The Single Burial of Polyneices
Author(s): Richard M. Rothaus
Source: The Classical Journal, Vol. 85, No. 3, (Feb. - Mar., 1990), pp. 209-217
Published by: The Classical Association of the Middle West and South, Inc.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3297709
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THE SINGLE BURIAL OF POLYNEICES
The burial of Polyneices has been much discussed by moder scholars.'
The problemsdiscussed, however,are of recent creation. Antigone's returnto
the grave site is mildly problematic, but there is no need to postulate two
separateburials or intricateand shadowy workings behind the scenes of the
play. The Greek mind would have seen no difficulties in Antigone's returnto
the body of her brother,ratherit would have seen an act of devotion and the
repair of a desecratedgrave. This interpretationof Antigone's returnto the
burialis simple and is to be preferredto the many ingenious explanationsthat
have been proposedfor the "second burial" of Polyneices; the widely varied
scholarshipon the "double burial"is not all for naught, however,for many of
the moder rationalizationshave given rise to valid points. To createa context
in which Antigone's returnto her brother'scorpse and her subsequentactions
can be discussed, it is necessaryto review currentviews of the subject.
The question of who first buriedPolyneices is one that must be addressed
only because modern critics have broughtit up; the question is not a natural
one. Two agents have been proposed other than Antigone: Ismene and the
gods. The propositionthat Ismene performedthe first burial is insupportable
and unrewarding.The idea thatthe gods did it, however,thoughfallacious, has
borne much good fruit.
W. H. D. Rouse and J. E. Harry have been the main supportersof the
Ismene theory.2Rouse cites Ismene's unsuccessful attemptsat confession to
Creon (at 536 and 558) as evidence of her performanceof the first burial. He
states:"I thinkno one will forgethow those who seem to be weakestoften can
be heroic. . . .3 Rouse refersto her ravingsas evidence of her deed and then
assumes he has solved the problemof the first burial. He says, ratherhaughtily, "No one took any notice of Ismene. ... In two thousandyears no one
has taken any notice of Ismene."4 No one took notice, of course, because in
ancient dramasuch an importantaction cannot be attributedto a minor character.If this objectionis not enough, however,Rouse's interpretationmisreads
Ismene's statements. Ismene desires to be found guilty because she has
changed her mind about participationin the deed: "But amidst these trials of
yours, I am not ashamed to make myself a shipmate in your sufferings"
(540-41). Antigone responds that she does not value a friend in words only
(542-43). Ismene's complicity in the crime is desired, not actual, and she
1Theproblem was first discussed by Jebb in his 1906 edition of the Antigone. Since then the
burialof Polyneices has been the subjectof at least twenty-sevenarticlesand innumerablediscussions in works on Attic dramaand Sophocles.
2W. H. D. Rouse, "The Two Burials in the Antigone," CR 25 (1911) 40-42; J. E. Harry,
Studies in Sophocles, University of Cincinnati Studies Ser. 27 (1911) 20-25. See also H.
McNaghten,Antigone (Cambridge1929).
3Rouse(n.2 above) 41.
4Rouse (n.2 above) 42.
209
210
RICHARD
M. ROTHAUS
raves because Antigone is dear to her (99). She did not and could not have
performedthe first burial.
The attributionof the first burial to the gods brings up some valid points,
although it is not free from what Whitmancalls the "rigor mortis of literalism."5 S. M. Adams, the originatorof the divine burialtheory,sees a time
problemthat makes it impossible for Antigone to performthe first burial. He
maintainsthat since the firstday-watchmanfoundthe burial(253-54) and that
since the prologue apparentlytakes place in some light, Antigone could not
have made it to the corpse in time to performthe burialbefore the watchman
arrived.6Adams' interpretationof the Greek text is open to question, as J. S.
Margonhas demonstrated;7even if it were not, it would be too much to expect
such exacting accuracyfrom the compressedtime-sequencesof Attic drama.
