The storm outside of Thebes and the auguries of Teiresias hint that nature is offended by Creon's actions and stands on the side of Antigone. Antigone represents the primal will of the gods, a.k.a. This echoes the basic conflict of the play.Ĭreon represents the state or man-made civilization. Do you notice a common thread here? Nearly everything is about humanity asserting its will over nature. Humanity has: built ships to conquer the seas, crafted plows to tame the earth, bent animals to his will, raised houses to defeat the rain and the snow. Let's take a look at the achievements that the Chorus lists. But how could all of man's accomplishments be both of those things at once?
In a way, the word means both wonderful and terrible at the same time. It can also describe something that is terrible. This little ditty just happens to be the most famous choral ode in all of Greek tragedy, and is popularly referred to as the "Ode to Man." In this celebrated ode the Chorus sings about all the wonderful accomplishments of man. The next time we hear the Chorus is the First Ode. Though Thebes has just defeated an external enemy, the new order represented by Creon will be challenged almost immediately by an enemy from within. The audience has just watched the prologue, in which Antigone declares her intentions to defy the state. Overall, the parados in Antigone is a joyful celebration of victory. This helps to strengthen Creon's position about the traitor's burial. We also get the sense that the people of Thebes are furious at Polyneices for betraying and attacking them. The Chorus sings all about the terrible battle that has just been fought. In Antigone, Sophocles uses the parados to give back-story. The actual word "parados" comes from the name of the corridor or archway through which the Chorus first entered. When the Chorus performed the parados they would "parade" in, singing and dancing with a bunch of fanfare. Parados looks a little bit like the modern word "parade," right? This is probably no accident. ParodosĪs in every ancient Greek tragedy, the first time we hear the Chorus is when they sing their parados or entry song. In Antigone we get choral odes on everything from the triumph of man over nature, to the dangers of pride, to the hazards of love. Sophocles also uses the Chorus to expound upon the play's central themes. The main functions of the Chorus are to comment on the action of the play, give back story, and to connect the play to other myths. Creon, of course, finally agrees to do this.
The old men of Thebes also practically insist that Creon take Teiresias's advice and free Antigone. It's at their pleading that Creon decides not to sentence Ismene to death along with her sister. Though they at first seem to be totally on the side of their new king Creon, they begin to urge him to be more moderate. In Antigone the Chorus at times directly affects the action of the play. Also, they represent in some way the deeply embedded patriarchal (male-dominated) society that Antigone defies.
They're probably old men because most of the young ones have just died in battle. In Antigone the Chorus is made up of a group of old Theban men.
The Chorus is roughly like the peanut-gallery.