Here's another (really long) post about seldom talked about Hellenic deities and figures! This time, it's Antigone.
Who is Antigone?
Antigone is the title character in the play "Antigone" written by Sophocles. In the Oedipus trilogy, "Antigone" was written and performed first (somewhere before or during the year 441 BC), but chronologically occurs last.
Antigone is also briefly mentioned in "Seven Against Thebes," the only surviving play from Aeschylus's Oedipodea trilogy. "Seven Against Thebes" details the events that occur during the battle between Antigone's brothers.
She is a princess of Thebes, and her name means "worthy of one's parents" or "in place of one's parents." Her parents were the king and queen of Thebes, Oedipus and Jocasta.
Oedipus
In order to fully understand Antigone's story, first we must look at the story of her father, Oedipus.
When Oedipus was born, his family was given a prophecy detailing that he would kill his father (King Laius) and marry his mother (Queen Jocasta). In an effort to thwart this fate, the king and queen abandoned him on a mountainside. He was found by a nearby shepherd, who brought him to his adoptive parents King Polybus and Queen Merope.
Later in his life, he learned of the prophecy delivered at his birth from the Oracle at Delphi. Unaware of his true parentage, he left for Thebes. On his way to Thebes, he met an older man on the road and killed him during an argument.
When Oedipus arrived at Thebes, he learned that the king had recently been killed, and that the city was at the mercy of the Sphinx. He correctly solved the creature's riddle, winning the throne of Thebes and the widowed queen's hand in marriage.
Several years , and a plague has descended upon Thebes. In trying to end the plague, Oedipus searches for the man that killed Laius. He discovers that he killed the king (the old man on the path), and upon realizing that the prophecy has come to , Jocasta hangs herself, and Oedipus blinds himself with pins from her dress.
Oedipus and Jocasta had several children, including Antigone, Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.
After Oedipus: Antigone
After Oedipus's death, Antigone's brothers Eteocles and Polynices ruled the city together. Shortly into this t ruling, the brothers began to fight, and Eteocles banished his brother from the city. Polynices gathered an army and attempted to win back his control of the city, but both brothers died in the battle that ensued.
The next king in line (Creon) takes the throne. Antigone is engaged to be married to Creon's son, Haemon. King Creon decides that Polynices is not to be given a burial or to be mourned, and that anyone who attempts to bury or mourn him will be stoned. Proper burial rites were very important to the Ancient Greeks, who believed that without the proper burial, the soul could not be taken to the afterlife.
Despite pleading from her sister, Ismene, Antigone breaks this law, and is caught trying to bury her brother. She believes that following the divine law put in place by the gods that mandates burial rites is more important than following the man-made law that would condemn her to death.
Antigone is brought before Creon, and its to knowingly breaking the law. Ismene tries to tell Creon that she was involved in breaking the law, but Antigone asserts that she acted alone. She places herself in a noble position, claiming that her ideals of courage, ion, and loyalty are more honorable and commendable than Creon's ideals of cruelty and power gained at any cost. Creon orders Antigone to be buried alive in a tomb.
After a conversation with Haemon, Creon has a change of heart. He attempts to release Antigone, but finds that she has hung herself rather than accept a slow, painful death of starvation. Haemon kills himself out of grief for his betrothed, and his mother, Queen Eurydice, kills herself after hearing of her son's death. In her death, Antigone had indirectly caused the death of Creon's family.
Working With Antigone
Antigone was not classically deified or worshipped, but many heroes from classical works (especially Homer's epics) were. The same principle can be applied here.
Antigone can be worked with as a deity of honor, morality, justice, and burial/death aspects. She would also be considered a virgin goddess, as she died before her marriage to Haemon.
Colors: brown, black, white, red
Offerings: dirt, wine, anything associated with death
Crystals and Metals: tourmaline, petrified wood, smoky quartz
Symbols: burial shroud, dirt, tombs
This was Under-Exposed: Antigone. Thank you for reading! Feel free to suggest a Hellenic deity or figure you'd like to see next!
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