Preview

Antigone and Creon: Philosophical War

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
944 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Antigone and Creon: Philosophical War
Antigone v. The Roman Women

In the play, Antigone and Creon battle a philosophical war dealing with the controversy of the Greek ideals. They both based their actions on their beliefs of what is right and wrong. The whole problem arises when their believes and ideas encountered each other, making it contradiction between morals. Antigone's side of the conflict held a much more heavenly approach, as opposed to the mundane road that Creon chose to follow. Antigone feels that Creon is disregarding the laws of heaven through his act. After she is captured and brought to Creon, she tells him "I do not think your edicts strong enough to overrule the unwritten unalterable laws of God and heaven, you being only a man." Antigone's opinion is one that supports the Gods and the laws of heaven. Her reasoning is set by her belief that if someone is not given a proper burial, that person would not be accepted into heaven. Antigone was a very religious person, and acceptance of her brother by the Gods was very important to her. She felt that "It is against you and me he has made this order. Yes, against me." Creon's order was personal to Antigone. His edict invaded her family life as well as the Gods'. In Antigone's eyes, Creon betrayed the Gods by not allowing her to properly bury her brother, Polynices. She believed that the burial was a religious ceremony, and Creon did not have the power to deny Polynices that right. Antigone's strong beliefs eventually led her to her death by the hand of Creon. Never, though, did she stop defending what she thought was right. As Creon ordered her to her death, Antigone exclaimed, "I go, his prisoner, because I honored those things in which honor truly belongs." She is directly humiliating Creon by calling his opinions and decisions weak and unjust. She also emphasizes "his prisoner," which tells us that Creon's decision to capture Antigone was his own, and was not backed up by the majority of the people. She feels that Creon is abusing

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Sophocles: Family vs. Law

    • 894 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Antigone, placed in many situations throughout the play, has to choose between her family and the law. Antigone chooses to honor her brother, Polyneces, by burying him even though she will break the law by doing so. Antigone asks her sister Ismene to help bury their beloved brother, but when Ismene says no, Antigone responds by saying, “But as for/ me/ I will bury the brother I love” (Prolouge.192). Antigone chooses to honor her brother and risk breaking the law because family means more to her. Antigone puts her family first, presenting her as a selfless person. Along with the risk of breaking the law, Antigone also risks her death. Once Creon tells Antigone of her punishment after finding out she buries Polyneces, she has to decide whether or not burying her brother is worth it. After Creon tells Antigone of his plan for her, she says, “This death of mine/ is of no importance; but if I had left my brother/ lying in death unburied, I should have suffered. / Now I do not” (SceneII.208). Antigone shows Creon that he cannot stop her from saving her family by trying to punish her with death. Antigone chooses to help her family and stand up for them, even when faced with death. Sophocles shows Antigone as a brave person by denouncing Creon’s rules and saving her brother. Through Antigone’s actions, Sophocles shows how he favors family over authority and the law.…

    • 894 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The conflict between Creon and Antigone is one of conflicting values and duties. When Antigone’s brothers fight to the death in battle Creon declares that only one of the two brothers should be buried. Antigone is disgusted by this law and buries her other brother, thus breaking the Creon’s new law. When he is told of the news he is furious. “You there with your face bent towards the ground, what do you say? Do you deny you did this or do you admit it?” [497-499] Antigone admits to what she has done, and does not regret her decision because she thinks it was the respectful thing to do for her brother. “ I admit that I did it. I won’t deny that.” [500] Creon has no choice but to punish her, so…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The quality of Antigone's beliefs and even hubris began to entomb her own self being. Antigone would not allow Creon to leave Polynices’ corpse unburied due to the idea that it would be an offence against their gods, and immoral to the dead when leaving them to roam among the living. Bravely attempting to to give her brother’s “traitorous” branded body a proper burial, against Creon’s directive, Antigone was captured and condemned to death row. Antigone had said to Ismene, “Yes. Save yourself. I shall not envy you. There are those who will praise you; I shall have honor, too.” (445) She had truly prepared to die, accepting her defeat yet prideful victory through refusing direct laws set by Creon and burying Polynices. Even though Antigone’s…

    • 154 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Creon

    • 819 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Antigone decides to go against Creon’s order and bury her brother without her sister’s help. Afterward Creon finds out from the sentry what she has done. This creates the clash of Creon and Antigone to begin when he brings her and interrogates her on her treachery. She denies nothing and confesses to her actions…

