Howdy do there! These plays just keep getting better (I wonder how many times I'll say that). This particular play had a lot of thought provoking passages in it for me. To begin:
Thebes is under attack by Argives being led by Polyneices. And the fun twist, for those who don't know some of the finer details of Greek mythology (like yours truly), is that Polyneices is the brother of the current king of Thebes, Eteocles.
The title has its origin with the 7 leaders of the Argive army, for whom each is selected one Thebian soldier who is chosen personally by Eteocles. And Eteocles chooses to fight Polyneices, one of the 7, himself.
The Argives are successfully repelled, but Eteocles and Polyneices end up killing each other. This is apparently the fulfillment of a curse put on the brothers by there father, Oedipus. Now we have the sisters, Antigone and Ismene, mourning over the corpses of their brothers.
A herald arrives bearing the new that Eteocles shall be honorably buried while Polyneices is to be thrown to the wolves without a proper burial by order of state law. But Antigone will not have this. Only a quotation can do her justice.
ANTIGONE:
"So I to the Cadmaean magistrates
declare: if no one else will dare to join me
in burying him, yet will I bury him
and take the danger on my head alone
when that is done. He is my brother. I
am not ashamed of this anarchic act
of disobedience to the city. Strange,
a strange thing is the common blood we spring
from––
a mother wretched, a father doomed to evil.
Willingly then with one that would not will it,
live spirit with dead man in sisterhood
I shall bear my share. His flesh
the hollow-bellied wolves shall never taste of.
let that be no one's 'pleasure or decree.'
His tomb and burying place I will contrive
though but a woman. In the bosom folds
of my linen robe I shall carry earth to him.
And I shall cover him: let no one determine
the contrary. Be of good cheer [spoken to Ismene], I shall
find means to bring my will to pass."
Quite a speech, right?! Needless to say the play ends with Antigone continuing to resolve to bury her brother. Apologies if the summary seems a bit bare-bonesy, but the real meat of this story is in the dialogue and deserves to be read for its own sake.
The most thought-provoking idea in this story for me is the sibling bond that Antigone had for Polyneices. I have had, to be generous, a rocky relationship with my brother since I was fifteen. It makes sense from an outside perspective to see the virtue of the sibling bond sewn so deep into the hearts of the characters.
But could you do the same? Could you defend the right to honorably bury a most dishonorable sibling that tried to attack the very home you had come to love? Can't fully answer for myself. I tend to lean towards no. But I have a bit more than this one aforementioned event influencing my decision.
I hope this has been another entertaining blog entry for everyone out there. Be sure to share and comment.
And raise a glass for all those who, like Eteocles, have given their lives for the protection of the homes they had come to love. Happy reading!
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”
― G.K. Chesterton
