Freedom of Speech in the Classics
The freedom of speech, press, religion, and assembly, and to petition the government for redress; these are the founding ideas that our country is based on, found in the very first amendment of the Constitution. When our newest Supreme Court appointee, Amy Coney Barrett, was being questioned before Congress, she was asked what the five freedoms were she answered, “freedom of speech, press, religion, and assembly. What else am I missing?” they responded, “redress or protest” (Reimann 2020). The timing of this is impeccable as our country is torn apart by actions of racism leading to protests lasting for months, how can you forget that basic freedom. The Black Lives Matter movement started because of police violence, killing innocent black people, and a racial divide throughout the country as it has recently continued more and more, people stood up and voiced their opinions and asked for change. Nobody listened, no changes were made, no justice was served. The movement continues today calling for justice, defunding the police, and equality. This is not an isolated instance here in the United States, many movements similar to the Black Lives Matter movement have been able to instill change in our country, the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote, Civil Rights Act, more recently March for Our Lives and the Women’s March. These movements made changes in America, which was possible because of the first amendment that allows us to speak out against injustices. This paper aims to explore the use of free speech throughout Gilgamesh and Antigone in order to better understand the importance of the rights that exist in America and how they can be used to create change.
The ancient Greek city-state Athens was the first known society to have a democratic government. While a democratic society, it does not mean that they have the same rights that we have guaranteed to us today. While there are elements that are similar such as voting (but only for men), the guarantee of certain freedoms, and the right to a trial. This limited democracy was highly criticized by Socrates, a Greek philosopher from Athens (Socrates 2020). This ultimately ended up with him being prosecuted for his critiques of the government, but don’t forget they had freedom of speech… This did not necessarily mean that critiques of the government, morals, or other actions were put to a halt, people just found different ways. One of them being through literature and plays. Authors and play writers are then able to express their views in a story. While this is not as direct as Socrates’ approach, it was still beneficial for society. Telling interesting stories and developing characters to help people to see different points of view. Literature in the Classics plays a critical role in developing new ideas, expressing views, and creating community and that continues to this day.
One example of freedom of speech is in the epic of Gilgamesh, the character Enkidu is created, almost identical to Gilgamesh in looks, but different in character. Gilgamesh was the King of Uruk who is feared by his people for his harsh leadership and Enkidu is quite the opposite. Enkidu was a wild man created by the gods in order to help protect the people of Uruk. He has to take action against Gilgamesh who is going to rape a newlywed, he knew of this and “stood like a boulder blocking the door.” (Gilgamesh Book 2, page 89). Enkidu’s job did not come without consequence a brawl between the two occurred, but after they made up and became friends. This scene demonstrates Enkidu’s freedom of speech or maybe more of actions, but regardless he fulfilled his role to speak out against injustices that were occurring in Uruk.
Enkidu’s actions were bold and brave against what was the current standard. The epic of Gilgamesh shows his struggle with finding the meaning and purpose of his life, along with struggling with the concept of death. Enkidu was a key figure in helping Gilgamesh change his actions. Even after getting in a fight with each other due to morals, they were able to listen to each other, and “They held hands like brothers. They walked side by side. They became true friends” (Gilgamesh Book 2, page 90). There is a lot to be learned from this scene that should be applied to the divisions in the United States today. Enkidu and Gilgamesh disagreed on the way that a country should be led. Enkidu was disappointed with Gilgamesh’s wrongdoings and stood up to him. They dealt with their issues by fighting, maybe not the best way to tell someone to stop being so violent, but regardless they worked through their issues and came out the other side as “true friends.” The epic of Gilgamesh is one of the earliest texts that has been discovered and yet it still contains important messages that are still relevant today.
