Sophocles Essays

12th Grade

Antigone

Antigone, the title character of Sophocles’ Antigone, faces the moral dilemma of whether to honor divine or mortal laws. While King Creon has decreed “no one shall bury [Polyneices],” the laws of the Gods dictate that all corpses must be buried...

College

Antigone

Through the many tales of heroic deeds that have been told over the centuries, a picture has been painted as to the appearance and interpretation of the archetypical character of the hero. This character has been portrayed as a masculine figure...

12th Grade

Antigone

Though it was written over two millennia ago, Sophocles’ Antigone features one of the preeminent symbols of female defiance in its title character. The play centers on the exploits of Antigone as she openly goes against the king’s decree in the...

College

Antigone

What happens when pride takes control of a human? In the plays Oedipus Rex and Antigone, Sophocles paints a dismal picture of what happens, where pride is depicted as both an obstruction to sight and an obstruction to hearing. According to...

12th Grade

Antigone

In the play Antigone, Creon, the demonic king of Thebes, seems extremely evil and cold-hearted and wants to kill his niece for an act that is more heroic than a crime. He is stern and seems extremely heartless. But when examined closer, Creon may...

11th Grade

Antigone

The influence of the gods is often seen in Greek literature. Civil law and divine law were important ideals that cause opposition when they are juxtaposed. In the Greek tragedy Antigone by Sophocles, the juxtaposition of civil law and divine law...

College

Antigone

Greek tragedy played a large role in ancient Athenian culture. Every year, Athenians would gather together for the Dionysia, a festival to the god Dionysus. During this festival, plays from prominent poets would be performed in competition with...

12th Grade

Antigone

Often, when we think of the word justice, legality comes to mind. Although justice is found in almost all laws, it is “exhausted in none” (Vecchio 176). I believe legality and justice are not necessarily synonymous for justice does not exist...

College

Oedipus Rex or Oedipus the King

The crimes that Oedipus and Socrates are accused of in Oedipus the King by Sophocles and The Apology by Plato are intertwined with the boundaries society sets for its citizens in regard to laws that are just or injust. Crossing one of these set...

Antigone

The idea of hubris is monumental in a plethora of Greek mythological works. In many ways the excessive pride of certain characters fuels their own destruction. This is certainly true with respect to the characters of Pentheus, Antigone, and...

Antigone

The idea of hubris is monumental in a plethora of Greek mythological works. In many ways the excessive pride of certain characters fuels their own destruction. This is certainly true with respect to the characters of Pentheus, Antigone, and...

Oedipus Rex or Oedipus the King

The theme of recognition plays an important role in Homer's The Odyssey and Sophocles' Oedipus the King. Two key recognition scenes are that between Odysseus and Penelope and that between Oedipus and Jocasta. Many differences can be found between...