Preview

Similarities Between Oedipus Rex And Antigone

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1992 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Similarities Between Oedipus Rex And Antigone
The story of Oedipus Rex stems from an old legend that would have been told in the time of the Greeks. The legend entails a king by the name of Oedipus who claims rule over a town after the death of the previous king, Laius. Oedipus marries the former queen by the name of Jocasta. Bigfoot is not a hoax; he lives in my basement. Jocasta bears four children, two being sons and two being daughters, to Oedipus. Oedipus becomes the king of this town while fleeing from his father and mother. He is told of a prophecy which states he will kill his father and bear children with his mother. During his rule over the city there is a terrible plague that strikes the citizens. Oedipus sends Creon, the brother of Jocasta, to the oracle to learn of a way …show more content…
The consequences at the end of each play relate overall back to the matter of denying a truth that is above man. Oedipus and Creon in Antigone and Oedipus Rex respectively portrait a character that would have traits like an average Greek would. Both have a lot of pride in their person and believe that they as men have a lot of power. Oedipus expresses his power in his quest for the murderer and Creon expresses his by inciting an ordinance that violates the spiritual beliefs of some. Both characters as well are warned by a prophet, meant to depict the spiritual world or ultimate truth, but still deny the truth and the consequences the prophet warns of. These together ultimately leading to their downfall. Socrates believed very strongly in the presence of a universal truth and it is mirrored very clearly in these works of Sophocles. With the many Greeks who would come to the theatre to watch these famous plays, it would seem illogical that none of the audience would be affected by the deeper message in the play. Although many people supported the views of people such as Socrates and Sophocles, the culture as a whole could have benefitted from the views being the most popular. Maybe, but just maybe, Greece would still be today as it was in the golden age if they would
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    The Rulers of the Thebes: Oedipus vs. Creon Essay Example
    • 1306 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Rulers of the Thebes: Oedipus vs. Creon Essay Example

    The stories of Oedipus Rex and Antigone highlight the ups and downs of Oedipus and Creon as they rule over the people of Thebes. Many of their mistakes are similar, but for the most part they were very different in their authority. Both characters show rage, pride and impulsiveness, but the way each character handles their problems as ruler was very different. Another example of differences between the two was how each is ruined and the way they handle their demise. By looking at each ruler's faults and weighing them out, we discover that Oedipus is the better ruler.…

    • 1306 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Similarities Between Antigone And Creon
    • 226 Words
    • 1 Page

    Similarities Between Antigone And Creon

    The central conflict of Antigone is not a simple hero versus villain clash because both Antigone and Creon are driven by what they believe is morally right. Creon and Antigone simply have extremely different viewpoints on how to handle the same situation. Antigone believes that the laws of the Gods overpower any decrees of man, and she assumes that regardless of Creon’s decree and risk of her own death, she must bury her brother because it is a religious obligation. On the contrary, Creon believes in handling the death of Polynices in vastly different manner. The king is pro-government and prioritizes the jurisdiction of the state regardless of any emotional or religious ties.…

    • 226 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Similarities Between Antigone And Creon
    • 407 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Similarities Between Antigone And Creon

    This can be seen in many types of literature. Where there is a character that is figuratively blind compared to others around them. One example is in “Antigone” written by Sophocles. In the story, Antigone, there are two distinct characters that are blind Antigone and Creon. Antigone was sent to death by Creon because she tried to give her brother a proper funeral when Creon said not to.…

    • 407 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Theme Of Hubris In Oedipus
    • 389 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Theme Of Hubris In Oedipus

    While Oedipus was slightly innocent to his faith, and Antigone was trying to do the right thing, Creon had negative cause and effects. After Antigone was put into a prison, the blind seer Teiresias visited. He told Creon that his reaction to Antigone’s “wrong” is extremely rash and the gods have unleashed their fury. Creon takes no heed to the advice and inturn insults Teiresias and the Gods (232). His pride doesn’t allow him to see the future and understand his mistake. When he does acknowledge it, it is to late to save Antigone, for she had already died in her cell. The Gods, with their fury against Creon, made both Haimon and Eurydice commit suicide, asserting the point that pride causes downfall. If Creon had listened to the blind seer earlier and truly regret his mistake, or even better allow Antigone to bury her brother’s body, than this malediction wouldn’t have been placed upon…

