He was making a fair distinction between two brothers, one that is more or less in keeping with accepted practice." (x) "Creon had every reason to suppose that he was on safe ground in making this decree. It was common for traitors to have no burial on pain of death for anyone who did bury a traitor. Is Creon "sensible, fair-minded, public-spirited, as are many patriarchal figures." "He does not know how to listen to anyone he considers inferior" (vii) Thebes initially rejected him (more on this in the Bacchae). went over to the Persians in the wars against the Persian invading force in the early 5th centurty), Athens fought the Persians.Īthens welcomed Dionysios (the god of wine and the god of the Dionysia, at which the tragedies were performed) Thebes is an oligarchy and formerly a monarchy.Įven though the plays are set in the mythical past, they bear directly on contemporary issues:īoth are big regional powers and they periodically fight each other. There were several "Theban" plays at Athens. Sophocles' Antigone is about the burial of one brother, a native Theban, who is of course a traitor in the eyes of the other brother. Euripides' Suppliants is about Athens' role in securing the burial of the Argive dead after that battle for Thebes. The leaders of the attacking force were the "Seven against Thebes." The Thebans refused to allow burial of the dead.
The Thebans, including one of the pair of brothers Polyneices and Eteocles, defeated a force led by the other brother which included Argives. The background: similar to Euripides' Suppliants. We do not know the date of Antigone, but it is generally placed in 442/1. He also helped bring a new god to Athens, Asclepius (god of healing and doctors). He was one of the ten advisors who were chosen to help recover from the Sicilian disaster in 413. He also saw war and oligarchs ravage democracy and Athens. In addition, he saw and knew the Sophistic movement, with its secular teachings (from scepticism about gods to outright atheism, relativism, the power of speech to make power, law is just convention, there is no real morality). He also saw the rise of democracy and empire in Athens, as well as the plague and the Peloponnesian War. Sophocles lived from 495-405 BCE, so he could remember the battles of Salamis, Plataea and Mycale. Outsiders: A History of European Minorit.These notes are taken mainly from the introduction to Paul Woodruff's translation of Antigone, published by Hackett. Nigeria's Decades of Blood 1980-2002 Vol. Use the form below to search for any book of your choice The Bookshop Supply Services (Institutional and Library Supply) Bibliography Submission
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