A member of the Theban royal family, Antigone was a woman who was born out of her mother—Jocasta—and her father, and brother—Oedipus. Thebes has always been a peaceful place for its people until curses start to ravage the entire place. A curse starting from Oedipus’ sin for mating with her own mother and killing his own father started to wreck Thebes under his tyrannical rule. When Oedipus’ rule ended, Creon, who was Jocasta’s brother, ascended to the throne and became the new ruler.
Creon’s rule brought more devastation to Thebes which worsen the situation after violating the laws of the gods. When Antigone’s brothers—Eteocles and Polynices—died with one killing the other, Creon decided that Polynices’ corpse be left unburried with no honor unlike Eteocles’ and prohibited anyone to mourn over Polynices’ cadaver. However, being affectionate and reverent to his brother’s corpse, Antigone did not follow Creon’s rules. When Antigone was caught in the act of burrying her brother, she was arrested and was sentenced to be executed. Knowing this, Antigone’s fiancé—Haemon, who was Creon’s son, protested against his father’s unjust rulings. Creon did not listen to clever Tiresia’s prophecies that he will pay for his rudeness. When Antigone was sentenced, her sister Ismene wanted to go with her too but she was not tolerated by Antigone.
Burried alive, Antigone suffered below the ground yet she was courageous enough to face death. With his love for Antigone, Haemon killed himself lying beside Antigone’s dead body. Upon knowing this, Eurydice, Haemon’s mother killed herself and blamed Creon for everything which turned Creon to be distressed. With this, he decided to punish himself for all he’s done.
Reflection: Love—in all of its forms—is the most powerful force that binds all people together. However, without love, even the largest group of people could be left shattered and be confined under curse forever.
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