The things you need to know before reading:

Antigone

(A comprehensive introduction to
the Greek tragedy!)
 Antigone FACTS:
• Written By Sophocles in or around 441b.c.
– One of only seven of his plays to survive. It is
estimated that he wrote over 125 in his
lifetime.

• Thought to be one of the first stories

written with a woman as a powerful figure.
 Issues in Antigone
• families torn apart by political differences
• gender bias
• the death penalty
• suicide
• CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
Why Greek plays are different from
other plays:
• Most plays are written and performed to
entertain an audience, however Greek plays
were written as part of a religious festival.
• To attend these plays was an act of worship, not
just for fun.
• Most people who attended the plays already
knew the story, because the plays were rewritten
about stories already told.
• Also, EVERYONE went to see these plays. They
were presented at annual festivals and judged.
 Cross-Dressers and PG13 Theater!
• Apparently the Greek playwrights never
put more than three actors on stage,
except in very small roles.

• No women appeared on stage, female

roles were played by men.

• Violence was also never shown on stage.

When somebody was about to die, they
would take that person to the back to "kill"
them and bring them back "dead."
 Props:
• There were several prop items commonly
used in Greek theatre:
– deus ex machina, a crane that gave the
impression of a flying actor
– ekeclema, a wheeled wagon used to bring
dead characters into view for the audience
– trap doors, or similar openings in the ground
to lift people onto the stage
– Pinakes, pictures hung into the scene to show
a scene's scenery
– Thyromata, more complex pictures built into
the second-level scene (3rd level from
ground)
 Setting for Antigone:
• Set in the mythical
past of ancient
Greece.
 Who is Oedipus?
He is drama!
• He was born to the King and Queen of Thebes, a city in
Greece.

• When he was born, a fortuneteller said that he would kill his

father and marry his mother, so his parents left him on a
mountain to die.

• Oedipus was rescued, and when he was a man, was traveling

and met another man which he killed (which turned out to be
his father). He went to Thebes, met the Queen (who was
really his mother) and married her. (He didn’t know he had
killed his father and married his mother!)

• Soon he realized what had really happened, his mother/wife

killed herself, and he stabbed his own eyes out.
 The basics to get you started:
• After Oedipus is persecuted (for killing his father and
marrying his mother), he leaves the throne of Thebes to
his two sons, Eteocles and Polyneices, who must take it
in turns to rule.

• Eteocles rules first but the two become enemies after

Eteocles refuses to give up the throne, and Polyneices is
exiled. He returns to attack. At the beginning of the play,
both brothers are dead, apparently killed by each other.

• The current ruler, Creon, has made a decree: Since

Polyneices fought against Thebes, he shall not be
buried. Meanwhile, Eteocles is to be buried with full
military honors.

• This is the start of the major conflict in Antigone.

Why is Polyneices not being buried
such a big deal?

• The Greeks believed that the spirit of a

dead person could only enter Hades on
after the body had been purified and
buried. If this was not done, the person
hovered at the gate of Hades, neither alive
nor completely dead. In other words, they
couldn’t R.I.P (rest in peace)!
 Quick FYI
• Hades is not like the
Christian Hell. Often you
hear them used
interchangeably;
however, in Greek
religion Hades had a
division for the “good”
and “bad.” Thus,
everyone went to Hades
(unless they were stuck
hovering at the gate)
 Why is Antigone significant?
• Women were not given powerful roles in
any type of literature, and this was one of
the first plays to present such a dominant
female role.
Important Characters!!
(And why you should care about
them, other than the fact that I
said they are important!)
 Antigone:
• The daughter and sister (yuck) of Oedipus.
• Upset that her brother has not been
buried.
• Engaged to Haemon
• The play’s protagonist.
 Creon:
• Oedipus’s brother-in-law. Antigone’s
uncle. Haemon’s father
• Becomes the ruler of Thebes once
Eteocles and Polyneices have been killed.
• Bossy, arrogant, and stubborn.
 Ismene:
• Antigone’s sister.
• Oedipus’s daughter.
 Eteocles and Polyneices
• The sons of Oedipus and Jocasta.
• Fought each other for the rule of Thebes.
• They kill each other.
• Eteocles was the ruler of Thebes and
Polyneices invaded to gain control.
• Polyneices is the one that Creon won’t
bury.
 Haemon:
• Creon’s son, who is engaged to marry
Antigone.
• (That makes him her cousin!)
 Family Tree
Creon *Jocasta & Laios

Haemon Oedipus & *Jocasta

Eteocles Polyneices Antigone Ismene

* Indicates the same person!

 Tiresias:
• A blind prophet who
advises Creon.
• Has lived life as both
a woman and a man.
• Blinded by the
Goddess, Hera, for
not agreeing with her
in an argument with
Zeus.
 Chorus :
– The Purpose of chorus was to act as a link
between the actors and the audience.
– They moved in unison and spoke in unison.
 Choragos:
• the head chorus member who could enter
the story as a character able to interact
with the characters of a play.
 What’s the point of reading it?
• To analyze your beliefs about family
loyalty,
• To identify instances of gender bias,
• To evaluate your opinions about the death
penalty,
• To teach you the idea of Civil
Disobedience and see it in the word
TODAY!
 Some of Mrs. Falati’s final thoughts about why
“Antigone” ROCKS!
• It’s set during Greek mythology and includes
cool characters like Tiresias (was a man AND a
woman AND predicts the future…need I say
more?)

• It has a power-house woman who stands up for

her family in even if it breaks the law.

• It’s a tragedy so people DIE!

 Journal Prompts
pick two and write half a page about each:

1. Why is it important to pay attention to the

truth?
2. Explain the importance of family, and the
lengths to which you would go to honor
your family.
3. Do you believe in fate, or do you believe
that people control their own destiny?
4. When you are faced with a problem,
what do you do to fix it?