since humanity start to develop culture, the death always had been a important part of it. the traditions related about how to deal with corpses is a must in any culture and is considered taboo to leave it.

In Antigone what I consider a very important part and the beginning of the tragedy is when Polyneikes one of Antigone’s bother wasn’t buried properly. Antigone emphasizes the disgrace, dishonor, pain, etc, of leaving the corpse to fed the birds and dogs. this fact is mentioned across the story and is mentioned multiple times even with the threat of dead. Antigone justify her actions by mentioning the honor one must show to others, the traditions gods impose, the pain she felt, etc. At that time the idea of a life after death was deeply imprinted on people minds and a corpse no treated correctly will represent the eternal suffering for the soul of that body. Many people at that time reinforce that idea to the point that today we can see in the documents left behind, many examples such as the need to put perfume, new clothes, one coin in each eye or under the tongue, and many more rituals considered essential for an appropriate afterlife.

Even in our actual society the fact of leaving a body with no burial is considered immoral and inhuman. The main reason usually discussed is that a corpse may bring illness, but usually the feeling doing something that we must do it, is also an important cause. in our actual culture most religions emphasize the importance of a ritual and even for many of us just the image of a exposed corpse is considered really bad.

As explained before the way to deal with dead body is mentioned many times in the book like in the sentence 30, 290,487, and many more direct as well as indirect references. although I considered that the act of leaving the corpse may have other reasons, is undeniable that this was the spark that initiate the drama.

Poem 9

[Aphrodite extend her hands and] invites

[worries] all not

[Momus welcome you to the] feast

[the jealousy of] Hera

[the curse of Zeus]

[be happy] as long as

[your destiny allow it]

[when the gods decide]

[the mortals follows]

the diagram is a general idea of Sappho feelings between love and despair (suffering), as well as the connection of those feelings with the influence of gods. The general mode of the poem with the diagram help me understand how the love of Sappho is also the origin of her suffering such as being both sides of the same coin. in the poem 31 the feeling of recklessness is imprinted because it list all the disadvantaged and negative feelings to end in an invitation to do something and and insinuation that even poor people can do something in times of despair. I reach this conclusion based in the mood of the legible parts of the poem were the doubt of the author is noticeable and the bitter feeling of wishing something else. also it seems that the author decide to not give up her destiny in the gods hands, and stop being an amusement for them. instead she proposed to take a risk instead of the bitter feelings she describe in the first half of the poem 31. I took this assumption based on the general diagram were the author emotions seems fighting each other and her despair and hope when the god decide to meddle. in the end anyone will be mad from being toyed and instead to not doing anything will be many times better take the risk and know that at least you did what you believe is correct.