How Power Can Be Corrupted Through Hubris And Invokes The Limits Of Power Of A Ruler

“Your temper terrifies them” (Sophocles 222). In Sophocles’ tragedy “Antigone”, Creon, the obstinate king of Thebes, embodies the stereotypical monarch. Ancient Athens, where Sophocles called home, used plays to educate their audience and persuade them to think a certain way; thus, Sophocles wrote of the struggle between Creon, and his son, Haimon, from the perspective of a member if a democratic government. Sophocles sought to influence his audiences political beliefs by creating the character Creon, the King of Thebes’, whose power hunger and temper makes monarchies appear absurd; however, strengthening stereotypes as a political weapon did not cease in Ancient Greece. In the past century, American screenwriters have

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

Humanity is often faced with ambivalence towards law; at once, we find it a necessity in attempting to deal with a world which is constantly in some type of chaotic turmoil, and also as a glaring flaw in our society, which can at times result in more chaos than was originally had. This conflict is no more obvious than in Sophocles’ Antigone. Antigone, the character, represents half of the struggle between what the law says is just and what we inherently deem to be morally upstanding – Creon represents the opposing side which views law and power as the ultimate dictator of life’s unraveling. Though Antigone is ultimately thwarted, she is on the side of justice rather than blindly following the law. Antigone’s empathy while breaking the law

In ‘Antigone”, Ismene says, “To them that walk in power; to exceed is madness, and not wisdom”. Her statement makes it clear, those who “walk in power”, allow it to corrupt them. Throughout the history of humanity there has been a correlation between those who have excessive power and corruption. Webster’s Dictionary defines corruption as, “impairment of integrity, virtue, or moral principle”. In the story of Antigone the tragic hero Creon, shows all of the common characteristics of corruption. Before one can analysis the character of Creon they would first have to look at the story of Oedipus the King.

After Antigone is brought forth and accepts the punishment of her burying her brother, Creon sends her away. At this time, Ismene steps up to defend Antigone and tries to get creon to realize that Antigone is his son’s future bride. Creon answers by saying, “There are other field just as fertile” (26). In this quote, he displays that he cares for neither Antigone, nor his son, Haemon. . He explains that there are other women around that could be just as a promising wife as Antigone. He exemplifies the theme of pride here, by putting that everyone gets replaced and that he does not put his son’s life first. Power, a theme that is primarily exemplified by Creon, appears multiple times throughout his dialogue. While discussing Antigone’s punishment with Haemon, Creon says, “This city will tell me how I ought to rule it?” (40). In this quote, Creon represents the theme of power. He is trying to show Haemon that HE is the king of Thebes and that no one will tell him how to rule, especially the citizens. In relation to present time, there are countless politicians that share the same characteristics as Creon, someone who takes their power for granted and will use it to take advantage of everyone.

In Sophocles’ Antigone, a major conflict arose over Antigone’s and Creon’s beliefs on right and wrong. Antigone stands for the laws of the Gods and family morals. Creon chose to stand for the values of the state and his will to be king. Although one’s decisions appear to be more reasonable and sympathetic than the other, both characters’ decisions in society can be equally validated.

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

Sophocles symbolizes family over authority by using Antigone and Creon to conflict each other's core beliefs, showing that Antigone is willing to die to honor the love for her family, while Creon is willing to kill to honor and enforce his own authority at any cost. As we see in the story, when Antigone's brothers die, she chooses to bury Polyneices even though she knows this will cost her her life. In the play when Antigone tells her sister what she’s going to do, ismene says, ”But think of the danger! Think what Creon will do! ANTIGONE: Creon is not enough to stand in my way” This shows Antigone represents family for the great lengths she will go to to honor her brother. By contrast, Sophocles paints Creon to symbolize authority through murder of his own bloodline. In the play he plans to kill Antigone for choosing her love for her brother over his rule, and so he plans out her execution although she is family to Creon. The Choragos asks Creon “Do you really intend to steal this girl from your son?,” which then he responds by saying “No; Death will do that for me.” Which shows the reader that Creon is unsympathetic to who Antigone is in relation to him. He disregards the importance of family to uphold his authoritative values. By the end of the play the author has shown us Creon has come to realize his ways have cost him his family, and he regrets his decisions.