Thereare many miraculouscoincidences, however,that do seem to point to
the divine realm. Adamspoints out the guard'sdescriptionof the eartharound
the corpse as undisturbedby any tool, wheel or mark of a workman(24952).8 The emphasisof acT(pko;, Xcpao<;and dpp04, as Bradshawpoints out,
is simply thatno digging was done.9 It is difficultto understandhow Antigone
was able, withoutleaving a trace, to burythe body so well thatthe guardcould
remarkthat it was not visible (255). Had the body been so well covered,
Antigone would have left some sign of her presence, at least finger-marks
where she scooped up the dust. Messemerproposesthat Antigonebroughtthe
dust with her, in the folds of her garments, calling upon the ending of
Aeschylus' Seven Against Thebes (1044) as a parallel.10This is improbable
and still does not explain the emphasis on the lack of any signs, such as
footprints.Somethingamazingoccurredwith the depositingof the dust.
Adamsalso cites the fact thatthe body was undisturbedby any beast of prey
(256-57).11 Bradshawattemptsto explain this away: "Curs scavengingon a
battlefield littered with dead bodies will certainly leave to the last the one
which is covered with dust and lying in the neighborhoodof watchmen."12
This is not so certain.We cannotassume a generalcarnage, and I have serious
doubtsas to the effectiveness of dust in slowing down "curs"in the slightest.
In regardto the attendantwatchmen,if they had been attentivethe burialnever
5C. H. Whitman,The Heroic Paradox(Ithaca1982) 112.
6S. M. Adams, "The Antigoneof Sophocles," Phoenix 9 (1955) 51. See also Adams'earlier
article, "The Burial of Polyneices," CR 45 (1931) 110-11. For sympathywith Adams'theorysee
J. C. Kamerbeek, The Plays of Sophocles: Part 3, The Antigone (Leiden 1978), and G. M.
Kirkwood,A Studyof SophocleanDrama (Ithaca1955) 70-72; M. McCall, "Divine and Human
Action in Sophocles," YCIS22 (1972) 103-17, is the most recent championof the divine-burial
theory.
7J. S. Margon, "The FirstBurialof Polyneices," CJ 64 (1969) 289-90. Margonarguesagainst
divine involvementin the firstburial. In this he is joined by E. Messemer,"The Double Burialof
Polyneices," CJ 37 (1942) 515-28; and C. Segal, review of Kamerbeek, Phoenix 33 (1979)
269-72, and Tragedy and Civilization: An Interpretation of Sophocles (Cambridge 1981)
159-60n.25, 412-13.
8Adams"The Antigone" (n.6 above) 51.
9A. T. von S. Bradshaw,"TheWatchmanScene in the Antigone," CQ 12 (1962) 202. Bradshaw
does not see the undisturbedgroundas a sign of divine intervention.
'0Messemer(n.7 above) 525.
"Adams "The Antigone" (n.6 above) 54.
12Bradshaw(n.9 above) 204.
THE SINGLE BURIAL OF POLYNEICES
211
would have occurredin the first place! Any mention of a body being "unnaturally"preservedmust evoke images of Hectorand divine protection.If the
gods are not actually involved, they are suggested. But Bradshawis right in
assuming that the dust is the deciding factor in the protection, although he
misses the evidence-for afterthe dust had been removed,the body was eaten
(1016-18). The efficacy of the dust-coveringand some sort of divine care are
combined to protectthe body.
