Antigone Research Excursion: Centers of Democracy in Ancient Athens

By Bailey Black

For this research excursion, I chose to focus on democracy in Ancient Athens. Specifically, I wanted to learn more about places in Ancient Athens that served as meeting grounds and symbols for the direct, citizen-led government that existed during Sophocles’ time. This time period, referred to as the Classical Period, was defined by the growth of democracy in Athens, and this provides the backdrop for many of the themes that come up in Antigone.

Antigone covers many themes, from familial relationships to gender roles to law and justice. However, another important element of this play — and the one I will be focusing on today — is how the play discusses government and the role of the government. In Antigone, we are presented with the character Creon, who is the tyrannical ruler of Thebes. Creon is very clearly placed in contrast to the government found in Athens around this time, and the fact that Sophocles makes Creon the ruler of Thebes, a rival city-state to Athens, makes this comparison even more clear. At one point, Creon even mocks the central idea behind democracy, the idea of popular sovereignty, saying, “Is a city then to dictate what my orders should be?” (732). With this in mind, I believe that by learning more about what democracy looked like in Athens at this time, we can learn more about how both Sophocles and his audience would have perceived this character.

I picked four locations to focus on for this exhibit: the Pynx, the Ancient Agora of Athens, the Theater of Dionysus, and the Parthenon. Looking at these locations allows us to get a better sense of not just what Athenian democracy looked like, but how Athenians would have experienced it.

My biggest takeaway from my research was just how much emphasis was placed on civic participation in Athenian democracy, something which can even be seen in the design of some of these ancient structures, with their large capacities and central speaking podiums. It’s clear that there was a strong culture of community in Athens at that time, at least among those with the ability to vote. Understanding this fact gives me a greater appreciation for how unique and special Athens was during this period, as well as for Antigone and its depiction of government, a depiction that was far ahead of its time.

I hope you enjoy my exhibit.

 

Works Cited

Camp, John M. The Archaeology of Athens. Yale University Press, 2001. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org.libproxy.scu.edu/stable/j.ctt1npxgm. Accessed 23 Oct. 2021.

Levi, Peter. Atlas of the Greek World. Time Life Books, 1984.

Patriquin, Larry. Economic Equality and Direct Democracy in Ancient Athens. Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.