 In 441 BCE, shortly after the play was performed, Sophocles was appointed as one of the ten generals to lead a military expedition against Samos.It is striking that a prominent play in a time of such imperialism contains little political propaganda, no impassioned apostrophe, and, with the exception of the epiklerate (the right of the daughter to continue her dead father's lineage), and arguments against anarchy, makes no contemporary allusion or passing reference to Athens.Rather than become sidetracked with the issues of the time, "Antigone" remains focused on the characters and themes within the play.