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Theme Of Love And War In Antigone

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Love and Bloodshed
The ancient Greeks somehow linked together two aspects of life that seem to be exact opposites. Love and war, as Aphrodite was the mistress of ares, the god of war. In the play “Antigone” one of a trilogy, Antigone wishes for nothing more than to bury her deceased brother: However, that is the one thing her uncle, Creon, wants the least. There is a clearly defined relationship between love and war in Antigone, and it is a rather toxic relationship. In the play, the reader observes multiple views on a spectrum. On one end is Law (war, or result from the war between the two brothers), on the other is love. Creon obviously believes in the beginning that it is every man for himself, Antigone believes that family comes before the law, and Ismene struggles between the two.

On the law side of the spectrum is where we discover Creon. Creon was the uncle of the children of Oedipus, but when Oedipus’ sons killed each other in battle, Creon became the king. A question is imposed, did Creon want both of his own nephews to die so he would be able to assume the throne and take power? This would be viewed as morally incorrect by most and convinces the readers more than he puts law over family. The reader also observe this when he forbids a burial of Polynices, Creon states “Polyneices I say, is to have no burial: no man is to touch him or to say the least prayer for him; He shall lie on the plain, unburied; and the birds and the scavenging dogs can do

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