The concealing dust storm in which Antigone returns to the corpse is
obviously supernatural,despite Bradshaw'sbelief that it is just a method of
showinghow Antigonecould haveperformedthe firstburialunseen.13The dust
stormarrives,the guardsaretemporarilyblindedand, when theycan see again,
Antigone appears.This is a miraculousentrance.The dust stormis, as Adams
indicates, describedas an otpdvtov aixog and a OEiavoaog; it is divine, and
Adams sees this: "Why this extraordinarystorm, the abnormalform of which
the poet is at pains to emphasize, if it is not a divine interventionto enable
Antigone to perform the humanly impossible."14 Additionally, R. Scodel
pointsout thatthis is quitereminiscentof divinely grantedinvisibilityin the epic
tradition,in which, it shouldbe noted, those cloaked areusuallyignorantof the
assistance. The assistance of the gods in this dust storm is evident to the
sensitive mind (one unlike Creon's), but the indications are not blatantly
obvious. As Scodel says, "the hints are delicate and restrained."'5
The final evidence to which Adams calls our attentionis the fact that the
chorusasks if the gods performedthe burial(278-79).16 This is, of course, the
type of thing chorusesareproneto ask, and Meiklejohnpoints out thatthey are
falling underthe guard'spowerof suggestion.17It is not appropriate,however,
to accept the chorus'question(not statement)as fact, or, on the otherhand, to
rejectit as folly. Sophocles would not have wastedtime on superfluousissues,
and a fair amountof the play is devotedto the question of the role of the gods
in the burial. The concern over the gods is great enough to cause Creon to
begin a tirade against the idea of their participationin the burial. As Kitto
says, "Creontakes it seriously, and so must we."18
The gods are involved, at some level, in the burial and reburialof Polyneices, but to make them the ruling force behind these actions is wrong.
Adams says of Antigone: "She comes in the storm;she is all but an automaton: it is evident, surely,that the gods intendthis thing to happen."19This is,
of course, an extremeposition. It is possible for the gods to have performed
the firstburialwithoutAntigone's becoming an "automaton."The firstburial
may be the gods', the second hers. Because of the remarksof Creon and
'3Bradshaw(n.9 above) 202.
14Adams"Burial" (n.6 above) 110.
15R.Scodel, "Epic Doublets and Polyneices' Two Burials," TAPA114 (1984) 52-54.
16Adams"The Antigone" (n.6 above) 54.
'7K. W. Meiklejohn, "The Burial of Polyneices," CR 46 (1932) 4.
'8H. D. F. Kitto, Form and Meaning in Drama (London 1956) 156. Kitto sees divine and
human spheres interminglingto performthe burial. This idea is sharedby K. Reinhardt,Sophokles (Frankfort1933), and R. Scodel, Sophocles (Boston 1984).
19Adams"Burial" (n.6 above) 110.
212
RICHARDM. ROTHAUS
modem scholars, it is essential that we examine the evidence against a divine
firstburial.
J. S. Margonraises questions as to the validityof the accountof the guard.
The guard's primaryinterest is saving his own skin; he puts off the issue,
denies culpabilitybeforethe deed is even mentioned,andportraysthe burialas
so miraculousthat nothing could be done to preventit (238-40). He wants
Creon to believe the supernaturalwas involved so that he cannot be blamed.
Margonasks why this colorful ratherthan stock characterwas used, and then
reasonsthat the playwright'spurposeis to drawattentionto the messenger in
orderto reveal him as untrustworthy.20
Unfortunatelythe lying messenger is
not a characterin Greek drama, unless the fact that he is lying is made
painfullyexplicit (as in the case of Neoptolemosin the Philoctetes).This is not
the case here. The messengergives our only accountof the incident, and he is
not called a liar. On the contrary,Creon, in a very perceptivemoment, sees the
guard'sattemptsto avoidblame (241-42):
Well indeed have you arrangedto fence the affair round about;
clearly there is somethingstrangeto be told.21
Creon, a man always irritableand readyto see conspiracyand dissimulation,
does not call the guarda liar;he merelyexpects to receive news of rt veov. To
assumethatthe guard'shesitancymakeshim a liar is a mistake. We cannotsay
that the gods were not presentat the firstburialonly because the guardchose
to insertthem thereto protecthimself.
Margonalso brings up lines 255-56 in his attemptto drive the gods out of
the scene: "He was not visible; not entombed,but lightly coveredwith dust, as
by one who fled a curse." In this instanceMargonaccepts the guard'swords
as true and maintainsthat the guard did not really think the gods did it, for
gods need not avoid curses.22McCall objects to this interpretationby using a
variationof Margon's"deceitful messenger" routine:". . . the guardapplies
his own, not necessarily correct, interpretationof events."23Again, we have
no reasonto believe the messenger may be involved in such a misrepresentation; a major character,perhaps, but a messenger, no. The lines say nothing
about who buriedPolyneices, but ratherwhat kind of burialit was-the kind
of burialthat turnsawaycurses.
