Antigone Creon Value Analysis

Glory; it was the only the thing that mattered in Ancient Greece. To receive honor from the gods is the only thing for many greeks. In the play, Antigone, written by Sophocles, the protagonist, Antigone, encounters many conflicts. One major conflict is with King Creon over the honoring of her brother. Creon is as loyal to his word as Antigone is stubborn. Antigone and King Creon have very different views on life and loyalty, however they have one thing in common, power and glory; one in the mortal world and the other in the afterlife, thus shaping their beliefs and loyalty.

Correspondingly, Creon's bona fide adherence to the laws of man is evident in the defense for his resolute actions. In the conversation aforementioned between Haemon and Creon, the latter defends his decision by declaring it is to "respect his own authority". As in his opinion, a respected ruler who is in the early stages of establishing authority must be uncompromising and resolute in making decisions. Creon rejects using divine laws to rule his people for they are irrational, and trusts that solely following man made laws will he be able to guarantee a peaceful and prosperous existence for his city. Creon says that the laws enacted by the city’s leader "must be obeyed, large and small, / right and wrong." Which is to say, Creon contends state law as the basis for justice, hence there can be no such thing as unjust laws. Undoubtedly, Creon's symbolic values within the play is displayed by his fierce dedication to state law and order, contrary to the symbolism Antigone embodies.

In Antigone by Sophocles, the purpose of Creon’s speech is to explain his new leadership. First, Creon wants to gain the loyalty from the citizens of Thebes. A great king would first need the trust of his state in order to rule effectively. Especially, Creon would need trust from his state after the tragic events that happened beforehand, which was Polyneices and Eteocles dying. He state this fact in his speech: “I am aware, of course, that no ruler can expect complete loyalty from his subjects until he has been tested in office.” Creon is guaranteeing that he can be trusted and how devoted he was to gaining their trust. These words alone shows how much he wants to be king and rule them the correct way which is without betrayal. His tone is sincere to show that he actually means what he says. Creon proves his devotion in his speech by stating,”No one values friendship more highly than I; but we must remember that friends made at the risk of wrecking our ship are not real friends at all.” He is referring to Polyneices and how he betrayed his people. Creon is making sure that his state knows that his people comes before anything else and that they are his prime priority with security of their lives. These are the oaths or promises that Creon shall make as their new leader.

You can easily link the events within Antigone to the Stanford prison experiment and the idea that people will assume roles because of their dispositions and/or their situations. This applies especially to Creon because before Oedipus left and his nephews died, he stated that he didn’t want the role of king, only the rights a king had. But as soon as he had to become king, he took to the role very quickly. He became a serious threat. He was quick to anger and couldn’t be reasoned with. When he found out someone had covered the body of Polyneices, he threatened to kill the sentry that had brought the message, even though he did nothing. When Antigone was brought to him, he didn’t hesitate in sentencing her to death. He sentenced his own niece to death for disobeying him. When Haimon tries to change his mind, imploring him to consider how his actions may hurt him since he is supposed to marry Antigone, Creon replies: “Let her find her husband in Hell! Of all the people in this city, only she had contempt for my law and

After Polyneices rebelled against Thebes and killed his brother Eteocles in battle, King Creon decreed that a traitor to the state cannot be buried. Worse, the body of a traitor is left to rot above ground as food for scavengers. Creon’s law conflicts with Antigone’s loyalty to the gods. She believes the laws of the gods respect the dead and require a proper burial. She does not hesitate to ignore the law of the state and fulfill the laws of the gods. When she turns to her sister, Ismene, to bury their brother, Polyneices, Ismene’s fear consumes her. “Think how much more terrible our own

Would you deem it fair if one brother receives a proper burial and the other one does not? Antigone was faced with this question, when she is had to face Creon’s decision of how her two brother’s deaths will be honored. Antigone had decided to break the law that Creon had set up, in order to give her fallen brother the proper burial that she felt he deserved. She had chosen to follow her moral conscience rather than listen to the creed that had been decided. While Antigone had chosen loyalty to her family and old traditions about burial, her uncle Creon had chosen power over family, deeming that love only makes you weak. Both Creon and Antigone both had views that they believed were right and they both defended their decisions until the end.

”Lead me away. I have been rash and foolish. I have killed my son and wife. I look for comfort; my comfort lies here dead. Whatever my hands have touched has come to nothing. Fate has brought all my pride to a thought of dust”(Sophocles 1.5 142-146). Creon’s destruction

Above all else, Creon values the health of the state. Creon, having gained the throne after the recent deaths of the only two heirs, declares, “No one values friendship more highly that I; but we must remember that friends made at the risk of wrecking our ship[Kingdom] are not real

Power, power can be good and bad, but which one is it used for most? Power is used badly, more than it is used in a good way.

people act and what you are like. In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, Antigone, the protagonist, Antigone, is influenced a lot by her core values. The play Antigone was the story of the daughter Antigone of Oedipus and Iocaste, which took place after they tragically died. Antigone is influenced by the core values of her belief of family coming first, her following of God, and dying with pride and honor is important. Antigone’s core values and morals are more important than anything and these influence her choices throughout the play.

In most cases, Greek plays fall under one of two categories: tragedy or comedy. A tragedy is an event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress, such as a serious accident, crime, or natural catastrophe whereas, a comedy is a professional entertainment consisting of jokes and satirical sketches, intended to make an audience laugh. The acclaimed play, Antigone, written by Sophocles, can be portrayed as a tragedy. In this play, the main character, Antigone, rebels against Creon, king of Thebes, by burying her brother, Polyneices, after Creon announces to everyone that he is not to be buried. Creon later discovers what she has done, and sentences her to death. His actions cause numerous to become enraged, including Antigone, which ultimately

He has a general distrust of the government and isn’t afraid to cheat when others start

Creon is the protagonist in Antigone, because his motivation throughout Antigone is the stability and wellbeing of Thebes. Moreover, Antigone is the antagonist in Antigone, because her motivation is selfish and deceiving. In Antigone the setting is Thebes post the death of both airs to the throne. Eteocles dies defending his country from his brother Polynieces which died attempting to reclaim his right to the throne. The conflict throughout Antigone is Antigone’s responsibility to bury her brother Polynices and the law created by Creon, the new king of Thebes, which states that “No one shall bury him, no one mourn for him.” (Antigone 59) Antigone proceeds to disobey the law and dies in her own hands to ensure her own martyr status. Antigone is not the protagonist because of her selfish motivation and need to

The play Antigone, by Sophocles, presents the power of love, which the sword cannot defeat. Nevertheless, the play itself provides the idea in which it might be argued whether love is one of the superior forces in society that drives people to pursue their ideals.

The play, Antigone written by Sophocles, presents a tragedy that fits the classical definition, but it is the story of Creon, the king of the main character. Creon starts out as the king of Thebes , Creon’s tragic flaw is his pride and his arrogance which caused him reflecting upon his mistakes making him a broken man, recognizing what he did to his niece, he is a character within Antigone, even though he was portrayed as an antagonist he was the main character since he was.