Die Omnipotenz von Antigone und die Machtlosigkeit von Ismene: Das Gefühl von Zurückweisung – vom Mythos zur Behandlungspraxis.

Sophocles' »Antigone« is a tragedy that can have different readings. However, some themes (forexample, inferiority and compensation, powerlessness and omnipotence), remain basic. At the23rd Congress of the Italian Association for Individual Psychology (Turin, 26th–29th September2005) I gave a talk entitled »Antigone is alive«. At that time, I followed the most usual line ofinterpreting this myth, namely Antigone's powerlessness and her rebellion against state power(Creon). In the present paper, I have chosen a different analysis, namely the conflict between Antigone's omnipotence opposed to the powerlessness of Ismene, her sister, focusing particularlyon the feeling of repudiation. We can find that feeling both in our psychotherapeutic work, as well as in many social conflicts. Sophocles' »Antigone« turns out to be a most pertinent classical drama to analyze the various dynamics of power and powerlessness in an Adlerian sense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]