2005 Summer Reading
The Burial at Thebes
Themes

The Athenian audience that witnessed the performance of the Antigone ca. 441 BCE already knew the basic outline of the travails of the family of Oedipus before the play began. Greek culture, much more dependent on oral communication than on written, imbued the legends from the past with powerful significance, and so those sitting in the Theater of Dionysus - mostly male citizens but some women, slaves and foreigners as well - shared a cultural heritage that included the narrative of Antigone, her family and their ancestors. This is not to say, of course, that Sophocles introduced nothing novel in the story-telling - and indeed, there are some elements in the original play that don't coincide with what the Athenians, prior to Sophocles' production, understood to be the basic plot . Nonetheless, the play carried with it the memory of the mythological past, and the audience observed the performance aware of its mythological context. What was the background to Antigone's story? Who are the members of her family? The first two links above address these issues.

As Sophocles challenged his audience to reflect upon the themes raised in the play in a contemporary context, so do we as readers feel compelled to read and observe the play within both our own cultural framework and that of the ancient Greek past. What are some of the main themes this play addresses? How does the playwright resolve conflicts between the practical world of Athens and fictional world of the stage? For example, do the roles of Antigone and Ismene in the play mirror the behavior of, and limitations on, women in Athenian society? Does this play speak to any universal themes that affect our lives in meaningful ways? The remaining links above address a few of the critical themes raised by this play (see also the section on Questions).