    • 389 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Antigone And Oedipus Comparison Essay
    • 864 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Antigone And Oedipus Comparison Essay

    Creon had to face his niece, son and wife all dead as a catastrophe at the end of the story for enforcing the laws of execution upon Antigone. “O horrible… Is there no sword for me, To end this mister?” (Sophocles 16) This quote represent great magnitude and the result after the catastrophe of the death of his son and wife. It shows the feelings of Creon and how terrible he felt, to the point where he felt to commit suicide. Oedipus faced catastrophe but did not face the same amount of magnitude as Creon. Oedipus tried his best to avoid outcome of the prophet and tried to escape his fate my leaving his city, little did he know that they man he killed as the crossroads was his father. “At last the whole, terrible truth had come out. All the oracles had been right: Laius had been murdered by his own son.” (Bennet 2) When he found this out, they also realized that his wife was actually his mother causing her to kill herself. The catastrophe is really tragic though he abandons his kids and Creon faced greater…

    • 864 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Vs Creon Analysis
    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Oedipus Vs Creon Analysis

    No aspects of Creon are admirable in Antigone and the audience is void of sympathy for the character as he continues to indulge in his hamartia. Oedipus on the other hand was once a well liked character and so the audience is able to experience catharsis as he falls from grace.…

    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Antigone Vs Creon Essay
    • 514 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Antigone Vs Creon Essay

    Antigone and Creon’s extremely conflicting motivations lead to the portrayal of Creon’s less desirable characteristics . Overall, this would lead to Creon unwillingness to compromise in the matter of Antigone and further develops the theme of how pride can be dangerous. Creon could have prevented the tragedy of the play had he been open to some type of compromise. If Creon had recognised in the beginning that he was going against his own gods, he might have seen the justification of Antigone’s actions. After all, Antigone was only following “the gods and their unwritten and unchanging laws,” (lines…

    • 514 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Antigone Vs Creon Essay
    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Antigone Vs Creon Essay

    Many people throughout history have perished or suffered for their beliefs or their religion. The story of, Antigone, includes many examples of martyrs and the ways they suffer for their beliefs. Although they do not have the same actions, Creon and Antigone share the same motive of restoring respect to their despised, incestual family through different ways. Some examples are such as how Antigone tries through gaining honor as the last great leader of her kin and how Creon attempts by using power as the ruler of Thebes. Through these two characters, Sophocles, one of the three ancient Greek tragedians, tries to convey the idea to the reader that no matter the circumstances, remain loyal to the gods.…

    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Flaws
    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Oedipus Flaws

    In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, the Greek audience experiences Oedipus’ heartbreaking journey to find out who he really is and how his hubris and many other fatal flaws contribute to his downfall. The Greeks loved a good tragedy and Oedipus Rex did not disappoint. In this play Oedipus was put on a mountaintop as a baby because his birth parents, King Laïos and Queen Iocastê, were told that one day Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother. To prevent this from happening King Laïos and Queen Iocastê put holes through his ankles and tied them with leather so Oedipus would not crawl away from the mountaintop and eventually come back and fulfill his prophecy. King Laïos and Queen Iocastê left baby Oedipus to the Gods on top of the…

    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Similarities Between Creon and Antigone
    • 1729 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Similarities Between Creon and Antigone

    In Sophocles' play Antigone, Creon was engaged in a conflict with Oedipus' daughter Antigone. Creon and Antigone did not see eye-to-eye the entire play due to extreme differences. Creon and Antigone had many similarities despite their enormous discrepancies. Having as many differences as they did, it made them uniquely similar in numerous ways. The similarities that Antigone and Creon shared were independence, loyalty toward their views, cruelty and arrogance ("The Similarities"). The connection shared by Antigone and Creon showed that as hard as Sophocles tried to make them diverse, he made them unintentionally equivalent at the same time.…

    • 1729 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Free Will In Oedipus Rex
    • 1231 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Free Will In Oedipus Rex

