How Does Creon Use Hubris In Antigone

Antigone is a tragic play written by Sophocles in about 441b.c. The play is a continuation of the curse put upon the household of Oedipus Rex. Sophocles actually wrote this play before he wrote Oedipus, but it follows Oedipus in chronological order. The story of Antigone begins after the departure of Oedipus, the king of Thebes, into self-exile. Oedipus’ two sons, Eteocles and Polyneices, were left to rule over Thebes. An argument over rights to power forces Polynices to leave Thebes. Some time passes and Polynices returns with the army from Argos and attempts to overthrow his brother. The two brothers fight and kill one another and the war ends. Creon, the uncle of the two

The first specification for the tragic hero is one of the few that both Antigone and Creon exhibit; both characters are between the extremes of perfect morality and pure villainy. Antigone’s moral neutrality is illustrated through her noble intentions and the unorthodox way she acts upon them. When she is confronted by Creon and demanded to give an explanation for her disobedience, Antigone says, “For me it was not Zeus who made that order. Nor did that Justice who lives with the gods below mark out such laws to hold among mankind” (Sophocles 207 ll. 450-2). Along with love and loyalty to her brother, Antigone is largely motivated by her desire for justice and appeasement of the gods. While her intentions are noble, Antigone’s actions in the

In Antigone, Sophocles introduces the struggle between loyalty to civil law versus familial loyalty and divine law, which is a central conflict in the play. Antigone has a firm belief in upholding family values and honoring the gods and deceased by burying her brother. In contrast, Creon wants to do what is best for the city which is, in his opinion, forbidding the burial of Polynices. Both Antigone and Creon believe that their point of view is more important, and neither is willing to change perspective, causing the chain of destructive events in the plot. Loyalty causes the deadly dispute between Antigone and Creon because of their conflicting perspectives about precedence.

Sophocles at first depicts Creon as a ruler who values his authority and city more than anything, but he gradually becomes more despotic. With his role as king so recently acquired, Creon must first establish his position as superior to other citizens. He does so by declaring that “the ship of state is safe”(180) and “the gods who rocked her... have righted her once more”(180-182). Creon is attempting to prove that he deserves the position of authority because the gods that the citizens value so much have granted him the divine right to rule the state. By using the metaphor of the state as a ship, Sophocles shows that citizens are either in or out of the ship that Creon leads; they are either with or against his rule. He is also saying that there is a specific reason that the ship was stabilized when he gained power because he is destined to be in this position. To strengthen the citizens’ respect for him, Creon announces that it is

Creon orders the guards to take Antigone away not caring for his son's feelings, since she is his fiancée. Creon feels the law should stand despite the fact that Antigone was his niece or how moral her act was. "Bring her [Antigone] out! Let her die before his eyes..." (Scene 3, 130). This quotes shows that Creon took his position as king seriously to the point where in he was willing to sacrifice the feelings of his own son. He was willing to be the cause of son's destruction just to prove that he is the king and always right. "I will go... I buried her, I will set her free" (scene 5, 102,104). Not only does this quote show leadership but also stubbornness he was risking his relationship with his son to prove that he was the leader of Thebes. Creon says another quote which shows his loyalty to his kingdom, "I call to God to witness that if I saw my country headed for ruin, I should not be afraid to speak out plainly," (Sophocles, scene 1,24-26). It shows his strong sense of leadership which catches up with him in the end causing destruction.

In the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, King Creon created a law that denied proper burial rites to anyone who invaded or betrayed the city of Thebes. Antigone defied this law by burying her brother, Polynices, after he was harshly accused of being a traitor. Both Creon and Antigone showed a tenacious passion toward their perception of justice, unwilling to accept that honoring the law and honoring the individual conscience were both justified in different ways. The stubbornness that they shared led them both to meet their downfalls, which conveyed the idea that being too proud to accept guidance from others ultimately leads to dire consequences.

