Socrates 'Body In Sophocles' Antigone

Back in the times of ancient Greece, the law was considered sacred by most. Most people in that era believed that the rules set in place for them by their Kings and religious leaders were clearly indicative of the gods will. This resulted in most people strictly following the laws of whatever city-state they were in to a tee. Socrates is a great example of this type of thinking. However, there are some people who lived during this time that would go against the current and try to think beyond their human lawmakers and live by how they believe the Gods would see fit. Antigone, the titular character from the play by Greek playwright Sophocles, is a perfect example of this.

Socrates’ stance on this issue might come as a surprise to some who

In the play, Antigone is sentenced to death for burying her dead brother Polyneices, who died in conflict against Thebes where she resides. Her other brother Eteocles, who died fighting for Thebes, is honored and given a proper burial by the king Kreon, who also happened to decree the Polyneices’ body should be left out in the open in public shame because of his betrayal. He then sentences Antigone to death after hearing her betrayal, a fate that Antigone willingly accepts. There is no pleading or begging for him to change her sentence. She argues that she broke no law for what Kreon did to Polyneices’ body was not in the god’s favor, so she was not obliged to honor the law. In her eyes, Kreon was nothing more than a vessel for the gods will and that he made a law based on his own human desires. Hence, she was justified in breaking it. She also accepted her fate in the end though, perhaps with a bit more disdain than Socrates had. She always maintained that she was right and that Kreon would get his comeuppance for what he did to her and her brother- which he eventually did. Maybe this was a sign from the heavens that Antigone’s view on the situation was