Free Will In Antigone And Oedipus The King

Tragedies written by Ancient Greeks touch on sensitive moral and societal issues that raise a question about whether or not the course of one’s life is predetermined by the gods and the individual has no self-will to guide it. Spirituality was a significant part of Ancient Greek cul-ture which is displayed as unpreventable fate accompanying tragic heroes in plays. The plays Oe-dipus Rex and Antigone written by Ancient Greek author Sophocles explore the theme in ancient Greek tragedy of destiny versus free will. The main protagonists are tragic heroes who are des-tined to share a common strength, such as courage and common weaknesses such as stubbornness as well as to face their tragic doom. First, Oedipus and Antigone are both of a high standing, which distinguishes them from other characters in the plays. Oedipus is a King of Thebes and Antigone is his daughter, and therefore a princess of Thebes. Both of them show bravery and courage in fighting for what they believe is right. While

Oedipus defeated the Sphinx, because he believed that people of Thebes needed his assistance, Antigone fought for her moral principles that contradicted with the law of the state. Second, Oedipus as well as Antigone demonstrate their pride. Oedipus accuses Creon of trying to take over his governance, because he is an extraordinary King who saved the city. Oedipus and Antigone reject help and warnings of people who are close to them, which leads to their tragic destiny. Both characters possess various weaknesses that assist in reversing their fortune from good to bad. However, one common of them is stubbornness which leads to their downfall. Third, at the end, Oedipus realized that by attempting to escape his destiny he fulfilled what he was fearing the most. Similarly, Antigone accepts her fate to die for disobeying the law. Thus, fated heroic traits and weaknesses of both tragic characters led to their self-recognition followed by predestined catastrophe. The plays refer to various literary devices that contribute in demonstrating the fulfillment of the tragic heroes’ fate such as characterization, cosmic irony, and dramatic irony. Ancient Greek philosopher Aris-totle defined such characters who meet their catastrophe in form of death or suffering as tragic heroes.
First of all, Aristotle delineated a tragic hero as a character who stands out by virtue of his high standing and heroic traits that make him exceptional among all other characters.

Both characters, Oedipus and Antigone, demonstrate that they correspond to Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero by being noble belonging to a hereditary class and by being brave. For instance, at the very beginning of the play Oedipus Rex, the main character states about himself: “I, Oedipus, who bear the famous name” (Prologue, l. 10). By dint of characterization, the author suggests that Oedipus has a “famous name” which distinguishes him from other citizens of Thebes. Oedi-pus draws the attention of the audience by referring to his “famous name”, because he is not only a King of Thebes, but he is well known for his strong leadership and previous actions that liberat-ed the city from Sphinx. As for Antigone, she refers to the tragic events of her ancestry in order to justify her royal

lineage:
“Unspeakable, horror of son and mother mingling:
Their crime, infection of all our family!” (Scene IV, l. 38-39)
Antigone, being Oedipus’ daughter naturally comes of a high standing as well, due to her fa-ther’s achievement and her royal family. She is related by blood to Oedipus and, therefore she is a princess of Thebes. As a matter of fact, Oedipus becomes a King of Thebes by escaping the Delphic oracle’s prophecy that “alleged” his fate of becoming a King of Corinth by killing his father and marrying his mother. At the same time, by fulfilling his predetermined fate and breed-ing with his own mother, he unintentionally curses his progeny to suffer for his mistakes. Thus, Antigone emphasizes the negative aspect of being the descendant of Oedipus, because, as his daughter, she is destined to have a tragic life. In addition to high standing, according to Aristo-tle’s Poetics, a tragic hero should possess heroic traits. Oedipus and Antigone are both fated to be brave and courageous when facing danger or making potentially dangerous decisions. The priest of the city publicly reveals the heroic traits that Oedipus possesses and the reason why he became a respectful King of Thebes:
“[…] You saved us
From the Sphinx, that flinty singer, and the tribute
We paid to her so long; yet you were never
Better informed than we, not could we teach you;
A god’s touch, it seems, enabled you to help us.” (Prologue, l. 40-44)
Oedipus is the only one who was able to defeat the Sphinx, the greatest menace that the citizens faced before the Oedipus have appeared. It demonstrates how the community appreciates and respects him for his bravery that saved the citizens of Thebes from death. It also stresses that Oedipus is unique, since no one else could have succeeded in a fight against Sphinx. Identically, Antigone demonstrates her heroic traits in her decision to go against the law in order to bury her brother.
“But I will bury him; and if I must die
I say that this crime is holy; I shall lie down
With him in death […]” (Prologue, l. 56-58)
Despite the fact that Creon, present King of Thebes, made a law prohibiting to bury Polyneices, Antigone is determined to fulfill her family duty and, if needed, to meet the consequences. Therefore, in case of Oedipus, his heroic traits brought him to Thebes and assisted him in defeat-ing the Sphinx. All those events are linked to his future marriage with his own mother and tragic disclosure of his real identity. Without this heroic trait, he would have not been in Thebes, and, most likely, would have not fulfilled his own destiny. The author stresses that Antigone’s heroic trait as well brought her to her tragic fate. Fearless, she decided to perform her family duty, even if it puts her own life in danger. Thus, the heroic trait that she was destined to possess caused her downfall.