Antigone and Western Cultural Ideals “[Antigone is] the one literary text” that expresses “all the principal constants of conflict” in the human condition. --George Steiner, as quoted by Bernard Knox

2.5.T Turn your homework in your class’ tray Take a yellow handout. After your warm-up, you should place this in the “Terms” section of your binder. On your paper, summarize the points about tragic heroes. Next, identify two characteristics of a tragic hero and discuss how those are articulated in Antigone. You should use blended quotes while doing so.

Antigone Antigone (441 BC) was produced at the zenith of Athenian imperial power and cultural hegemony. Antigone is a harsh critique of Athenian society and the Greek city-state. What statements in Scene 3 prove the previous statement? What specifically is being criticized? What have you seen in literature or film that serves as a critique of our society?

Questioning Military Authority Aristotle reminds us of Athens that “All offices connected with the military are to be elected by an open vote.” What is martial law? How does a police state operate? Consider the role the “police state” plays, as well as the role the citizens play.

Faith in the Average Citizen Haimon warns Creon to consider the opinion of the “common man... the people who share [his] city.” What are some examples in the play where citizens try to speak out against Creon? Is the common man’s voice heard in our society? Note that the messengers in the play are endowed with a refreshing degree of common sense.

Constitutional Government Haimon – “No polis is the property of a single man.” Does absolute power corrupt absolutely? What example have we seen in the last century? Creon turns out to be a tragic figure, an utterly Western rational creature who devotes himself to the law above every other human and divine concern.

Religion Is Separate from and Subordinate to Political Authority In Antigone, the seer Teiresias, who through his supernatural craft possesses greater wisdom than Creon, is slandered and dismissed by the king. Find examples of this in Scene 5 It is not Creon’s sacrilegious abuse of the holy man that dooms him; rather it is his paranoia and political extremism in rejecting the sound, rational advice of family and friends alike. Who are some figures who try to warn Creon? Central to the play is the conflict between what we attempt here on earth and what fate has in store for us. Identify examples of this sentiment.

APOLLONIANDIONYSIAN ReasonPassion OrderSpontaneity ClarityImagination ModerationExcess ControlFrenzy AnalysisIntuition ResearchFeeling Rule-OrientedFaith & Ritual

Free Speech and Acts of Dissent Antigone attacks Greek culture on a number of fronts: tyranny of state over the individual, the mindless chauvinism of a male supremacist, apathy etc.. Should you have the right to defy your leader if you believe he is wrong? Your generation – and mine – has been accused of being apathetic to the issues of your day. Do you agree with this claim?

Conflicts Struggle between the state and the individual Struggle between human and natural law Struggle between what we attempt here on earth and what fate has in store for us Struggle between youth and age Struggle between men and women