Creon Loyalty Quotes

Creon then shows that he has let the power go to his head by refusing advice of an elder. “Stop- before you make me choke with anger- the gods! You, you’re senile, must you be insane? To prove his final act of power Creon informs his son that the person who buried Polynices is his fiancé Antigone and that he will kill her to make an example of his power to all the people under his rule that he would not be disobeyed.

What medal of honor brighter to his children than a father’s growing glory? Or a child’s to his proud father? Now don’t, please, be quite so single-minded, self-involved, or assume the world is wrong and you are right.” (Sophocles 785-790). When he says this, it shows how much his father means to him so he doesn’t want to see his father make the mistake of being narrow minded and pointed in the wrong direction. He then goes on to say “…whoever thinks that he alone possesses intelligence, the gift of eloquence, he and no one else, and character too…such men, I tell you, spread them open – you will find them empty.” (Sophocles 791-794) This is a metaphor relating Creon to writing tablets that reveal a blank canvas (Knox). In other words, Creon may appear wise and intelligent, but in reality, he has no wisdom to show for; he has no defining characteristics to make him more worthy to rule than the common citizen.

Creon is a man of principles, who is devoted to the state as well as upholding the law in a dominant and control freak type of manner. Creon uses his first speech as a way to explain his ideas, expectations of the people, and his first law regarding the body of Polynices. Knowing the people of Thebes will disregard his word, he explains to the populace that, “Whoever places a friend above the good of his own country, he is nothing”(67). He brings up the threat of death due to the uncertainty of future rebellion and clearly states, “Our country is our safety”(68). This type of indoctrination starts from the head and trickles its way down to the people regardless of whether they want it or not. Bribery is another one of his major concerns. Knowing that corruption leads to dysfunction, rebellion, and torment, Creon poetically makes another law regarding, “Money! Nothing worse in our lives, so current, rampant, so corrupting… No limit, you make them adept at every kind of outrage, every godless crime-money!...

For these reasons, his character is a feared leader. First of all, the fact that he issues that his nephew cannot be buried shows that- one, he demands loyalty, even over loyalty to the gods, and two, he defends his country over his family. He continues displaying his beliefs when he doesn’t revoke the edict even after his wife, and niece clearly disagree with it. Creon’s pride continues to take precedent when he begins falsely accusing

perspectives. Creon 's pride causes him to be afraid to admit that he has made a

Creon states “am I to rule this land for others, or myself”? (Sophocles, 441 BC, line 823). This statement shows how Creon has little consideration for others around him. He does not care that

Throughout the play, Creon shows many examples of how he is imperfect. One example would be how he believes that the state is primary to his family and relationships, “If this is your pleasure, Creon, treating our city’s enemy and our friend this way … the power is yours, I suppose, to enforce it with the laws, both for the dead and all of us, the living,” this quotation said by the leader of the chorus describes how the elder people of Thebes respect their family more than the state, but they held back on their opinions, knowing of what Creon, the leader, wanted to hear (235-240). Another example of how Creon shows the audience of how he is imperfect is when, Creon meets with Haemon. Creon argues with Haemon about how people should act towards the country which they reside in, “But whoever steps out of line, violates the laws or presumes to hand out orders to his superiors, he’ll win no praise from me. But that man the city places in authority, his orders must be obeyed, large and small, right and wrong,” Creon believes since he has the highest throne in his country, that he should be obeyed whether the circumstance (745-751). Lastly, Creon demonstrates to the audience that he is imperfect by wanting to protect his country too much. This is visible when Creon sentences Antigone to a slow death, because of burying her brother, who was outcasted as a traitor. Creon put the state over his family which will lead to the complete

This quote explains the main conflict of the play. Creon has ordered that Polynices, Antigone’s brother, cannot receive a proper burial because in Creon’s eyes he is a traitor. Polynices fought against his brother to claim the throne of Thebes, the pair ended up killing each other. Tiresias tries to tell Creon that he is wrong to do this because it is angering the gods that he is denying them a body. Tiresias even warns Creon not to be stubborn, “Stubborness/ brands you for stupidity-pride is a crime.” (1137-1138). Pride in Greek tragedies is most often the cause of a characters downfall and Creon is no exception.

