Antigone and Other Myths

In Scene IV of Antigone, the Chorus and Antigone herself make mention of several other myths of Greek lore. These stories, which would have been part of the common knowledge of the original Greek audience, add new ways to look at and interpret Antigone’s position, mostly in negative ways. In this scene, composed entirely of the conversation between the chorus and the protagonist, the listener/reader is forced to weigh Antigone’s heroism and moral strength with her potential for perhaps too much rigidity and self-righteousness. The similarities and differences between these myths and Antigone’s position can help with this interpretation.
The first comparison is brought up by Antigone herself. She matches her moribund situation with that of Niobe, who died bereft of family. She says, “I feel the loneliness of her death in mine,” noting that her family is either dead or forbidden to her (in the case of her sister and fiancé) (Scene IV line 20). The other part of the legend of Niobe is the reason she was punished: her hubris in boasting that she was greater than the gods (at least, that her children were). Antigone does not really relate to this part of the myth – however, both Creon and Oedipus can be seen as claiming to have more power than the gods over the city’s and their families’ affairs. The Chorus recognizes this, responding to Antigone that “I cannot tell / What shape of your father’s guilt appears in this.” This seems to be more a plea for pity by Antigone than any realization of hubris or self-righteousness.
The second myth that Antifone is compared to is that of Danae. In this story, Danae is prophesied to bear a son that would kill her father; in order to avoid this, her father locks her up and prevents suitors from seeing her. But, like any who try to avoid their fate, Danae does indeed bear a son (Perseus) who eventually and accidentally kills her father. The parallels to Oedipus’s story are clear; the lessons for Perseus’s grandfather and for Oedipus’s parents were learned too late for fixing them. The part of Danae’s myth that Antigone is paralleled with is her imprisonment in a room with no doors; this is similar to the sepulcher that Antigone will die in. However, Danae was paid a visit by Zeus, and there will be no respite for Antigone; furthermore, Danae is really portrayed as a passive person who lets her father and son boss her around – clearly, Antigone is not similar.
The last two myths that are briefly made reference to by the Chorus are that of King Lycurgus and King Phineas. King Lycurgus was a king of Thrace, struck by madness as a punishment for pride and the death of Dionysis’s nursemaid who then killed his family and himself. Oedipus is really a more likely comparison for the family-destruction part; however, Antigone can be seen as prideful in some regards. King Phineas cast off his wife Cleopatra and imprisoned her in a cave, then allowing his second wife to be cruel to Cleopatra’s children. Perhaps the lesson here is that even being nobly born cannot save you from your fate and from death. These two comparisons are not very favorable for Antigone.
Although I set out to analyze the myths made reference to in this passage because I thought they might add clarity to an interpretation of Antigone, in the end I am left with more questions than before. Why are these myths mentioned, when they are difficult to use to interpret Antigone’s position? How can she be a helpless princess, a cruel king, and an evil king? I am not sure what the reader should take from these passages – perhaps the average play attendee in the original audience would have gotten more out of these references. (639)