Antigone Divine Law Analysis

The main drive in the whole play, as well as one of Antigone’s motivation, is the divine law set by the gods. The law states that once a person has died, they need to have gone through the proper burial rituals (done by anyone in the realm of the living) in order for the soul to pass to the underworld and into Hades’ realm. According to Greek mythology, these laws were set by the gods since the start of time and they hold importance over all other human laws. Antigone understands these laws and the hierarchy which explains the importance compared to the law of the state. She clearly explains this on Pg.39, emphasizing to King Creon that she
“did not believe that Zeus was the one who had proclaimed it; neither did Justice, or the gods of the dead whom Justice lives among...I did not intend to pay, before the gods, for breaking these laws

I shall never let criminals excel good men in honor.” (236- 244)
In this quote we can see that Creon is deliberately going against divine law for the sole purpose of trying to drive Thebes away from the destruction of the war and helping it thrive, making it steady. He is mostly trying so hard to prove his position in society because he has just become king, and he needs people to respect his authority as well as obey it. He claims in Pg.50 that “It’s my job to rule this land. There is no one else.”(885-886) This shows that not only is Creon committed to right the state but to also be the only one to accomplish it, seeing as how he is king.

Antigone's second motivation, and perhaps one we can most relate to, is her devotion to her family. When Antigone finds out about Creon’s law and how everyone is forbidden from burying Polynieces, she makes it her mission to give him the burial rights he deserves, even if she dies trying. On Pg.23 she vowed that “I will bury him myself.
If I die for doing that, good:
I will stay with him, my brother; and my crime will be devotion.” Pg 23,