    • 819 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The play Antigone supports Creon’s claims that the rule of the king must be obeyed even if it is wrong in order to avoid anarchy and chaos. It is tragic that so many lives had to be lost. It is hard to be a king and maintain the rule of law. King Creon is a strong king that demands to be obeyed no matter what the cost. Tragically he lost so many that he cared for. First his brother dies, then his two nephews fight over the throne and end up killing each other. Eteocles was the king however his brother Polyneices fought to take his place. To no avail they both die. Eteocles was giving a proper burial for a king where Polyneices was just left to rot on the battlefield.…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Antigone - 11

    • 1238 Words
    • 5 Pages

    By burying her brother, Antigone knowingly and willingly went against royal orders and in doing so chooses her own death. She knows as well as anyone in the town that death would come to all that disobeyed Creon's order. Antigone says to this "no one will ever convict me for a traitor,"(Act I: Scene II: Line 361) and decides to bury the body, this is quite ironic because by burying her brother a traitor is exactly what she is convicted of being. Antigone's actions went against her homeland. Creon had declared that "Our country is our safety. Only while she voyages true on course can we establish friendships truer than blood itself. Such are my standards. They make our city great."( Act I: Scene II: Line 382) He says this meaning that if everyone acted as a whole they would always prosper. If someone were to go against the laws and ideals put by Creon it would only cause dissension. When Antigone went against the law this was exactly what happened. Chaos would not have ensued if she trusted her king to be right in his decision, just as all the townspeople and her sister Ismene did.…

    • 1238 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    King Creon believes that fighting for his kingdom shows true power and courage. Creon’s main goal is to seek justice for his kingdom and in doing so he deemed Polynices, Antigone’s brother, a traitor. Power blinds him and he sentences Antigone to life on a deserted island for going against his wishes. Creon comes to his senses a little too late, losing his family in the process. On the other hand Antigone feels that if the state is going against the law of God by Creon not giving proper burial honors to Polynices, then a person has the right to take matters into their own hands. When Antigone is caught by the sentries it didn’t surprise her, she is expecting punishment for her actions but is willing to accept a form of it for her family. Antigone’s courageous stand against the State shows her personal morals are of the…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the beginning of the play, Antigone found her brother dead after a war and Creon refused to bury him. Antigone thought that she had to bury him to please the gods. She became angry at Creon’s decisions against her because she is the niece of him and part of the royal family; but Creon is still sending her away to die. Antigone especially displays her loyalty to her family “Last daughter of your royal house / Go I, his prisoner, because I honored / Those thing to which honour truly belongs” (Sophocles 151) This signifies that Antigone is over trying to try to gain Creon’s forgiveness because he is sending her away to die. This makes Antigone loyal since she defied the laws of Thebes to help her brother even though her own sister told her not to. Antigone displays a loyalty that expresses itself as selfless and bravery towards her family but, she doesn’t allow herself to benefit from the same qualities that she gives to everyone else. Although Antigone has been sentenced to death, she is accepting her fate. She is brave enough to know that she is going to die while knowing that there is a brighter side of the situation. Antigone reveals one idea about her fate by saying “If this is God’s will, I shall learn my lesson / in death” (Sophocles 150) Antigone is expresses how even though she is going in the path of death, she is accepting it as long as it’s the God’s wishes. Even though she knows that all her actions are going to result in her death, she still is not giving in to Creon’s views on the situation. Antigone shows bravery in the face of death by standing up to Creon by wishing him the same punishment for the wrongs he forced upon…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Throughout the history of mankind, people have had to make choices on whether to follow the law of the state or God’s laws. God’s laws or divine laws are any laws (or rules) that in the opinion of believers, comes directly from the will of God. These laws are independent of the will of man, who cannot change it. However it may be revealed or not, so it may change in human perception in time through new revelation. In the play Antigone by Sophocles, there is a conflict between Creon and Antigone over which law to obey in regards to Antigone attempting to bury her brother, the law of the state or God’s laws. Antigone believes in following God’s laws, even if it means breaking the law of the state, a law set by Creon which states that Antigone’s brother Polynices is not to have a burial and no one is to touch him. On the other hand, Creon does not want Polynices to receive a burial because he betrayed his native city and should receive a suitable punishment. Even thought it was strictly forbidden, Antigone decides to defy the state’s law by giving her brother a burial. Antigone was right in defying the King Creon because she had the right to bury her brother and her brother had the right to receive a respectful burial which would honor their family. Every person deserves a respectful burial because the body is like a loan to the individual from the god, to which the cadaver will inevitably return. Even though Antigone was committing a crime according to the laws set by state, according to her she was right because she was just following the will of the gods.…

