The polis as an agent of fiction in Sophocles' Antigone
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62161/sauc.v12.6261Keywords:
Polis, Scenic space, Tragic plot, Antigone, Sophocles, City of Thebes, Political spaceAbstract
The article examines how the city functions both as a fictional space and as a political space in Sophocles' Antigone. It starts from the premise that every narrative relies on a spatiotemporal structure that sustains the development of the plot. In Greek tragedy, the fixed scenic space intensifies this relationship. In Antigone, all the action unfolds before the palace of Thebes: the polis is not merely a backdrop, but a driving force behind both the plot and the motivations of Antigone and Creon. By analysing references to "city", "citizens" and "Thebes", the study demonstrates the fundamental role of political space in the play's communicative power.
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