The Thebes Times

Antigone's message

Antigone died by her own hand today after several days of torture. She hung
herself with her own vial which was to be worn at her wedding to Prince
Haemon. The question hear is why did she disobey the Kings law and what
message has she sent to us all. Antigone was a brave woman willing to stand
up for what she believed in. Her unwillingness to allow the state to dictate
to her a God given right should stand out as a beacon to us all. King Creons
proclamation that Polynices was to be left unburied for the birds and dogs to
feast upon was unjust from the beginning. 

The gods clearly state that everyone deserves a proper burial regardless of their actions. King Creon actually took it a step further in that not only was no one to bury the body but no one was allowed to even morn his death. Antigone saw these actions for what they were and acted appropriately in laying her brothers body to rest. In her own words she spelled it out for us " It wasn't Zeus, not in the least, who made this proclamation-not to me. Nor did that justice, dwelling with the gods beneath the earth, ordain such laws for men. Nor did I think your edict had such force that you, a mere mortal, could override the gods, the great unwritten, unshakable traditions. They are alive, not just today or yesterday: they live forever, from the first of time, and no one knows when they first saw the light" Antigone. Let all of us remember this great woman and how she stood up for her rights in the face of adversity.