The Collective

The servants of Zeus have no choice but to obey him, since he is the most powerful god.  Although Hephaestus was hesitant to chain Prometheus to the rock, he had no other choice because Zeus would have punished him too for disobeying. Might talked about how Prometheus is the traitor to all gods and how he should be punished for it. Chorus and Oceanos feel pity for Prometheus, but disobeying Zeus would be too dangerous since he was the new ruler and acts like a dictator. Zeus is fit to sit on the throne because in a way he saved the other gods. Kronos feared being overthrown by his children, so he ate them. However, Zeus was able to avoid being eaten. After saving his siblings, he overthrew Kronos and the other titans and sent them to Tartarus. The other gods willingly obey Zeus because they fear being punished like Prometheus was. Zeus' rule resembles that of a dictatorship. He is able to do whatever he wants because he is the mightiest god.

At the start of Prometheus Bound, two servants of Zeus, Might and Violence, and Hepheastus the blacksmith enter the Caucasus. Might tells Hepheastus to chain Prometheus to a rock, as ordered by Zeus (line 3-6). Might claims Prometheus stole the power of fire and gave it to human kind and for that he must suffer and accept the power of Zeus (Lines 8-11). With this responsibility, Hepheastus struggles and responds that he can’t bear to do it, but goes through with it because he knows that he must not disrespect Zeus (lines 13-18). He does it, because that’s his penance for loving humans, and he knows he will show his grief and sorrow, but that will do no good. Hephaestus- It’s hard to soften Zeus with prayer, or any new ruler’s mind for that matter. (lines 34-35). After these two introductory monologues, the two characters of Might and Hepheastus go into a sparring section of dialogue. M: Why are you pitying him?  H: You’re ruthless, he’s family! I can’t believe I used my ...

Pain and pleasure are definitely parts that allow the person to experience sympathy, for that particular situation. These two things are components that allow for a more submersive experience when trying to sympathize with another individuals. This idea of the concepts being connected can be seen as, different parts of one big thing. The pain aspect is the part that weights down or gives gravity to the situation at hand. To, try to sympathize with and individuals to not be able to have a solid understanding of the emotion that they are feeling at that moment makes it more difficult to sympathize; more generally it does not even have to be the emotion of pain solely , but in general the principle of self application to the other individual. The chorus in  Prometheus bound do this by directly  asking the person for a first hand account of their experience. Do they find pleasure in this? It would not be to far fetched to thing not because this allows them to experience a s...

I found the conversation between Antigone and Ismene interesting. The writer does not make it clear cut as to which sister is older or younger. Antigone wants to give her brother, Polyneices burial. Her reasoning behind this is because he is family. Also she is not quite sure it is the right thing to do. Antigone states, “Further: he has the matter so at heart that anyone who dares attempt the act will die by public stoning on the town. So there you have it and you soon will show if you are noble, or worthless, despite your high birth” (line 35-39). Her Antigone is explaining that she would die by order of Creon for going against the law and burying her brother. She is also mentioning the noble and worthless part since birth. Perhaps she is justifying her reasoning with the fact that they had not choice in the matter of who their family is. Do you think Antigone is correct for trying to bury her brother properly despite it going against the law? Or do you think she should be more conc...

Antigone and ismene both want to bury their brother and want to follow their tradition and pay him respect. However Ismene views the law of the kingdom is the highest thing to be followed above everything. She doesn’t want to disobey Creons and he is the representation of this law. Ismene believes that the only solution is to obey the law even if it asks both Antigone and Ismene to disrespect their brother. Antigone has the complete opposite idea to Ismene. She believes that loyalty to her family trumps everything. It shows how Antigone seems to not care about the law or the consequences that come with it as well. Even though her brother is considered as a traitor by Creon, she still shows loyalty to her brother by going against the law. Antigone shows how uncooperative she is as she strongly disagrees with the law. She portrays that no can convince or stop her from her beliefs. Ismene is reasonable and understands her place. Ismene fears the law, authority, and death...

It was fascinating to see right at the beginning how the two sisters are opposite from each other. Their first exchange of dialogue formed the two sisters personalities. Antigone asks her sister, "Will you take up that corpse along with me?" Ismene, "To bury him you mean, when it's forbidden?" Antigone, "My brother, and yours, though you may wish he were not. I never shall be found to be his traitor." Ismene, "O reckless one, when Creon spoke against it!" (Lines 43-47) One representing family, and religion, and the other representing the state laws, and fear. Antigone is a strong character; although she knows that her brother was a traitor, she still wants to do right by her family and bury her brother.

We can say Antigone is a  strong  person, or someone who is confident and strong-willed. From the beginning of the play, Antigone is outspoken, passionate, and confident. Even though her brother was just retaliating for being banished, she knows the right thing to do is give him a proper burial, honoring his life, their culture, and the gods. She looks past Polyneices's flaws and puts his soul to rest.