Introduction Antigone is a bold and assertive woman who threatens to upset gender roles in her community by defying the most powerful entity in Thebes – King Creon. She is a woman who rises up and faces death in order to stick to her values. Such a depiction was at odds with the original audience’s perception of women’s place. This will be seen through an analysis of the other characters in the play and the values of ancient Greeks. Background and context In ancient Greece, women’s role in society was minimal (at best), yet Antigone represents conflicting values. Indeed this central character appears to be at odds with the inclinations of the other females in the play. For instance, Antigone’s sister Ismene is weak and subservient. She knows that the King’s decree was unjust but she is too timid to fight for her brother’s dignity. She even tries to talk her sister out of defying the King’s order. In the play this is what she says in an attempt to persuade her sister: “Think how much more terrible than these our own death would be if we should go against Creon. We are only women, we cannot fight with men Antigone! The law is strong, we must give in to the law… I beg the dead to forgive me, but I am helpless, l must yield to those in authority. And I think it is dangerous business to be always meddling.” (Burnet and Burto 462) These were symptomatic of prevailing perceptions of feminine roles in that society. Women thought of themselves as weak and inconsequential. The other individual who also displays these values in the play is King Creon’s wife Eurydice. She was not bold enough to confront her husband about the moral wrongs he had committed, because this would translate into a defiance that resembles that of Antigone. She chose the easy way out, and merely committed suicide. The other women in the play are tools that have been used by Sophocles to reveal prevailing gender assumptions (Harvey 69). Books and scholarly analyses of women in ancient Greece reveal that they were a fearful lot. Most of them could not dare to speak out against their male counterparts because they would be confronted with violence. Additionally, because that society was deeply rooted in mythologies, most women thought that if they stood out, they would anger the gods hence bring curses upon themselves. All these fears kept them in the confines of their homes. They let their brothers, husbands and fathers attend to all the serious matters in life while they stayed at home taking care of their children. Kings, members of the counsel, soldiers and other political roles were strictly male dominated. This group made all the crucial decisions in Greece while women abided and respected those decisions without question (Soderback 13). Characters and relationships The main character in the play is definitely a progressive individual based on those Grecian standards. Her gender had a serious effect on her actions because it undermined societal structures. King Creon vehemently asserted that he needed to defeat her even more pressingly because she was a woman. Her rebellion was a threat to hierarchical structures since she had refused to act subserviently. This view was confirmed when the King realised that he had made a mistake. Instead of correcting his wrongs, the King chose to alter his argument. He insisted that accepting defeat to a woman would upset divine l