Sophocles’ purpose for writing about leadership in Antigone was to demonstrate that as a leader they must know what their true values, as well as, when to prioritize them, because they need to do what they think is best for the city. This is shown when Greon is introducing himself as the one who possesses the throne and the power along with it. He explains how you cannot know a man completely until the experience and what his standards are such as not putting a friend

In the play, " Antigone," many characters go through a phase that includes tyranny, injustice and Civil Disobedience. These phases are sometimes portrayed as themes in the play but it plays a big role in it. Antigone suffers from Injustice and Civil disobedience because she feel as though burying her brother would be the right thing to do but according to Creon, it is a sin. On the other hand, Creon is King but he doesn't know how to use his power quite right.

Sophocles implements arrogant diction in his play Antigone to portray how individuals’ greediness for one-dimensional cravings contributes to their predetermined doomed outcome. Arrogant diction can be found in the play while the king Creon is speaking to his son about the “dishonorable” (Sophocles 146) act that the protagonist, Antigone, has committed. The king, Creon, shows his desire for power that he wishes to possess through the conversation, he states, “Why, does not every state belong to its ruler?” (146). Sophocles uses the diction “its ruler” to clarify Creon’s greed for power. By using these words, it is already implied that the ruler is Creon, the king, and Sophocles is showing that Creon does not only wish to have some

When Haimon and the king are arguing about the new law Haimon points out that Creon has “no right to trample on God’s right” (1294 or line 113). Creon quickly dismisses this comment proving his inability to recognize when he is in the wrong and only furthering his arrogant persona. This quotation also shows how leaders with absolute power can become, essentially, out of control. By Sophocles pointing out how an occurrence like this is possible, with a power hungry leader, it shows his criticism of his society’s current governing system. Near the end of the play after Creon experiences the horrific consequences the Choragos closes the play by pointing out that “[t]here is no happiness where there is no wisdom;/ No wisdom but in submission to the gods” (1305 or lines 139-140).

In the drama Antigone, Sophocles considers the source of authority and power in society. When King Creon makes a law that forbids the burial of Antigone's brother, Polynices, she ignores the king’s authority, risks her life, and buries her brother out of loyalty to the gods. The situation leads to a conflict among the people of Thebes, Antigone, and Haemon. They must decide where their loyalty lies, and whose authority should take precedence, that of the king or that of the gods. While a number of views about the role of authority and power are expressed through characters such as Creon, Antigone, and Haemon, the drama seems to support the view that authority does not rest only with one person.

In the beginning of Antigone, Creon and his people firmly believe in the power of his authority and his leadership of the city of Thebes. When Creon argues with his son Haemon, he tells him “that man the city places in authority, his orders must be obeyed,” so much that “whoever places a friend above the good of his own country, he is nothing” (748-750, 203-204). The citizens place Creon in authority, so he urges his people to obey his edicts and orders because their compliance is essential to his position. In his opinion, authority is the most meaningful entity in Greek life, regardless of friendship or family ties. For example, even though Antigone is his son’s fiancée, Creon refuses to absolve her of her crimes because in his eyes, no one should be exempt from the law. The city-state agrees with Creon, illustrated when the chorus sings, “When he weaves in the laws of the

In the plays of Sophocles, we see various form and displays of political power. It is shown in a variety of ways. In both plays we see very similar displays of political power. When you think of political power today it is very different to how it was viewed back in the time of Sophocles. Sophocles shows examples of political power in his plays and these examples have many connections to people or things. In King Oedipus, we see an arrogant and very mean king. He cares about what the people need and want but he is arrogant and mean about it at the same time. He is also very paranoid about the people around him. During the time of King Oedipus, the king literally controlled everything. Kings during this time often relied on others when it came to making decisions such as the gods. We can ask many questions when it comes to political power in the plays of Sophocles. Can an arrogant leader really make the right choices for the people? We have many examples of how these leaders used their political power. Political power in both of these stories had tragic outcomes. We can also ask if the rulers were really making mad decisions or if they were really just a victim of some unfortunate events. One thing is for sure, political power was really prevalent in the time of Sophocles and we can see that in both King Oedipus and Antigone. We also get a sense of how society and politics were in this period of time by learning from the writing of Sophocles and the actions of Creon and King