Emily’s Workshop

Sophocles, one of ancient Greece’s greatest playwrights, explored human nature and divine justice through his Theban plays, which follow a tragic royal family across generations. Oedipus Rex tells the story of a king whose search for truth leads him to discover that he has fulfilled a dreadful prophecy by killing his father and marrying his mother. Antigone follows his daughter, who defies her uncle Creon’s law to honor her brother with a proper burial. In Oedipus Rex and Antigone, Sophocles explores how pride and the struggle between divine law and human authority lead to tragedy. Both Oedipus and Antigone act out of conviction and moral strength, but their determination to do what they believe is right blinds them to the consequences of their choices, showing how even noble intentions can lead to ruin when pride overpowers wisdom.

In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus’s determination to uncover the truth reveals his strength as a ruler but also exposes his fatal flaw—his pride. When the prophet Teiresias warns him that he is the murderer he seeks, Oedipus refuses to believe it and accuses others of conspiracy. His pride blinds him to the possibility that the gods’ prophecy might be true, and his insistence on solving Laius’s murder shows his belief that human intelligence can overcome fate. This hubris leads to his downfall: by pursuing the truth relentlessly, Oedipus brings about his own ruin. In the end, his self-inflicted blindness symbolizes the ignorance that pride has caused. Through Oedipus, Sophocles shows that human power and knowledge are limited before the will of the gods.

In Antigone, Oedipus’s daughter inherits her father’s fierce resolve, but her defiance is driven by moral duty rather than arrogance. She chooses to bury her brother Polyneices despite Creon’s decree forbidding it, declaring that she must obey “the laws of the gods, not of men.” Antigone’s courage and loyalty make her heroic, but her refusal to compromise leads to her death. Like her father, she cannot yield, even when faced with the certainty of punishment. Her tragedy mirrors Oedipus’s: both act from conviction, but both are undone by their unbending pride. Sophocles portrays Antigone as a symbol of integrity and resistance, yet her downfall reveals the danger of absolute moral certainty.

Both tragedies express Sophocles’ belief that pride and moral blindness can destroy even the most noble individuals. Oedipus blinds himself when he finally sees the truth, while Creon, Antigone’s opponent, loses his son and wife after refusing to listen to reason. In each play, the conflict between divine and human law exposes the limits of human control. Oedipus tries to outwit fate, and Creon enforces his authority against the gods’ will; both suffer because their pride makes them deaf to wisdom. Sophocles thus warns that moral strength must be balanced by humility. The two stories together form a moral cycle: Oedipus’s blindness and pride echo in Antigone’s defiance, showing how one generation’s flaws are inherited by the next.

Through Oedipus and Antigone, Sophocles demonstrates that pride and moral conviction, though admirable, can lead to destruction when taken too far. His plays remind readers that true wisdom comes from humility and respect for divine order—the understanding that human power has limits. The tragedies of Oedipus and Antigone remain timeless because they speak to the universal struggle between conscience and authority, teaching that courage without self-awareness can turn virtue into tragedy.