SESSION 3
- Topics: Reconciling Claims of Authority Within the Polis
- Reading: Sophocles, "Antigone"
- What are the main themes or “loyalties in conflict” illustrated through this play?
- A.What, for Creon, is the preeminent civic/political virtue (i.e., what is to be valued most in citizens)?
- B.What, for Antigone, is the preeminent virtue? Is it civic?
- On what grounds does Antigone appeal in burying her brother and defying Creon’s edict? How do you evaluate her discernment process, rationale, and arguments?
- How does Ismene’s response to King Creon’s edict serve as a foil to Antigone’s words and deeds?
- In what ways does Sophocles illustrate King Creon’s culpability for his own downfall? Do you consider him to be a sympathetic figure?