s, a blatant disrespect for the marriage bond is shown. In Antigone, it is seen in Oedipus' destruction of his parent's marriage. (Coles Notes, 20) The king, Creon, also shows disrespect for this bond, as shown in lines 626-629 and in lines 632-633: "Ismene: Will you kill your son's wife to be?Creon: Yes, there are other fields for him to plough.Ismene: Not with the mutual love of him and her.Creon: I hate a bad wife for a son of mine.[. . .]Chorus: Will you rob you son of this girl?Creon: Death-it is death that will stop the marriage for me."In The Eumenides, the disrespect for this bond is shown most clearly by the refusal of mortals (Aeschylus, 211-13) and Athene (Aeschylus, 739-40) to accept the bond of marriage as one equal to the bond of blood.In contrast, a strong respect for the bonds of blood is shown in both plays. For Antigone, her siblings are the most important people to her. She is willing to bury her brother against the city's orders even if it means her execution. (Sophocles, 82-89) This seems to be contradicted by the awkward position that she puts her sister, Ismene, in by asking her to participate in Antigone's crime. (Sophocles, 90-101) However, Antigone does this out of respect and obedience for her oikos, the realm of the household. Everything that she does throughout the play is out of this respect and obedience.Creon disrespects Antigone's obedience to her oikos, as shown by his consistent belief that what Antigone did was wrong, no matter what her reasons. (Sophocles, 526-40) He is also disrespecting the bond of blood of uncle and niece between him and Antigone. (Sophocles, 530-534) His pride dominates ancient customs and his love for his family. (Sophocles, 585-587.)The rivalry of respect and disrespect for these bonds is seen again in The Eumenides. As previously stated, Apollo sees the bond of blood and the bond of marriage as equal (Aeschylus, 213-23), where mortals (Aeschylus, 211-13) and Athene (A...