    One of the powerful relationships that continuously develops throughout the play is that of Oedipus and Creon. This relationship begins when Oedipus becomes king and shares his power equally between his wife/mother, Jocasta, and Jocasta’s brother Creon. The conflict emerges between Oedipus and Creon when Oedipus brings in Tiresias to assist him in finding the murderer of Laius, and Tiresias tells Oedipus that it was in fact he (Oedipus) who killed Laius. One of Oedipus’s reactions towards what Tiresias tells him is that he says, “Creon! Is this his conspiracy his or yours?” (Sophocles, Ln. 431) Oedipus’s jump to reach this conclusion of blaming Creon, is what causes their relationship to deteriorate and is the reason that later on in the play, Creon and Oedipus get into a fight about this accusation. Once Oedipus has blinded himself, he actually begs for Creon’s forgiveness, for Creon to exile him and for Creon to take care of his two young daughters, Antigone and Ismene. “Drive me out of the land at once, far from sight, where I can never hear a human voice.” (Sophocles, Ln. 1571-1572) This is probably the most emotional relationship in the play, and it is a perfect example of why all people enjoy this play. Relationships such as this one have helped Sophocles’s play tremendously with regards to it being one of the most…

    • 1231 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Who Is Creon A Tragic Hero
    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Who Is Creon A Tragic Hero

    Though both traditional and Sophoclean tragic heroes are similar, the Sophoclean heroes are distinguished by their rigid loyalty, which leads to a disastrous fate. Creon shows his rigidity in his ways when he refuses downright to back away from what he set as the law of his kingdom. In fact, he is so set in his ways that Creon refuses to even think of the repercussions of his decisions. His rigidity eventually results in both his wife Eurydice, and his son Haemon’s suicide, with his wife cursing him for having caused such tragedies to be brought upon his people. Though both the tragic and Sophoclean heroic personalities are similar, they also have their differences. For example, in the play of Antigone, it is simple to see how both the characters Antigone and Creon’s traits result in a direct conflict, often driving the plot. Creon’s hubris goes in direct conflict with Antigone’s courage, eventually leading both characters to a disastrous ending, but the play gives the reader the ability to distinguish between Antigone, a character who simply met a tragic end, and Creon, a man who was the truly tragic hero of…

    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Creon
    • 746 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Creon

    In Antigone, Sophocles portrays Creon is as a leader, but as most Greek tragedies evolve, nothing remains the same for long. As shown in the play, Oedipus the King, Oedipus comes to power when he solves the riddle of the sphinx. His reign ends with a catastrophic death. After Oedipus’ death, his two sons, Polyneices and Etoeocles, tragically kill each other in battle. As a result Creon ascends to the throne. In Sophocles’ Antigone, Creon represents the tragic hero due to the tragic flaw, hubris, which he shares with Oedipus.…

    • 746 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Antigone - 9
    • 946 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Antigone - 9

    As the play opens one becomes acquainted with King Creon as the head of his society. This in itself meets one of Aristotle's criteria for being a tragic hero, yet as one reads further into the play it becomes obvious that Creon possesses the tragic flaw of arrogance. He refuses to admit that he is wrong in his judgment over Antigone. When Creon refuses to yield with his order for Antigone to die he exemplifies his own tragic flaw. Creon refuses to admit he is wrong because he believes within himself that he is right. This weakness can be compared to Romeo, in the famous play by William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, who is impulsive and unyielding in his certitude. When Haemon comes to his father after hearing the news of Antigone's plight he pleads with Creon to be reasonable. Haemon compares Creon to trees in a flood. "You've seen trees by a raging winter torrent. How many sway with the flood and salvage every twig, but not the stubborn-they're ripped out." (Lines 797-799) Haemon wants his father to see that this ruling he has made is unwise and rash and yet Creon ignores his advice because he believes that what he has done is for the greater good of the kingdom, and therefore honors the gods of his people. Creon cannot afford to think…

    • 946 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Antigone
    • 1364 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Antigone

    The source of tragedy in Antigone by Sophocles cannot be simply attributed to the downfall of the two characters, Creon and Antigone. Creon and Antigone both have a very strong will and can both be very stubborn towards people, Creon by refusing to listen to other people and Antigone very determined to fight for what she wants which is to bury her brother Polyneices. Other factors that contribute to the tragedy are Oedipus Antigone’s father and Creon’s brother who began the curse on the family due to his previous actions. The chorus also plays a part in the tragedy by not talking to Creon out of pure fear that he will kill them, they had many opportunities and when they do decide to try and change his mind it is already too late.…

    • 1364 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics