Sophocles’ “Antigone” Classical Greek Tragedy

Queen Josaka in Oedipus the King is an excellent example of a character whose faith and beliefs allowed her to live a royal life only to end in pain and grief. Queen Josaka and her husband, King Laus, always paid tribute to the prophets and acknowledged everything the prophets foretold. As a result, their spiritual awareness allowed them to rule over their people and control their empire prosperously for several years (Sophocles 12). Subsequently, she practiced these beliefs with her husband King Oedipus, encouraging them to seek advice from prophets and the oracle in case anything went wrong in their empire. Consequently, the advice of the oracle and prophets allowed Queen Josaka to thrive but made her enchanting since he gave away his son because of a prophecy. Unfortunately, her beliefs were the cause her downfall because she experienced reparations because of their faith.

King Oedipus was a victim of his faith because he ran away from his home place in Corinth because of the prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Sadly, he did not know that his quest would lead time to fulfil the prophecy because he did not have any control over his actions. During one of his journeys, King Oedipus killed a man by striking him with his staff. Moreover, he went along to become a powerful man and the king of Thebes. Subsequently, his faith led him to seek refuge in the oracle, manifesting him as a hero who acknowledges the plight of his people (Sophocles 28). Unfortunately, the oracle gave Oedipus a challenge that led to his downfall because of his beliefs and his faith. As a result, King Oedipus had an unpleasant end as the Queen hanged herself and the Oedipus blinded himself out of guilt and shame for killing his father and sleeping with his mother.

Antigone by Sophocles takes a heroic approach and tragic end due to the conflicts of two characters because of their faith and beliefs, resulting in a string of endless suffering and death. Antigone is brought out as a character who respects the ways of the land as she refuses to let her brother’s body rot in the wild according to the King Creon’s orders. Although she knew that she would face the Kings wrath for going against his orders, she buried her brother, Polynices, and was not sorry for her disobedience because her faith provided her with comfort and relief (Sophocles). Subsequently, she held a heroic position in the play, but she violated the teachings of her faith as her struggles drove her to take away her life.

Similarly, King Creon is another character in Antigone who ended up suffering because of his strong belief in policies and his rule of law. King Creon ordered and held that only Eteocles would be buried with honour and that his brother, Polynices, should be dumped and eaten by the jackals (Sophocles). As a result, his beliefs and values prevented him from listening to his advisors against his actions and his punishment to Antigone. Even though he was told that he dishonoured the gods, his beliefs led him to go against everyone’s wishes, resulting in adverse implications (Sophocles). Creon’s wife, his son, and Antigone all committed suicide and he condemned himself for their death. Therefore, although holding a strong political position once gave Creon power over his subjects, his beliefs led him to violate moral teachings, resulting in an unpleasant end.

Works Cited

Sophocles. “Antigone.” Classical Greek Tragedy, 2021, Web.

Sophocles, E. A. Oedipus rex. Cambridge University Press, 1982.