Antigone vs. Iliad
Love is a very powerful emotion. In both Antigone and The Iliad there are many different types of love portrayed. The love one has for their child for example, or the love for a close family member or friend. There is also the love one experiences when they feel they have found their mate in life. In examining the excerpts from Antigone and The Iliad I was able to draw the conclusion that Antigone portrays the different types of love in a more realistic way.
When I read The Iliad for the first time the portrayal of love that stood out the most to me was the love Priam had for his son Hector. Priam being the king of Troy risked his life by walking onto the enemy's war camp in order to beg the man that killed his son for the rights to his body. “Pity me in my own right, remember your own father! I deserve more pity... I have endured what no one on earth has ever done before- I put my lips to the hands of the man who killed my son” (83). I didn't find this portrayal of love realistic because it is my opinion that a king wouldn't commit such a selfish deed such as risk his life purposefully in those times. The king would have considered his people and his kingdom and how much he was needed instead of his own selfish grief over a dead son.
Similarly the portrayal of love in Antigone that was more realistic to me was the love Antigone felt for her brother Polynices. She loved her brother enough to risk her life in order to give him a proper burial ceremony. “My deeds will please who they are meant to please” (92). One of the reasons this seems more realistic to me over The Iliad was that Antigone didn't feel any sort of responsibility for anyone but herself. She didn't have a kingdom to watch over or children to tend. Also, the only person Antigone was defying by giving her brother his burial rights was her uncle Creon (the king). “He has no right to keep me from my own” (92). In my opinion, Antigone figured Creon would take it easy on her because she was
When I read The Iliad for the first time the portrayal of love that stood out the most to me was the love Priam had for his son Hector. Priam being the king of Troy risked his life by walking onto the enemy's war camp in order to beg the man that killed his son for the rights to his body. “Pity me in my own right, remember your own father! I deserve more pity... I have endured what no one on earth has ever done before- I put my lips to the hands of the man who killed my son” (83). I didn't find this portrayal of love realistic because it is my opinion that a king wouldn't commit such a selfish deed such as risk his life purposefully in those times. The king would have considered his people and his kingdom and how much he was needed instead of his own selfish grief over a dead son.
Similarly the portrayal of love in Antigone that was more realistic to me was the love Antigone felt for her brother Polynices. She loved her brother enough to risk her life in order to give him a proper burial ceremony. “My deeds will please who they are meant to please” (92). One of the reasons this seems more realistic to me over The Iliad was that Antigone didn't feel any sort of responsibility for anyone but herself. She didn't have a kingdom to watch over or children to tend. Also, the only person Antigone was defying by giving her brother his burial rights was her uncle Creon (the king). “He has no right to keep me from my own” (92). In my opinion, Antigone figured Creon would take it easy on her because she was