Here is a starting point for themes. Feel free to add to any of this or change it up. It’s clearly not a complete description of the themes, but it’s something to work with.
Comparison to themes of the author's other works:
Fate- Oedipus and his family cannot escape their fate, no matter how they try to avoid it.
Comparison of themes by other authors of the time period:
Gods are supreme- Both Antigone and Medea illustrate that mortals cannot defy laws or promises set down by the gods and avoid punishment
Family- Even though Kreon initially considers family connections secondary to upholding his laws, he, like Jason in Medea, is devastated when his stance precipitates the death of his wife and child
Sanctity of marriage- In both Antigone and Medea, much of the violence stems not only from a breach of justice but also from the defiling of a marriage. In Medea’s case, it is one that is already well established, but in Antigone’s, it is one that was intended.
Comparison of themes of plays with similar actions:
King Lear- Similar to the way in which Kreon punishes Antigone for disobeying his orders, Lear rejects his daughter, Cordelia, for not telling him what he wants to hear.
Other Popular playwrights of the time: Euripedes, so yeah, medea, and also . Aeschylus. I’ve been looking at some of his plays, like Agememmnon, and finding some themes that link up to Antigone. For example: the idea that violent, despair ridden lives are hereditary. Also the idea that what is right and what is wrong is not always as clear cut as law. Also, in Euripedes play “Alcestis” there is a theme of disrespecting the dead.