Throughout the history of the world, divine intervention has been a prevalent matter.  Specifically, many Greek pieces of art and literature the idea of fate is intrinsic.   Socrates’ trilogy of Theban plays is a prime example of these ideals.  In this trilogy there are the Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone.

Before the story of Antigone, there was Oedipus Rex.  Oedipus Rex epitomizes the concept of fate.  From his early birth it was foretold that he would kill his father and marry his mother.  Then he would be the father of his siblings.  Since fate was no laughing matter to the Greeks, Oedipus’s parents decided to kill him to prevent those occasions from ever happening.  Little did they know that Oedipus did not die, and instead his destiny began to unfold.   Unknowingly following the commands of fate, Oedipus kills his father at a crossroad.  He then continues along this predetermined path and marries his mother.  From a baby these events were foretold to happen, and they were unintentionally carried out by Oedipus.  In this respect the Greeks believe, fate is determined from the day one is born and there is no way of stopping it. Oedipus’s parents tried to end his life and his life’s purpose along with it, but they couldn’t stop the doom he was foretold to bring upon himself and them.  In this sense, the Greeks believed that man could not unbend the chains of fate and change the course of life.

            However, Antigone presents a different argument to this idea.  The first implication is the word anti in her name.  Her name suggests that she opposes a belief of the Greeks.  Contrary to the belief that there is a predetermined path for every person, Antigone takes actions into her own hands.  She chooses to go against Creon and bury her traitorous brother.  Enforcing her stance on individuality is the fact that she takes her own life.  She refuses to experience a judgment by another that should’ve been decided by her deeds.  Hanging herself proved that she defied the verdict on her life and she is the sole controller of her life.

            The Greek way of life was centered on fate.  When a person was born he was given a purpose for living and that force would push him through his existence.  However, the Greeks believed in the action of choice, but as an “anti” ideal of their people.  The idea of choice gives light to our individuality, which contrasts with the idea that the gods gave us our life to carry out certain deeds.  If the gods gave us purpose then the beings of our existence isn’t ours.

In plays and in real life people believe in fate. They believe that their life and choices are predetermined and nothing can change them. In Antigone, Antigone believes that her fate is a bad one. She thinks that since she was born due to an incestuous marriage between King Oedipus of Thebes and his mother Jocasta she will forever be cursed. Antigone goes against direct order from the kings and buries her brothers body and when summoned to explain why she did so Antigone says that natural law is above the law of the king. When Antigone mentions natural law she is talking about something similar to fate something that is out of control of mortals and will always be present. In the end Antigone makes her fate a self profiling prophecy by committing suicide when the king was going to let her go free. 

From Shakespeare’s Hamlet to ancient Greek myths, fate is an inherent, and even necessary, element in tragedy. Fate is recognized to be omnipresent and omnipotent in tragedy. The free will of the characters, whether exercised or not, is overpowered by their preordained fates. Hence, a tragedy occurs when despite a character’s brave efforts and noble intentions, he/she faces death simply because they are destined to die.

This is what happens to the protagonist Antigone in Sephocles’ play Antigone. The daughter of the ill-fated Oedipus and the sister of Polyneices and Eteocles, who also died tragic deaths, Antigone is a character that rouses the audience’s sympathy. When her uncle, King Creon issues a royal edict banning anyone from giving the disgraced Polyneices a proper burial, Antigone makes the choice that dooms her life. She is forced to defy the King’s orders because of her principles and firm conviction in the laws of Heaven which dictated that the dead must be given proper funeral rites if they are to enter the world below successfully. This choice may have been of Antigone’s own will but as later events prove, she was destined to meet a tragic end and the noble principles that led her to make this choice will not save her from her fate. Even as she explains her decision to her sister Ismene, Antigone acknowledges her impending death in a fatalistic manner as she has already accepted the power of fate.

When the blind prophet, Teiresias, warns Creon that condemning Antigone to death would seal his own fate, the King agrees to free Antigone and allow Polyneices’ burial. In another example of how fate is generally accepted by the characters as inescapable, King Creon is fearful that the prophet will prove right and that his own fate would be to die if he does not pardon Antigone. However, fate strikes again as Antigone is discovered to have taken her own life in prison.

Thus, Antigone, whose downfall makes the story a tragedy, meets her tragic end regardless of her noble character and brave choices. The dismal ending to the story is preordained and inescapable. The sense of inevitability that overshadows all the action makes the story all the more tragic. The play concludes with a final acknowledgement of the power of fate which comes from King Creon himself as he laments, “ Everything I touch goes wrong, and on my head/ fate climbs up with its overwhelming load” (1489-90)

From the times of the Greeks, people believed that events were predetermined by a higher power. Both individuals and everything in general follow a path called fate and they cannot escape it under any circumstances. A good example of this is in the Final Destination movies but it is in some way different because the people in the movies actually cheat death. The people from in the movies escaped death because of a premonition seen by one of them. Then throughout the movies, they try to cheat death by escaping, knives flying at them, buildings exploding, and lightning strikes but eventually death catches up with them and they eventually die like fate had decided for them.

