Religious Law Vs. Man-Made Law In Antigone By Sophocles

Antigone realizes she may have to risk her reputation in order to accomplish justice. According to Antigone, her brother Polyneices deserves equal treatment and burial just like Eteocles had. Antigone is openly honest when she says, “ Ismene, I am going to bury him” (Sophocles 191). Antigone has disregarded Creon’s rules and thinks the law is merely a suggestion. Antigone, however, is aware that crossing Creon will possibly ruin her reputation or get her killed, yet she is determined to carry out her plan. Going forth with her plan proves that Antigone’s fight for justice has to do with her belief that Polyneices warrants a proper burial for that is his god given right. Antigone is adhering to the moral laws set by the gods in which she accepts as law not to be broken. As a result, Antigone

When people defend what they believe in or who they love that is sacrifice. In order to be certain that her two brothers she loved had a proper burial and that their souls could rest, Antigone sacrificed her life. Regardless of the potential outcome; even if that means that she was going to have to challenge her uncle (King Creon), she plans on pursuing her quest.

Would you follow a law if it serves no purpose to you or others? or if you felt that it was wrong to a certain group or ethnicity? Many people know the story Antigone by Sophocles, a kingdom set in ruins as two brothers end up killing each other over a land given to them by their father. As said in lines 165-175 Creon states “Polyneices, I say, is to have no burial: no man is to touch him or the least prayer for him; he shall lie on the plain, unburied.” Being as how both brothers fought fighting for their beliefs they should both get a proper military honored burial as believed by their sister Antigone. Antigone being the one to fight for her beliefs and obeying the god's laws attempts the burial of Polyneices and goes against Creon’s law to prove to him that he’s in over his head that he has too much pride in himself, in lines 15-35 Antigone claims that she is going to go

Antigone’s actions are motivated by her allegiance to her family, moral conscience, and religion amid Creon’s political injustice and tyranny. Antigone’s actions motivate her to demand Ismene to prove whether she is “a true sister or a traitor to your family” (26-27). Antigone maintains loyalty to her brother despite his actions which threatened Thebes. Her inability to bear the thought of her brother’s corpse being picked apart by animals and not being honored with proper funeral rites forces her to act. Antigone’s fierce allegiance to her family is laid bare as she is willing to sacrifice her life to honor her brother and defy the law in an act that she believes is morally just. Antigone’s beliefs proclaim that “Hades longs to see these laws fulfilled” to honor the burial of Polyneices corpse (Sophocles 519). She emphasizes her conviction that “it was not Zeus who made this proclamation” (Sophocles 450). Antigone has profound respect for the gods and the traditions of her people. Her actions are accomplished to pay homage to the Greek gods. She maintains that her actions are

Such as a tragic heroine, Antigone seemingly receives support from the gods, “Throughout the play there are signs in the natural world that the gods are on the side of Antigone… there are no footprints left beside the body when Antigone first puts dust on Polyneices. It's as if the earth itself is attempting to aid Antigone in her "crime”. We also see divine support for Antigone, when the storm rages outside of Thebes” (Shmoop). Antigone also tries to control her own fate, even though she knows that her family is doomed suffer, as exemplified by her father Oedipus. She tries to control what she can, for example, instead of letting her sister join her in the execution, Antigone declines her and sends her off. Antigone’s most important trait is also the fatal flaw that leads to her own demise. Antigone is so loyal ad determined to bury her brother that she would go against the word of the king to do so. It is because of this determination that she antagonizes Creon into sentencing her to death. Sophocles not only portrays Antigone as a tragic hero, but also as a martyr. She believes in something so much that she is willing to go against the law, and in turn die for it. She believes that even though her brothers fought in each of the leading sides of Thebes’ civil war, it should not matter as they are both part of her and Creon’s family. Antigone “sacrifices her own life in the name of it. Her determination is so strong that her character becomes symbolic of family loyalty or blood ties” (Shmoop). Although she is not trying to teach a lesson per se, she does make an impact on those around her. Her fiancé and his mother both follow suit in Antigone’s suicide, leaving Creon alone in the end to reflect on his actions and their consequences. Antigone’s actions are not the only things that link her to her heroic archetypical role, her motivations for

In Sophocles’ renowned drama entitled Antigone, one of the main values that Antigone chooses to honor is loyalty to family, even when that means that she has to forgo loyalty to her city and community. Even though her uncle the king, Kreon, forbade anyone to bury Polyneikes’ body because he had been on the opposing side in the battle, Antigone felt a duty to her brother to bury him. When speaking with her sister, Antigone says that Kreon’s command “…threatens our loved ones / as if they were our enemies” (Antigone 14-15). Antigone refuses to betray her brother and thus breaks the law by burying Polyneikes. In doing so, she steps past what was considered normal