It has also been proposed that if the gods are so deeply involved in the
burials, Creon is either too stupid to see it or too impious to care. This,
however,would renderhim a poor antagonistfor Antigone and thus is beyond
the rangeof possibility.24The responseto this is simple:Creonis impious, for
after his actions naturegoes awry. He is not blind, for the gods' role is not
painfully obvious. Scodel describes the miracle: "This is an implicit mira-
2OMargon(n.7 above) 293.
21See R. F. Goheen, The Imagery of Sophocles' 'Antigone" (Princeton1951) 21, 130n.10 for
militaryimageryin these lines. Cf. Kamerbeekon these lines for a rejectionof hunting imagery
here.
22Margon(n.7 above) 294.
23McCall(n.6 above) 111-12.
24Margon(n.7 above) 290.
THE SINGLEBURIALOF POLYNEICES
213
cle-just naturalenough to explain Creon'sfailureto see the gods at work."25
Creonis not so evil that he does not care, just insensitiveenough that he does
not notice. Even the guards, one of whom clearly saw the divine involvement,
accuse each other (260).
Thus far the attemptsto purgethe supernaturalfromthe firstburialhavenot
succeeded. But there is one scene in the play that shows that Antigone performedthe firstburial(in additionto her own confession at 435, which should
be enough). The guard describes Antigone's reactionwhen she comes to the
corpse for the "second" burial (422-27):
And when, after a long time, the storm departed,the young lady
became visible, and she cried out loud the piercing, bittercry of a
bird, as when the nest being empty of childrenit sees the bedding
bereft. Thus she too when she saw the corpse naked, in this manner
began to wail ....
The simile is quite clear: the bird looks in its nest, and instead of seeing its
babies, as expected, it sees nothing. This is the reaction of Antigone, she
expects one thing, but insteadfinds the corpse tIX6v.Seeing that the corpse
is bare, she straightwayreacts (E6065i)and covers it with dust (429). The
answer is obvious: she expects to find the corpse covered, but finds it uncovered. Antigone performedthe first burial. This appearsincontestable,but
two attempts have been made to refute this as an indication of Antigone's
responsibility.Rouse tries to make us believe that iXo6vmeans strippedof
armor.26This is impossible. The strippingof armoris normalpractice;Antigone might have been surprisedif Polyneices still wore the armor,but she
could never be surprisedthat the armoris gone. McCall attemptsto use the
faulty messenger idea again in order to explain this passage, but it is not
feasible, especially since he is our only witness of one of the most crucial
scenes of the play.27
So it seems that the gods did not performthe first burialafterall, although
they were involved. As Cowser points out, the attributionof majoractions to
the gods, or minor characters,may be interesting and perhaps convincing
when perused at one's leisure, but Sophocles was not interestedin deceiving
his audiencewith shaded meanings and lying messengers.28The sequence of
events in the play, in the absence of any clear and emphatic statementto the
contrary,indicateswho performedthe burial.Antigoneexits with the intention
of buryingPolyneices, the chorus sings, Creonenters and announceshis ban,
the messengerarrivesand announcesthe burial. Therenevershouldhave been
any question as to who performedthe burial.
But Antigone was not alone when she buriedPolyneices, for there is some
supernaturalinvolvementseen in the protectionof the body, the lack of signs,
and the mysteriousdust storm. To returnto lines 277-78:
Lord, my anxieties have suggested for a while now, might not this
deed be something sent by a god?
25ScodelSophocles (n.18 above) 56.
26Rouse(n.2 above) 40.
27McCall(n.6 above) 115.
28J. Cowser, "The Shapingof the Antigone," PCA 36 (1939) 39.
214
RICHARDM. ROTHAUS
Held points out that OgEicrTovis not, as Jebb translatesit, "a deed wrought
by the gods," but "sent or caused by a god."29 Held continues to say, "the
primaryfunction and effect of this word is ratherto createin the minds of the
audience, who know that it is Antigone who performs the first burial, an
association between it and the laws of the gods .."30 Antigone buries
Polyneices in accordancewith the laws of the gods and thus with the aid of the
gods.