In the play Antigone two brothers suffer a horrible fate in which they end up killing each other for their father’s throne. One of the brothers gets buried and the other is left on the ground to rot and be eaten by animals as set by the new king, Creon. His pride determines his fate. Not willing to have pity for his own nephew, he is set to be punished later in the play when both his wife and his son die.

Antigone, the sister of the two brothers is unable to cope with the fact that one of her brothers is left to rot so she set out to illegally bury her brother. Her love for her brother is the force that ends up locking in her fate for the act of defying the laws set by the new king Creon. “It would be fine to die
while doing that. I’ll lie there with him, with a man I love, pure and innocent, for all my crime. My honours for the dead
must last much longer than for those up here.” She choses to bury her brother and her fate was set for her to be killed and even though, Creon was not the one to kill her, she still ends up dyeing from stabbing herself in the end.

In the end, Antigone shows us that fate is set by our actions much like karma. One who does bad will in turn pay for their wrong doings.

Fate is an important part of many tragedies. The lives of the characters have a set end and there are usually hints as to what this end will be and when it will occur. Often, the characters are able to recognize their fate and respond to it. Sometimes, characters accept their fate because it is important to them or they believe it is inevitable.

In the case of Antigone, the play begins with a discussion about burying Polyneices’ body. Antigone and Ismene talk about the consequences of this act, which has been made illegal, as well as the reasons it is necessary. This discussion lays out Antigone’s fate as she decides to bury her brother and face the consequences. She fully understands her fate and accepts it. She believes following her fate set by the gods is more important than following a law set by the king. She informs her sister, who has decided to follow the law, that she should “set [her] own fate in order.”

Throughout the play, Antigone follows her fate. She buries Polyneices and is caught by guards. She is brought to Creon and admits to her crime. The acceptance of her fate is evident when, facing a punishment of death, she says “my fate prompts no tears.” Antigone accepts what she believes is inevitable by committing suicide with her fiance. This recognition and acceptance of fate is an important part of Antigone, as well as many other tragedies.

Antigone was not the only character of the play with a fate that she lived up to. For example, Creon is destined to be alone after his decisions lead to the deaths of almost everyone around him. He ignores the consequences of his actions at first and attempts to correct his mistakes but not until it is too late. By the time he decides to accept that this is his fate and attempt to avoid it by conceding, Antigone and Haemon have already killed themselves. His reluctance to listen to others about his fate throughout most of the play resulted in it becoming his reality.

For the characters of Antigone, their fates turn out to be inevitable, whether it is because they accepted this fate and allowed it to come true or refused to acknowledge it until it was too late.

Fate is a major theme in Sophocles plays. It is the actions of each character that bring about their inevitable fate. Oedipus Rex gives the perfect example that you cannot avoid or hide from the life that is destined for you. Oedipus was predicted to marry his mother and kill his father. His continuous effort to avoid his fate by leaving his parents at birth only aids the ending result.

The inevitability of fate is prevalent throughout Antigone. Antigone is fated to die from the beginning of the play. The proper burial of her brother, Polynices, brings forth her death and she does not avoid it. Creons incentive to decide the fate of Polynices body and his own stubbornness brings about his own tragic fate. Tiresias serves as a foreshadowing of the predestined fate of Creon. Tiresias tells Creon that Thebes will be cursed by the gods because Creon didn’t allow a human body the proper burial. His refusal to obey the prophet and gods and his attempt to avoid it is what ultimately leads him to suffer the death of his son Haemon and his queen Eurydice.

Fate is always an ongoing theme in tragedies, with the main character always following fate’s path. Fate is a force that is always present and nothing the character does will be able to change it. It is meant to be fulfilled, no matter how dark or morbid the prophecy is.

The Chorus tells us that Antigone will die young and that a pair of brothers will fight each other and die a “common death” and one will not be buried. As this tragedy plays out, we see how each action and each scene will eventually lead to the fulfillment of the Chorus predictions. Oedipus’ death results in his two sons having to alternate being King, which will not work out. Power can make a man hungry for more and it seemed to make no sense that this alternation of power would continue for long. Eventually, the two brothers DO kill each other and a part of the Chorus predictions have been fulfilled. Creon then orders that Polynices will not be buried but we know of Antigone’s love for her family and we know that she will definitely disobey the King’s orders. Creon does not want to imprison Antigone but she herself requests to be imprisoned. Antigone is young and does not understand the circumstances surrounding the death of her brothers. Her own misunderstanding and stubbornness causes her to fulfill her own fate.

