury people alive
How does Haemon try to sweet talk Creon?
Says the people think Antigone should be rewarded not punished
He tries to tell him to relax and change his mind
Why is there a communication breakdown between Haemon and Creon?
Creon does not understand Haemon
He takes his declaration of love for Antigone as a threat
“Then she will die… But her death will take another”
How does Creon demand obedience from Haemon?
Are you angry or do you love me no matter what I do
Subordinate to your father’s will in every way
What happens in the third stasimon?
Chorus sing about the power of love and how it drives people mad
What happens in episode 4?
Antigone is brought out and laments her fate
She says “look at me”
-wants to be seen as a martyr
says she is going to wed the Lord of the dark waters and compares herself to Niobe who was turned to a rock
Chorus remind Antigone of being hubristic !
What happens in the fourth stasimon?
Chorus compare Antigone’s fate and imprisonment to Danae, Lycurgus and Cleopatra
What happens in episode 5?
Tiresias the blind prophet tells Creon he has made a mistake
“No birds dry out an omen clear and true”
Creon is resistant
-says he will never bury the body not even if Zeus’ Eagles rip the corpse
TRANSGRESSIVE
- he then gets paranoid and says Tiresias is doing this for money and has been bribed
Tiresias says great hatred rises against Creon
Creon then agrees to get Antigone out of the tomb
What happens in the fifth stasimon?
Chorus invoke the God who protects Thebes -Dionysus
What happens in the exodus ?
Messenger reveals Antigone killed herself
Haemon clung to her and killed himself
It then reveals Eurydice killed herself and cursed creon
Creon has an Anagnorisis
“All the guilt is mine… I admit it all”