Now that we have answeredthe rathercontrived question of who buried
Polyneices the "first" time, we are preparedto answer the more important
question of why Antigone returnsto the body. There are certain dramatic
advantagesto this returnand subsequentcapture.In one sense, Sophocles is
able to make two scenes out of one. As Kirkwoodpoints out, we are able to
see two "different" Antigones; Antigone defiant and Antigone captured.31
Antigone defiant provides us with the anger and hostility of Creon that is
essential in explicatingCreon'scharacter.With Antigone capturedwe receive
the confrontationscene between Creon and Antigone, the focal point of the
drama. If Antigone were capturedimmediately, Sophocles could not have
forced Creon into such a position of uncompromisinginflexibility.32Scodel
points out that the "double burial"allows for two contradictoryresults:Antigone succeeds and the body is protected;Creon succeeds and the body is
mutilated.33The reburialof Polyneices is a wonderfuldramaticdevice that
allows Sophocles to portraythe end result of both Antigone's and Creon's
actions, thus giving the spectator greaterinsight into their characters.The
reburialalso creates tension and anticipationin the audience;they know that
Antigone must be caught, but when she succeeds the first time a glimmer of
hope is added.34
Tycho von Wilamowitz-Moellendorf,and thus Owen who follows him,
believes that the dramatic results of the reburial are enough to justify its
inclusion in the dramaand obviate any need for motivationto returnto the
body on Antigone's part.35To dispose completely of any need for internal
motivationin the dramais, of course, ridiculous.36Withoutinternalmotivation, or at the very least, explanation, a drama will fall apart.37However
effective the dramaticresults of the "double burial" are, and they are quite
effective, they do not dispense with the need for motivation.This, of course,
has been recognizedby most scholars, and so therehave been many attempts
to explain what reasonAntigone has for returningto the body.
29Jebb61 on 1.278; G. F. Held, "Antigone'sDual Motivationfor the Double Burial," Hermes
111(1983) 194.
30Held(n.29 above) 194.
31Kirkwood(n.6 above) 70.
32E. T Owen, "Sophocles the Dramatist,"Universityof TorontoQuarterly5 (1936) 231.
33Scodel"Doublets"(n.15 above) 55.
340wen (n.32 above) 230.
35T. von Wilamowitz-Moellendorf,Die dramatische Technikdes Sophokles (Berlin 1917) 31;
Owen (n.32 above) 231. Cf. A. J. A. Waldcock, Sophocles the Dramatist (Cambridge 1951)
125-26.
36Margon,"The Second Burial of Polyneices," CJ 68 (1972) 43.
37Cf. Arist., Poetics 17.2; 25.31. (These referenceswere brought to my attentionby S. H.
Rogers.)
THE SINGLEBURIALOF POLYNEICES
215
One explanationis thatAntigone reallywantsto be discoveredandcaughtin
the act of burial. Thus when she is unseen the first time she returnsagain.38
This idea is based on the dialogue between Antigone and Ismene in which
Antigone upbraidsIsmene for urgingher to keep the performanceof the burial
secret (84-86). These verses explicitly state that Antigone does not wish her
actions to be kept secret. Cowser also cites the fact that Antigone was not
distressedupon her arrest(433), althoughjust previously she had been upset
about the bare body of Polyneices (427-28).39 Margonreads these lines in a
similar manner,but he thinks the deed must be known not as a sign of open
defiance but as an attemptto redeem her family name.40J. Pinsent, in a very
shortnote, states that for the burialto serve its purpose as a public statement
Antigone must be caught.41All these points are true. Antigone is clearly
unashamed, and even bold, about her deed, and it is essential that she be
caught if the plot is to be furthered.But, as Held points out, this is a rather
weak explanationfor her motivation.42The desire for her deed to be known
publicly is an aspect of Antigone's character,but it is not the motivatingforce
behindher. If it were, she would havebroadcasther deed as loudly and widely
as she could, not "stood silent, denying nothing" (435).
