Antigone, Empress of Byzantium, and My Aunt :: Antigone Essays

Antigone, Empress of Byzantium, and My Aunt I have very few heroes, but if I could pick three people who are heroic to me, I would have to choose Antigone from the tragic play Antigone by Sophocles, Theodora, Empress of Byzantium, and my own personal hero, my great aunt Alice. All of these women have had a profound effect on the world around them, and worked hard to shape the world as they saw fit, to protect their loved ones and those to whom they were and are loyal. My personal hero especially has had a profound effect on my upbringing and me. While I have few heroes, I will pick some people from the past, present, and literature to represent what I believe a hero should be. The first hero is Antigone from the well-known Greek tragedy Antigone, written by Sophocles of an older Greek myth. Antigone was not only a hero, but also a martyr. She died for her cause; she died to save the honor and soul of her brother Polynices, even though he was a traitor. She defied the order of the main antagonist Creon, or Kreon, whose edict was that no one should bury Polynices body, or even mourn his passing. (Antigone) On the other hand, her other brother who had seized the thrown after Oedipus's passing, was buried with honor and as a hero. Antigone would not stand for this, as both her mother and father were dead, and thusly she would never have any other brothers ever again. She did not want either of her brothers bodies to be, "left as a corpse eaten by birds and dogs and torn to pieces, shameful for everyone to see," because this would bring more shame to her family then had already been brought by her father, who had killed his own father unknowingly and married hi s own mother. This is one reason that Antigone is dangerous and heroic, she remembers the past, unlike Creon, who unwittingly begins to repeat the mistakes of Oedipus in his reign, and Antigone uses this information as well as any sword master as a weapon against Creon. She knows that she will be put to death, however she faces up to that and defends her brother anyway, and is unafraid of the consequences. She even makes Creons orders seem shameful, putting them up in a classic rivalry between divine and human law, making it clear that the will of her gods is more important then life or death.