Fate is an important theme in tragedies. We see from tragedies that fate is inevitable and that destiny is meant to be fulfilled.

People have different opinions on things such as fate. Some believe that what we do every day is destined and predetermined for us. Others believe that we are the masters of our fate. However, in the play Antigone, by Sophocles, fate plays an important role. The main characters of the play are all subjects to fate and having a determined life.

Antigone’s life has already been written for her. She in fact does not have a choice in any of the actions she makes. In the begininning, Antigone decides to bury her brother Polyneices’ body despite Creon’s orders. Her sister Ismene refuses to help her because she fears death. Antigone knew that death would befall her. She disregarded it nonetheless and didn’t try to avoid her fate.

Antigone knew that her death was inescapable. Yet she continued to do the right thing for her brother. There are many things in life that give a false image of having a choice. However, in reality, sometimes things are just already decided for you.

Set in the past where values then differ from values today, Antigone sheds light upon conflicts with morality. She is faced with Creon’s decision of how her two brother’s deaths will be memorialized. Is it fair that one brother receives a proper burial and the other one does not?

One of her brothers, Eteocles, receives a lavish funeral, with “customary rites,/ to win him honor with the dead below,” (29-30) while the other brother, Polyneices, is left unburied and left as food for the birds. (35-37) These two brothers had fought against each other to death for the throne left behind by their father, Oedipus. With both successors dead, that leaves Creon, their uncle, to take the throne.

From Creon’s point of view, he sees Polyneices as the villain because he attempts to overthrow Eteocles from power and marches into Thebes with a battle intent. Creon believes that ‘anyone who threatens the state is an enemy.’ (212-214) It is understandable that Polyneices seems to play the role of the villain as he is reeking havoc on the country he grew up in and is to rule upon. However, Eteocles was at fault for breaking Oedipus’ wish that the brothers share the throne by having one rule for one year and the other rule the next year. I believe that if Eteocles followed his father’s wishes, then the whole battle between the brothers would not have happened. Creon’s decision is not fair, in my perspective, and is unethical because he puts all the blame on Polyneices who was aggressively seeking out justice for himself. “He’ll be left unburied,/ his body there for birds and dogs to eat,/ a clear reminder of his shameful fate.” (234-236) From this quote, Creon does not seem to have fully evaluated the situation, such as the underlying cause, and just automatically points an accusatory finger at Polyneices based on his actions. Also, as an uncle, I believe that Creon should give  Polyneices some respect, not just leave his corpse in the open as food for animals.

Antigone, on the other hand, believes that family is more important, as she secretly sets out to hold a proper burial for Polyneices even if it means risking her life and going against the law. “I’ll still bury him. It would be fine to die while doing that…you can show contempt to those laws the gods hold in honour.” (89-96) By giving Polyneices a proper funeral, Antigone is obeying the morals set by the gods the Greeks honor and follow; in this case is that the dead should be given proper burial. Although Polyneices may have caused harm to Thebes, as a relative of a family who cares about him, Antigone’s decision to have a proper funeral for him is the right and respectful thing to do.

Oriental culture worships a higher Being who dictates the course of our life. Each person follows a path that is called Fate and encountered different events that is predetermined. Often people practice fortune-telling and foresee a rough patch ahead and try to perform rituals or conjure up spirits to smooth out the future. No one knows or is able to confirm the effectiveness of those rituals, which in turn put us in a state of confusion, uncertainty, and sometimes impotence to prevent what is to come. Ancient greek plays were written under the same impression that the fate of the characters are predetermined by the Gods, who played them as if on a chess board. Sophocles’ “Antigone” is an exemple of such belief.

“Antigone” is the sequel of the play “Oedipus Rex,” that was written with a twist away from the Oedipus Rex’s storyline. The idea of Fate was prevalent in “Oedipus Rex” as the King Oedipus was predicted to kill his father and marry his mother. Indeed he did, but he only finds out the truth because he had tried to espace his Fate. This shows that the more you run away from Fate, the sooner you fulfilled your Destiny. In “Antigone,” The Chorus seems like a representative of Fate, narrating the characters’ thoughts: their roles, already predestined, should be self-evident, even if the reason they come to doom is ultimately not. Thus the Chorus traces each character’s fate. Antigone cannot help but to bury her perished brother and die because of her own actions; Creon is the unwilling king after the death of the brothers; Eurydice’s role is but to die in her room. Yet Creon tries to resist Polynices’ fate to be buried properly not only to fail miserably but also to lose his own son Haemon.

In short, “Antigone” is a representation of the ultimacy of Fate. The Gods are not to be defied and when they are, the consequences are predetermined and unfathomable. The fall of the characters are partly brought by their own attempts to resist Fate but in fact their fall had been determined even before the beginning of the play.