Jebb, who was the first to bring up the problem of a double burial, halfheartedly proposed that Antigone returnsbecause the burial ritual was not
complete. He cites Horace (Odes 1.28.2) in which a corpse pleads with a
passerby to deposit only three handfuls of earth upon its bones. Messemer
rightlypoints out thatHoraceis a very poor source for Greekburialrituals. To
this objection I would add that Horace is speaking of the minimumrites that
must be performedfor a stranger,not a family member. Antigone carefully
covers the corpse; she does not simply throw some dust and run away.Messemer,however,drawsthe conclusion thatthereis no basis for the idea thatthe
first burial is any sort of symbolic act to release the soul, and thus Antigone
has no ritualreasonto returnto the corpse.43
Such a conclusion is hasty.The guardsays that Antigone performedall the
rites ta Xpl. This indicates that there is some standardof practice to be
followed, and that Antigone has completed what is necessary. Whitehorne
maintainsthat this means not that the entire ritual was complete, but that the
partof the ritualthatwas appropriatefor thatday was complete.44He bases his
statementon the idea thatGreekburialrituals, at least in ClassicalAttica, took
over a week to complete.45Antigone does ask for Ismene's help to lift Poly38See Cowser (n.28 above) 38-40; G. Norwood, Greek Tragedy(London 1920) 140.
39Cowser(n.28 above) 39. Adams "Burial" (n.6 above) 110 sees her relaxationas a divine
trance.
40Margon"Second Burial" (n.36 above) 41. On Antigone's pride see M. K. Flickinger,"The
6dtapTia of Sophocles' Antigone" Iowa Studies in Classical Philology 2 (1935); D. A. Hester,
"Sophocles the Unphilosophical: A Study in the Antigone," Mnemosyne 24 (1971); K. W.
Meiklejohn, "The Burialof Polyneices," CR 46 (1932) 4-5.
41J. Pinsent, "The Double-Burialin the Antigone," LCM5 (1980) 17.
42Held(n.29 above) 192.
43Messemer(n.7 above) 518.
44J.E. G. Whitehorne,"The Backgroundto Polyneices' Disintermentand Reburial,"G&R 30
(1983) 131.
45D. C. Kurtzand J. Boardman,GreekBurial Customs(Ithaca1971) 142-62.
216
RICHARDM. ROTHAUS
neices (43) and expresses her desire to build him a tomb (80-81).46 Whether
the ritualwas completeor not is difficultto determine,but it does not affectthe
fact that it was normalfor a Greekto returnmany times to the tomb of a loved
one.47 There is some evidence, althoughit is unclear,of brokenvases being
used as access points to Greek tombs much the same way the Romans used
pipes to pour libations into the tomb afterinterment.48
Throughoutall antiquity,andinto modem times, any disturbanceof a grave,
accidentalor deliberate, was of great concern.49The boundarybetween the
dead and living was not a strongone, and even in the tense circumstancesof
Polyneices'burialit is not unexpectedto find Antigone returningto the grave,
especially when she had everyreasonto believe it mightbe disturbedby nature
or by man.50It is doubtfulif underthe circumstancesanythingmore thanthe
firstdust-scatteringwas essential for Antigone to perform.This, I think, is the
meaning of a Xpoj. A close relationshipbetween the living and the dead,
especially soon afterburial,was considerednormal.But Antigonewas in a farfrom-normalsituation;even if she had not performedthe essential rite, there
must have been a strong motivating factor to move her to return in such
difficult circumstances.
Antigone herself tells us why she has buried Polyneices in the face of a
decree forbiddinganyone to do so, upon pain of death. She has buriedPolyneices out of reverencefor the naturalorder:the gods demandthatshe buryher
brother,and the edicts of men go against the divine order (450-52). Held
points out that the main purposeof Antigone's speech concerningthe divine
order and the first burial is to point out her reverence.51Likewise the "second" burialis an indicationof the powerfullove Antigone has for her brother.