Within this Narrative, Antigone frequently uses the emotional values of others to convince them of what she believes to be right.The first illustration of this phenomenon is when Antigone compares her willingness to face death as the result of giving her brother an honorable burial, to her sister Ismene 's unwillingness in doing the same.The main character feels as though it is her personal and moral obligation to retrieve the afterlife that’s been taken from her brother.Therefore, she does not agree in abiding by Creon 's man-made legislation and makes it her mission to concede to the laws of the gods. Asking for her sister 's help, she hopes to obtain reliability, only to find her too intimidated by Creon, Their uncle, and king. Accordingly, she says to Ismene “You may do as you like since apparently the laws of the gods mean nothing to you” (Page 192 Sophocles Antigone).This sentence uses two rhetorical appeals. First, Antigone 's most manipulated appeal, pathos is demonstrated specifically when she says “ you may do as you like..” (Page 192 Sophocles Antigone).These words make it seem like Ismene is selfish in preserving herself, unlike Antigone 's decision to do the opposite. Antigone uses comparison to herself to make Ismene appear weak and self-serving in return. This technique is persuasive because it appeals to the human need for respect and convinces Ismene along with the audience, by cause of her choices, she lacks in it.Another rhetorical appeal used in the

She was outraged when she found out that her brother Polyneices was going to be left to rot and be eaten by animals, because he was a traitor to the city. Antigone believed that her brother deserved a proper burial even though he tried going against the city unlike her other brother Eteocles. She asks Ismene (her sister) to join her in this act of rebellion but Ismene does not want to get in trouble for going against her kings orders so Antigone does it on her own. Creon feels disrespected and punishes Antigone for not following his rules. He seals Antigone while she is alive, inside a tomb. She does not understand why she is being treated so unjustly for trying to do the right thing. The chorus in the play tries convincing Antigone that justice is behaving in accordance to Creon’s laws but Antigone is stubborn and sustains to her convictions. Even though Antigone ends up dying she dies achieving her goal of wanting to bury her brother properly. Mostly everyone in this play goes against what the main character feels is justly because they want to follow the kings laws and they believe she is acting immorally. Antigone is not acting immorally, she is doing the right thing to follow the law of the gods. Therefore, since Antigone ends up hanging herself and causes her fiancé and the fiancé’s mother to commit suicide as well, it gives the

Gender roles play a significant part through ought the play Antigone due to the fact that men are treated on a higher scale than women. Sophocles portrays women as people with no rights nor freedom. Antigone is on a destiny for burial rights of her brother Polyneicis. Gender roles are expressed throughout the play Antigone by disrespecting women and men having power and freedom.

“Tell me briefly- not in some lengthy speech were you aware there was a proclamation forbidding what you did?” Antigone’s words, actions and ideas differ with Creon’s character to the point of these two characters having clashing desires. The clashing desires cause the characteristics of controlling, worry, and bitterness that’s highlighted within Creon’s character. Overall, these conflicting motivations develop Creon as a tragic hero by his stubbornness and his pride is way too high and the conflict with Antigone and the battle between the “Laws of the gods” and the “Laws of man.”

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 Antigone, the titular character buries the body of her brother, Polynices, despite a declaration from Creon that no one shall bury him or else they will face death as well. Antigone believes that divine law, the right of all bodies to be buried, is greater than Creon’s law. She also claims she could not leave the body and live on in grief and she is not afraid of death. Antigone makes the right choice in sacrificing her life to bury her brother because she makes Creon a better person, does what she knows is right, and receives eternal benefits.

Sophocles depicts the contrast and clash between two people with opposing views in his play ‘Antigone’. One of those people is Creon, the highly motivated king of Thebes who takes pride in his own decisions that he believes to be right and sensible for the state and believes in a form of justice that can’t be compromised. The other person is Antigone, the protagonist and the daughter of the earlier king of Thebes, Oedipus. She places her faith and adheres to the irrational laws of religion and goes against the laws of man, thus defying common reason. We see more nuances to their defining attributes throughout Oedipus’s works. Creon, who is initially portrayed as a logical and pragmatic man, reveals his obstinate nature by his refusal to acknowledge viewpoints differing from his and Antigone

Creon has a rational, important reason to deny Polyneices a burial and to punish Antigone for her actions: doing only what is best for Thebes. As King, he announces to the populace of Thebes that he plans to “follow the course that he knows is best for the State” (1.197). By giving a speech to garner the trust and respect of his citizens, and making the promise to do what is “best for the state”, Creon demonstrates his commitment to governing wholeheartedly. His directive on the burial of Polyneices directly reflects Creon’s ethics of putting the cohesion of the city before anything else. He wants social order and stability, so Antigone breaking a direct order from the throne makes Creon seem fallible. Creon is obsessed with his reputation,

The concept of religion has been present in cultures throughout history. While obedience to gods is still commonly practiced in society today, the ancient Greeks were arguably one of the most religious civilizations. Many aspects of their lives revolved around the laws of their multiple gods, including city ordinances created by their kings. In the play, Antigone, created by Sophocles, a main theme of man’s laws versus God’s laws is demonstrated.