The Role of Fate and the Gods in Antigone
The Role of Fate and the Gods in AntigoneDivine law can be defined as a rule or regulation coming directly from the gods. According to Greek mythology, each god is believed to possess individual and unique powers that can either help or hinder the lives of mortals. Their role in the lives of humans is illustrated in Antigone with her death. Sophocles emphasizes in Antigone that the gods' will is carried out by people and that fate takes control of all life. Sophocles was one of the three most distinguished playwrights of Ancient Greece, the other two being Aeschylus and Euripides (Jebb 1). Of his 100 or more plays, seven have been completely saved and fragments of many others have been recovered. Fate is a recurring theme not only in Sophocles' plays, but in much of Greek drama. For example, in Oedipus Rex, a prophet warns Laius that his fate is to be killed by his own son. Laius attempts to avoid his fate by leaving his infant son on a mountainside, but the boy is saved by a shepherd and eventually kills his father, although unaware of Laius's identity. Aeschylus also illustrates divine law and the power of the gods in his work Prometheus Bound, where Prometheus is rebellious and therefore punished by Zeus.
Another illustration of criticism is that of Winnington-Ingram. For example, it is said "I pray he may be found. An example of this is Campbell's examination of Antigone. For past all hope or thought I have escaped, And for my safety owe the gods much thanks. Those in Antigone that judge others are punished by the gods. ntigone, as in all Greek drama, the gods control the fate and actions of humans and punish or reward them appropriately. " Guard in Antigone (Sophocles 10)The guard recognizes that the gods will decide whether or not the person that buried Polynices will be found. In spite of human error, in spite of suffering and disaster, the pure in heart is justified; the wrong-doer is condemned. " (Jebb 2)The gods in Greek drama are thought to control humans, as demonstrated in Antigone. Sometimes it appears in the form of a curse, pronounced upon some particular family, and extending down to remote generations. It is also evident in Antigone that the gods are the only ones that should judge people. " (Campbell 4)Campbell believes that Sophocles is stating that the gods control humans and their behavior. Teiresias tells Creon "Thou shalt have given the fruit of thine own loinsIn quittance of thy murder, life for life;For that thou hast entombed a living soul,And sent below a denizen of earth,And wronged the nether gods by leaving hereA corpse unlaved, unwept, unsepulchered.
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