The play Antigone is named after the story of a young girl. Antigone’s brother died fighting on the other side of the war and the gods instructed her to bury him. On the other hand, King Creon banned a burial, as he had betrayed the country. Antigone was left with two options, to either disobey fate and the gods or to break the rules set by the King. There was a great sense of nationalism and the chorus said, “For anyone who acts against the state, its enemy, I’d never make my friend” (Antigone line 212). Now while in the epic of Gilgamesh they ended their disagreement holding hands and becoming friends, that is not what occurred in Antigone. Going against the state was prohibited of and the consequences were known, her sister had warned her, to “think how we’ll die far worse than all the rest, if we defy the law and move against the king’s decree, against his royal power. We must remember that by birth we’re women, and, as such, we shouldn’t fight with men. Since those who rule are much more powerful, we must obey in this and in events” (Antigone lines 74–80). Antigone had a difficult time trying to comprehend how the direction of the king is more important than that of the gods. She felt she had a greater duty to listen to the gods. The power struggle is not only that of one of any citizen and the King, but that of a young woman and a powerful King. Antigone is a character that rejects the standard role that women play in society and as a part of a marginalized community in ancient times represented women in a role that is not otherwise seen. Viewers and readers of the play can aspire to be something that is outside of society’s standards and understand that they still have a valid role in creating change.
Antigone was left with an almost impossible decision to make, but she was able to handle it in a way that sparked discussion about the power that the government has. She acted against the harsh ruling and spoke out about the unjust punishment. She bravely said, “All those here would confirm this pleases them if their lips weren’t sealed by fear — being king, which offers all sorts of various benefits, means you can talk and act just as you wish.” (Antigone lines 572–575). Antigone used her platform to speak not just for herself and her family, but for others as well. She also brought to focus the privilege that a white man in power has, especially his privilege. The rules regarding freedom of speech are much different for him and others similar than it is for those who are women, people of color, or who are of a lower economic status. Antigone’s burying her brother was already brave, but then to stand before King Creon, the person who could stop her death, and speak out about the lack of equality within the country shows her strength.
The play Antigone is still applicable and relevant to many of the issues our country deals with today. The Ancient Greek play is a strong piece of literature that shows struggles of justice, gender roles, and leaves people to think about their role in activism. In 2016, the Theater of War created a new production, “Antigone in Ferguson”, in honor of Michael Brown who died due to police violence (“Antigone in Ferguson — Theater of War”). The play contained many similar elements of the original as well as some additions. In the same way that the chorus in the original version was made up of community members, the play includes the Ferguson choir directed by one of Michael Brown’s past teachers. The play seeks to bring about a conversation about the social injustices occurring in America through the story of Antigone, after each performance, there is a panel that discusses issues of racial justice and police violence. This play is used as a way to memorialize the wrongful death of Michael Brown as well as others and raise awareness for racial justice and police violence.
It is difficult and frustrating to look back at these ancient texts and clearly recognize that many of the issues they struggled with are still appearing today. Classics have been utilized by alt-right groups in a harmful way to validate their ideas of racism and rhetoric against equality. While people will reach back on these texts in search of confirming their beliefs, there are ways that the Classics can help us to progress as a more equal society today. Antigone is a great example of how we can use the Classics to bring about change. Relating classic literature to present-day issues with the purpose of creating conversation and bringing about awareness to issues. These issues are still seen today because of the lack of confronting the past. Recognizing the hurtful and racist past that exists in the United States that continues to divide the country, the Black Lives Matter movement aims to do just this.
This movement was started because of the violence and continued divisions in this country brought about by race. There are continued wrongful deaths of black people by the police and instead of looking away and ignoring the issue at hand, people organized. They organized marches in search of justice and change within the current system that continually oppresses people of color. It is important that there are conversations about these issues and that the past is not simply forgotten but used as a way to implicated change. Looking back on Classical literature they did not have the tools necessary to make changes as we do now. We do not live in ancient Greece under the rule of an oppressive king, we have freedom of speech and a government that is set up to work for the people. We have the opportunity to unite our country and help to create a more equal county for all and can do so by learning from examples of characters like Enkidu and Antigone.
Works Cited
“Antigone In Ferguson — Theater Of War”. Antigone In Ferguson — Theater Of War, 2020, https://theaterofwar.com/projects/antigone-in-ferguson.
Reimann, Nicholas. “Amy Coney Barrett Forgets Right To Protest Is A First Amendment Freedom”. Forbes, 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2020/10/14/amy-coney-barrett-forgets-right-to-protest-is-a-first-amendment-freedom/?sh=55e049c112ed.
HISTORY. 2020. Socrates. [online] Available at: <https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/socrates#:~:text=Socrates%20was%20accused%20of%20corrupting,executioner's%20cup%20of%20poisonous%20hemlock.> [Accessed 13 December 2020].
