Teiresias In Sophocles Antigone Essay

In ancient Thebes, where Oedipus and his family have demolished any sense of peace, the esteemed elder Teiresias has served as an assistant and protector of the city’s royalty by exposing their fate since the times of Oedipus’ rule. This venerable prophet, physically blind but spiritually enlightened, moves the story by informing Creon, and the readers, of the deaths of several characters in the play. Not only does Teiresias affect the final act, but his presence ultimately cements the character development of Creon’s character, and is the theme’s major connection with fate and free will. In Sophocles’ Antigone, Teiresias’s character functions as a catalyst for the third act and serves an overall embodiment of the theme. Primarily, Teiresias influences Creon’s character development by prophesying Thebes’ oncoming plagues. “I tell you, Creon, you yourself have brought this new calamity upon us...corpse for corpse, flesh of your own flesh...the Furies and the dark gods of hell are swift with terrible punishment for you...your house will be full of men and women weeping, and curses will be hurled at you

After his fate is revealed, Creon lingers with his revelation. The understanding Creon experienced after Teiresias’s prophecy is promptly followed by the play’s falling action: King Creon’s thwarted attempt of unburying Antigone, Haemon’s consequent suicide, subsequently succeeded by the self-annihilation (due to maternal grievance) of Queen Eurydice. This amassed carnage leaves Creon alone, jaded, and inundated with guilt: “Lead me away. I have been rash and foolish…. Whatever my hands have touched has come to nothing. Fate has brought all my pride to dust,” (Exodos, 134-137, 1006). While Antigone, Haemon, and Eurydice would still face their own demise, Teiresias’ swift presence in the play allows for Creon’s attempt to save his niece, thus establishing his character