Choragos’s Words of Wisdom

In the last line of Sophocles’s Antigone, Choragos says, “There is no happiness where there is no wisdom;/ No wisdom but in submission to the gods./ Big words are always punished,/ And proud men in old age learn to be wise.” Choragos’s adage powerfully captures his perception of Oedipus and Creon. Both protagonists ultimately get what they deserve and gain new insight into their own tragic flaws.

The city of Thebes has no happiness due to the long lasting drought. Crops and cattle have died and many people are starving. When Oedipus receives word of this misfortune, he sends a messenger to see the Oracle of Delphi. Creon returns with the Oracle’s prophecy, “My lord: long ago Laios was our king,/ Before you came to govern us… He was murdered; and Apollo commands us now/ To take revenge upon whoever killed him.” (Sophocles 8) Thus, Creon tells Oedipus that the rain will not resume and the deadly drought will not cease to exist until Laios’s murderer is brought to justice. Oedipus then accuses Creon of killing Laios and of trying to steal the throne from Oedipus. Creon vehemently denies these accusations.
Later, once the truth comes out, that Oedipus was in fact the one who killed Laios, Oedipus’s previous hubris returns to haunt him. In accordance with his earlier ruling that whomever is found responsible will be exiled, he is now the one to be banished. Thus, Choragos’s warning that, “Big words are always punished” communicates a very personal and moral lesson. Oedipus now learns the consequences of his brazen threat and shockingly finds himself the recipient of the punishment.
Choragos’s words, “There is no happiness where there is no wisdom” effectively captures the situation currently in Thebes. Now that the murderer has been brought to justice, the drought has stopped and the city has returned to its former happy state. The wisdom, in this case, who the murderer was, once brought to light, allows the city of Thebes to return to its much improved state. Furthermore, the fallout from the truth being revealed is far greater than Thebes return to prosperity and Oedipus’s banishment. Choragos explains that true wisdom is one that fulfills fate and allows one to achieve his destiny. Oedipus fulfills his fate when he obtains the true knowledge of who killed Laos. “No wisdom but in submission to the gods” teaches that if one believes in fate, it must be a complete belief. “Divine Zeus and Apollo hold/ Perfect intelligence alone of all tales ever told…/For wisdom changes hands among the wise shall I believe my great lord criminal.” (26) Thus, Oedipus comes to the realization that anything not in line with fate is in fact not a truth.

The final part of Choragos’s ode, “And proud men in old age learn to be wise” does not relate to Oedipus, but rather applies only to Creon. Oedipus never learns to make changes in such a way that might alter his fate. He remains married to his stubborn ways, due to his hubris. Conversely, Creon finally learns his lesson in the last few lines of the poem. Creon comes to understand that his vigorous rule of Thebes has done no good and has only brought misery and death. He has subsequently killed Antigone and in turn Haemon, his son. Then, unable to cope with her son’s death, Eurydice, Creon’s wife commits suicide. At this point, Creon is brought to his knees and forced realize how his tragic flaw of pride has clouded his judgment. Had he not let pride, a strength for most people, become over bearing he could have accomplished many great things and most likely saved those lives.

Choragos captured many timeless truths about human nature and thus, much of his words remain relevant to today. There are several aspects of Choragos’s words that apply to my life. First, ignorance is not bliss; people who go through life with a false understanding of what is real and true end up losing in the long run. Lack of knowledge rarely, if ever, leads to power, understanding, or accomplishment. Eventually, the truth comes out and the one who was ignorant is in a far worse place and certainly at a disadvantage compared to the “enlightened” one.

In my own life the lack of insight into what my life will hold for me after Rivers does not make me happy, rather it adds an abundance of stress. For example, the college application process is full of unexpected twists and turns and can be very challenging because you just don’t know what lies ahead. This shortage of knowledge doesn’t bring me joy as Oedipus thinks it does to him, but what will actually bring me happiness is the final outcome.

The second of Choragos’s teachings that still has relevance today is “Big words are always punished.” Speaking out and making false accusations will always come back to haunt you. Whether it is blaming a peer for something they didn’t do or putting someone down in pursuit of making yourself feel better, talking smack is a childish trait and children are often deservingly punished for such actions.