    • 1264 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Antigone Persuasive Essay

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Antigone had the right to want to bury her dead brother, but Creon’s nature of being a greedy king is more important to him than family. Ismene, her sister, told her it was a bad idea and to follow the king’s orders unless she wants to be executed. Antigone proves even if she does get caught, it would be an honor to die for the cause. She says, "I intend to give my brother burial. I'll be glad to die in the attempt,-- if it's a crime, then it's a crime that God commands”(line 7). This proves that Antigone is not scared of the king’s power and shows that it is important for her to do what is right. She doesn’t even deny what she did when confronted by Creon and was happy to accept the death penalty. If he were to dismiss it, especially since she is family, nobody would have killed themselves.…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The concept of justice is a tricky one and thus it comes as no surprise that the differing views on what is morally right between Antigone and Creon result in the tragedies of Antigone. In Antigone, Antigone and her sister Ismene return to Thebes after they discover that their brothers were waging war against one another to determine who would rule Thebes after the death of their father, Oedipus. When Antigone returns, she discovers that her brothers, Polyneices and Eteocles, already killed each other. These deaths result in Creon becoming the king of Thebes. Upon his rise to the throne, Creon declares a law which holds that those who oppose the state cannot receive a proper burial with formal rites. King Creon specifically notes the importance of keeping the city honorable and thus enforcing this new law, “Such are the rulers by which I will guard this city’s greatness; and in keeping with them is the edict I have published touching the sons of Oedipus.…

    • 1685 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    When the story begins, Creon has issued a law forbidding the proper burial of a fallen soldier, his own nephew, Polyneices. He says, “ “.(Act 1, Line ) This immediately shows his first character flaw. He has so much pride and believed superiority that he can make laws to go against the gods’ laws. These laws have to do with the proper burial to ensure the release of the deceased’s soul. Without proper release, the soul will be forever trapped in the hell of its own body. Antigone, his niece and the sister of Polyneices, then goes against his law in order to give her beloved brother proper burial. She is caught and Creon’s second tragic flaw is seen: His stubbornness. He refuses to bend the law he made even when his own niece does everything she can to follow the gods laws. When Antigone begins to be seen as a public her, Creon’s stubbornness causes the townspeople to begin to disagree with and dislike him.…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Antigone also has a tragic flaw, her hubris and head-strongness. Because she is so head-strong and stubborn, she will not denounce her decision to bury her brother Polynieces as that is what she believes to be right. Although burying her brother would mean going against Creon’s man-made laws, she is determined to bury Polynieces as it would be doing right by her brother and the Gods above. She uses a rhetorical question directed at Creon to highlight this “Was I going to honour you, or honour Gods?”…

    • 1628 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Antigone by Aristotle

    • 1671 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Antigone is very close-minded from the beginning of the play after she hears King Creon’s plan for her dead brother. Antigone’s father Oedipus initially ruled the throne and when it was time for it to be passed down, her brothers Eteocles and Polyneices disputed over who would become king. They planned to take turns ruling but Eteocles would not give his brother time on the throne so Polyneices attacked and both brothers end up dead. Antigone’s uncle Creon was next in line to take the throne and it was his first decree that caused complication between niece and uncle. Creon wished that Etocles have a heroic burial as a reward for fighting for his city. For Polyneices, Creon…

    • 1671 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Antigone Vs Creon Essay

    • 514 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “I did not think anything which you proclaimed strong enough to let a mortal override the gods and their unwritten and unchanging laws,” (lines 510-513) proclaims Antigone, once again asserting her opinion on whose laws she is justified to follow. Antigone’s persona contrasts with Creon’s character ultimately due to their conflicting motivations about which laws should be followed: the word of the gods, or the laws of man.These conflicting motivations the characteristics of unreasonableness, anger, and disrespect to be highlighted within Creon’s character. In the end, these conflicting motivations develop Creon as a tragic hero by ensuing his stubbornness, and damaging his pride.…

    • 514 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays