she cries, and Antigone at once appears and asks—
τίν’, ὦ τεκοῦσα μῆτερ, ἔκπληξιν νέαν
φίλοις ἀϋτεῖς τῶνδε δωμάτων πάρος; vs. 1270 f.
The situation is dramatically told on the vase. The palace doors are still open, and Antigone stands astonished before her mother.
No sooner has Kreon learned the result of the battle than he passes an edict banishing the blind Oedipus from the land. The faithful daughter comes to intercede for her father and the scene is described in vs. 1539–1682. The artist has seized upon this situation, but has omitted Oedipus. Antigone bows before the new king, who stands with his arms folded listening placidly to the supplications.
ἀτὰρ ς’ ἐρωτῶ τὸν νεωστὶ κοίρανον·
τί θεσμοποιεῖς ἐπὶ ταλαιπώρῳ νεκρῷ; vs. 1644 f.
This is the moment which the last group represents.
The personification of Thebes occupying the central field and presiding, as it were, over the destinies of the capital, extends the setting of the poet and adds not a little to the interest of the picture.
