| How are Antigone and Ismene related? | They are related as sisters. |
| Who are the two brothers mentioned in the prologue? | Polyneices and Eteoceles |
| How did the two brothers die? | They kill each other. |
| What is King Creon’s decree? | No one should bury Polyneices. |
| What does Antigone plan to do? | Bury him herself. |
| What is Ismene’s decision regarding the King’s decree? | She’s not going to help Antigone. |
| What does the Choragos compare Polyneices to in the Parados? | A wild eagle screaming. |
| What city has “seven gates in a yawning ring”? | Thebes |
| What does the Chorus compare Thebes to? | Chariots singing for joy. |
| According to the Choragos, what does God hate? | God hates people who brag. |
| How does Oedipus die? | He gouges his eyes out. |
| Who says, “You should be cold with fear”? | Ismene |
| Who is the new King of Thebes? | Creon is the new king of Thebes. |
| How did the new King of Thebes claim heir to the throne? | next in blood line (brother of Jocasta) |
| What crime has Polyneices committed in the opinion of the king? | He broke exile. |
| What news does the sentry bring to Creon? | Someone has already buried Polyneices. |
| How was it decided which of the sentries would bring the news about Polyneices to Creon? | They were playing dice. |
| How does Creon believe the act of burying Polyneices was carried out? | He says that it was an anarchist. |
| What does Creon demand that the sentry do? | Find out who buried Polyneices. |
| According to Ode 1, what is the most wonderful of all the world’s wonders? | Man is the most wonderful thing. |
| Of all the winds, man has made himself secure against all except one. Which wind is that? | Late wind of death |
| List man’s accomplishments according to Ode 1. | 1. Language2. Intelligence 3. Fashion |
| Describe Polyneices’ tomb. | Lightly dusted with gold dust. |
| Who has the sentry captured and brought before King Creon? | Antigone |
| How did the guards manage to capture Antigone? | They found her burying Polyneices. |
| How did Antigone react to being captured by the sentries? | She’s not a coward. She denies nothing. |
| What reason does Antigone give for defying Creon’s decree? | She says your not God. The laws of God about burying the dead are more important than your laws. |
| Who else does Creon have arrested in connection with the crime of burying Polyneices? | Their sister Ismene. |
| Why is Antigone angry with Ismene? | Ismene didn’t help Antigone bury their brother when she asked. Now she wants to share the blame. |
| Besides being Antigone’s uncle, how else were Creon and Antigone related? | Antigone is engaged to marry Creon’s son, Haimon. |
| What is to be Antigone’s punishment for burying her brother? | She’s going to be put to death. |
| According to Ode 2, who is the fortunate man? | The man “who has never tasted God’s vengeance.” |
| Who is the god who must not be made angry, according to Ode 2? | Zeus if he gets angry people will suffer from his anger. |
| What is Haimon’s initial response when his father asks how he feels about the King’s decision to execute Antigone? | He will obey his father, he agrees with him. |
| What does Creon say that men pray for? | They pray for attentive and dutiful sons. |
| Why is Creon intent on harshly punishing, even family members, all those who break the law? | To show his power. |
| What does Haimon claim is God’s crowning gift to man? | He thinks the gift to “reason.” |
| What does Haimon tell King Creon about the people of Thebes’ allegiance to him? | They fear him. |
| Whose point does the Choragos support? | He supports Haimon. |
| How does the city feel about Antigone’s crime? | They sighed sympathetically with Antigone. |
| While Creon is ranting at his son, what does the king threaten to do? | He will make Haimon watch Antigone’s death. |
| Describe Creon’s death sentence for Antigone? | He’s going to lock her in a vault in a wilderness. |
| According to Ode 3, what is it that “even the pure immortals cannot escape”? | Love |
| Who is Aphrodite? | Goddess of Love. |
| Whose fate does Antigone compare to her own? | Niobe |
| What does Antigone beg the people of Thebes to bear witness to? | She was unjustly judged. |
| Who does Antigone blame for her terrible misfortune? | Oedipus |
| According to the chorus, who is considered a virtue? | Reverence |
| According to Ode 4, who was locked away in a brazen vault? | Danae |
| Who came to the princess while she was locked away? | Zeus |
| Who “bore the gods’ prisoning anger for his pride”? | Dryas’ son |
| What is the “half remembered tale of horror” that old man tell? | Ares wife watched ripped out the eyes of his sons. |
| Who is the blind prophet who comes to speak to King Creon? | Teiresias |
| What does the prophet claim that he heard which frightened him? | He heard birds fighting. |
| What happened when the prophet began “the rites of burnt-offering at the altar”? | He says that instead of flourishing they melt. |
| What does the prophet claim to be the cause of the gods’ reaction to their offerings? | The Gods are angry. |
| What does the prophet claim can be done to repair the evil performed against the gods? | If Creon changes his mind. |
| What is King Creon’s reaction to Teiresias’ message? | He says,” “Get out of here!” |
| What is it that Creon claims all prophets love? | All prophets love to ridicule Creon. |
| What warning does Teiresias give to King Creon if he refuses to heed the prophesies? | If he doesn’t change his mind he will pay. |
| What advice does the Choragos give King Creon once Teiresias leaves? | The advice he gives him is free Antigone and build a tomb for Polyneices. |
| How does King Creon react to the advice of the Choragos? | He will do it. |
| Who says, “All men make mistakes” and explain the meaning. | Teiresais |
| The Choragos and the Chorus pray to a “God of many names”. What are some of these names? | Iacchos, born of the thunder. |
| Who does the messenger claim is “a walking dead man”? | Creon |
| How has Teiresias’ prophecy that Creon would pay to the gods “flesh if his own flesh” come true? | Haimon has killed himself. |
| Who is Eurydice? | The Queen, wife of Creon and mother of Haimon. |
| What were Creon and the messenger doing when they prayed to Hecate and Pluto? | They were washing the corpse of Polyneicus with holy water before they burned it. |
| What did King Creon and the messenger do as soon as they finished their tasks regarding Polyneices? | They ran to the vault to free Antigone. |
| Describe what Creon saw when he looked through the crevice into Antigone’s tomb. | He saw Haimon weeping over Antigone’s body. Antigone hanged herself. |
| Describe Haimon’s reaction when Creon entered Antigone’s tomb. | He splits in Creon’s face and kills himself. |
| What happened after the messenger relayed the news about Haimon and Antigone to Eurydice? | Eurydice walked into her house and killed herself. |
| What does the Choragos claim is “always punished” by the gods? | The Gods always punished pride. |
| Who is Hephasistos? | He is the son of Zeus. |
Antigone Questions and Answers
February 14, 2020