Creon is first portrayed as a leader with rational laws and consequences for breaking them. But by the end of the play, Creon is a completely different character; he has let his excessive pride and hubris take over him. He doesn’t realize his change in character until it is brought to him through the prophecy of Teiresias, when it is already too late. Creon can be identified as a tragic hero because he shows great signs of stubbornness and pride. Considering he is the King of Thebes, he follows his rules and laws without listening to his citizen’s concerns, nor does he care about the gods wishes. His role as a hubris influences many of his choices, he believes in only his own thoughts and wishes. Creon abuses his power just because he can, without thinking of the consequences.

Creon has just become the king of Thebes and is letting his great power go to his head. He is deaf to reason and even accuses those who try to change his mind of “selling their soul

Pride acts as another major theme; it is what got Creon in this situation in the first place. Creon has too much pride to admit to anyone that maybe he was wrong. Even when he has Antigone he has too much pride to let her go. Creon's own son questions him and he replies, "Am I to stand here and be lectured to by a kid? A man of my experience"(1063)!Creon shows that here he is too proud to change his decision for his own son even if he made the wrong choice. The king's friend the Leader tries to convince Creon to change his mind by telling him "My king, ever since he began I've been debuting in my mind, could this possibly be the work of the gods"(1050). The Leader was trying to tell

Creon’s leadership style “involves centralized decision making, with the leader making decisions and using power to command and control others” (Kelly, 8). This is also known as an autocratic leadership style. Autocratic leaders such as Creon, doubt their subordinate’s ability, and closely oversee and dictate people beneath them. They are dead set on their followers’ simple obeying their commands and are less troubled with outside opinions. Creon clearly illustrates this behavior in the conversation with his son, Haemon (lines 630-760).

This is self evident in an exchange between Creon and his son Haemon, who was in love with Antigone and slated to marry her: (Creon): "So this creature is no criminal, eh?" (Haemon): "The whole of Thebes says "no." (Creon): "And I must let the mob dictate my policy?" (Haemon): "See now who is speaking like a boy!" (Creon): "Do I rule this state, or someone else?" (Haemon): "A one man state is no state at all." Thus the plot thickens, and the tragedy begins to develop as Antigone's actions have achieved her the respect of the common man, but is unquestionably soon to bring her downfall.

Creon becomes the king of Thebes, and because of this, he wants to protect his people. Despite his desire to remain loyal to his citizens, Creon doesn’t take advice or input from anyone. Creon puts himself above everyone, including the gods, taking advantage of his title. Creon states, “We must obey those whom the city has ordained to be its leaders. We should obey them, unquestioningly, in all things, minor or great, those we agree with

Creon loves Athens, and displays his loyalty by serving as king and attempting to honor the city’s gods by punishing a traitor. Though Creon’s actions have good intentions behind them, his view begins to illustrate his self pride. After being informed that Polynices was buried, the Chorus tells Creon, Creon gains honor here from his belief that the gods don’t honor traitors. Though Creon is obviously wrong, he shows some honor because in this situation Creon is simply trying to do what he believes is best for the city. Creon’s honor stems from his want to carry out laws consistently. However, Creon’s claim that gods don’t honor traitors shows his circular logic. For who is to determine a criminal in Thebes? Because Creon is the ruler of the kingdom, Creon has the ability to judge of who is a criminal and who is not. And so in this sense, Creon reserves the right to himself and himself only. Thus leading Creon to believe he is more powerful, implicitly taking his position to that of more than just a king. Creon’s reveals an attitude of manly pride which ultimately proves to be his downfall.