She states that, unlike a dead child or husband, a brother,once lost, could
neverbe replaced, since her parentswere alreadydead (904-12). These lines,
a commonplacetaken from Hdt. 3.119, serve not as a strictly accuratestatement, but as an example of Antigone's extreme love and devotion to her
brother.52Antigone is normallyobedientto the state, but in this instance her
46A. B. Drachman, "Zur Composition der Antigone," Hermes 43 (1908) 67-76, translated
into English by H. A. Sigmann, CR (1909) 212-16, sees these lines as evidence of an earlier
version of Sophocles' play in which a tomb was actuallybuilt.
47See S. C. Humphreys, "Family Tombs and Tomb Cult in Ancient Athens: Traditionor
Traditionalism?"JHS 100 (1980) 96-126.
48Kurtz-Boardman
(n.45 above) 205-6. E. Struck, "Der zweimalige Gang der Antigone zur
Leiche des Polyneikes," Gymnasium60 (1953) 327-34, sees a religious duty for Antigone to
returnand lament.
49Kurtz-Boardman
(n.45 above) 197.
5?For the anticipateddisturbanceof the grave see Margon "Second Burial" (n.36 above)
47-48. Margondiscusses Antigone's surpriseat discoveringthe corpse and concludes that it was
more rage than surprise, as she knew the corpse would be uncovered when the burial was
discovered. This forces the simile, however,and I do not think it is necessary to suppose that
Antigone could not hope againsthope concerningher brother'scorpse.
51Held(n.29 above) 191.
52Goheen(n.21 above) 237-38n.6, questions the overgeneralizationof these lines, but notes
that they cannot be rejected on stylistic grounds. He offers a perspicacious note on moder
judgementsin such matters.Kamerbeeksays of this aphorismthat the readerwho does not probe
"into its absurd consequences" will see that it emphasizes "the complete and exclusive
faithfulnessto the dead brother."See Kirkwood(n.6 above) 164-65 for a vindicationof the lines.
THE SINGLEBURIALOF POLYNEICES
217
love of and respect towardsher brotheroverridesuch considerations.Indeed,
Polyneices had been treatedwith great disrespect, more than could be borne.
The horrorof a mutilatedand exposed corpse has its Homericprecedents,and
the threatof mutilationand exposurewas one of the most frighteninga warrior
could make to his enemy.53
Antigone reacts in revulsion to the unnaturalnessof exposure and this, in
combinationwith her love for her brother,causes her to bury Polyneices the
first time. She returnsto the corpse as a naturalact of duty and devotion,
especially in light of the way the corpse had been treatedearlier.54A Greek
audience would have seen only one burial, not two.55 A person was expected
to returnto the graveof a family memberon occasion, especially immediately
after the burial. Antigone went back for this reason; she desired to honor
Polyneices with a properburialwith as many of the attendantrites as possible,
knowing full well that she would be caught. Why Antigone returnedto Polyneices' grave is not a valid question; only if she had not returnedwould her
actions have become unusual. Of course, when she found Polyneices uncovered, she reburiedhim, but this was not a symbolic act, or the planned
reasonfor the return.The "second" burialwas simply the repairingof a family
member's grave. No one should question why a person would repair the
damagedgraveof a relative;the answeris the same today as it has been for all
ages: out of love andreverence.In fairnesswe should not ask this of Antigone,
and to do so is to create problems where none exist. The fact that Antigone
returnsto the corpse is an indicationof her extremelove and devotionto her
brother.
RICHARDM. ROTHAUS
Ohio State University
53Both Whitehorne(n.44 above) 129-42 and V. J. Rosivach, "On Creon, Antigone and Not
Burying the Dead" RhM 126 (1983) 193-211, speak extensively on the fear of mutilationand
exposure.
54Forduty and devotion as motivatorsfor the returnsee C. M. Bowra, Sophoclean Tragedy
(London 1944) 93; A. O. Hulton, "The Double Burial of the Antigone," Mnemosyne16 (1963)
284-85; J. L. Rose, "The Problemof the Second Burial in Sophocles' Antigone," CJ 47 (1952)
219-21.
55W. M. Calder,CPh 53 (1958) 129n.4, believes thatan Athenianaudiencewould not care why
there were two burials.