Should Have Left it Outside

From a scholarly journal that fit all of my criteria and that I found on the first try (something that NEVER happens), I learned an inkling more about why Antigone was willing to sacrifice her life to bury Polynices.

It's clear from the text that she felt it her duty as he was her brother. From the article, I learned that it wouldn't just have been a shock to her system, but to all the people. Creon was within his rights to not bury Polyneices, a traitor, in Thebes. However, Polyneices was left unburied inside the walls of the city. It was something unheard of. (p. 34-35)

This is useful to know for all of the characters and how they react to Creon's decree. Though it is easy to see who follows along with Creon and who doesn't, we are able to see more of just how much a character (Ismene, for example) ignores in order to follow the rules.

Work Cited

Patterson, Cynthia B. "The Place and Practice of Burial in Sophocles' Athens." Helios. 2006 supplement. Volume 36. p 34-35.