Antigone is a play written by Sophocles. The genre of the play that Sophocles wrote was based on tragedy. It is one of the first plays that use tragedy. In the play a young girl named Antigone, stands up against her uncle Creon who is the king. She stands up for her rights, so that she can give a religious burial to Polynices. She was a girl with a lot of will power. This essay talks about the relationship between Antigone and Creon. This essay would contain paragraphs where there would be comparisons between Antigone and Creon’s Relationship.

Some of the times the Chorus speaks in this drama, it seems to side with Creon and the established power of Thebes. The Chorus's first speech (117–179) describes the thwarted pride of the invading enemy: The God Zeus hates bravado and bragging. Yet this encomium to the victory of Thebes through Zeus has a cunningly critical edge. The Chorus's focus on pride and the fall of the prideful comments underhandedly on the willfulness seen in Antigone and will see in Creon. In Creon's first speech, where he assumes the “Now here I am, holding all authority and the throne, in virtue of kinship with the dead” and reiterates his decree against the traitor Polynices (191-192). In lines 308-309 the Chorus says to Creon “My lord: I wonder, could this be God’s doing? This is the thought that keeps on haunting me. The Chorus is questioning Creon if it could be the doing of God who buried Polynices, Creon replies; “Stop, before your words fill even me with rage that you should be exposed as a fool, and you so old. For what you say is surely insupportable when you say the gods took forethought for this corpse” (310-313).

Conflict; a serious disagreement or argument, typically a protracted one. Every person deals with conflict, whether it’s large or small, internal or external. In the ancient Greek set play, Antigone, the author Sophocles challenges his characters to choose between family or authority. The author Sophocles illustrates the two concepts of family versus authority, while proving family ties to be more important through the main character Antigone, the heroine of the story, as a symbol for family. While Creon the antagonist represents authority. Sophocles writes the play out to uphold a theme of an authoritative king who only wants to abide by the laws, no matter who it affects, only to show in the end, it is the king who loses. Throughout the play character development and symbols are used to illustrate that family is more important than authority.

Even if he believes he is right and his son should obey him, he doesn’t show an ounce of sympathy for Haemon, who loves Antigone. Creon details his thoughts on the importance of the rule of law over other loyalties, and his belief that to allow any anarchy or, seemingly, freedom would threaten the state. Creon’s method of executing Antigone is interesting. By entombing a living person, Antigone, and denying burial to a dead person, Polynices, Creon’s laws seem to go against common sense, tradition, and nature itself. Creon does not keep a cool head, as a wise leader should, or look for a way to compromise. He is as stubborn as Antigone, as if this were a street fight, he feels he could never back down.

Around 442 BC in the city of Athens, Greece, Sophocles wrote the greatly admired tragedy, Antigone. Antigone includes many themes such as Freedom, Protection of Personal Dignity, Obedience to Civil Law, Protection of Community/Nation, Loyalty/Obligation to Family, and Observance of Religious Law. Many of the Greek tragedies that have been written include a tragic hero that has his/her tragic flaw. In Antigone there are two main characters; Creon, the tyrant king of Thebes, and Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta. One of these main characters must be chosen to be the tragic hero in the story. Creon and Antigone are almost polar opposites when it comes to views of society, but their attitudes are almost identical.

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

The large issue behind the behavior of Creon and Antigone is that Creon is following Human laws, while Antigone is doing her best to follow God’s laws. In my opinion Creon was wrong because he was trying to break a law that was there before he was born. Although, Creon is the king he has no right to create new laws or to break old ones. I think Antigone just wanted a proper funeral for her family member. She was just doing things the right way by respecting laws that come from her creator.

Another difference which can be spotted throughout the play is the projection of emotions that the two give off. Antigone seems like more of a fervent, headstrong individual. Creon, on the other hand, sends readers more of an emotionless and insensible

Antigone is a play about a woman who disobeyed the King's order to not bury her brother. The play was written by the famous Greek tragedian, Sophocles, in 441 B.C. The story took place in the city of Thebes and the time period is not mentioned. The main characters introduced in the play are of Antigone, Ismene, Creon, and Haemon. The primary focus was centered on Antigone and the consequences she faces after breaking the King's orders.