Moral Integrity In Sophocles Antigone

Antigone is a play written by Sophocles and is about a young girl named Antigone who struggles with written laws of her city, Thebes. Her uncle is King Creon and sentences her to death because she decided to bury her brother, Polynices, after it was declared that he deserved no burial. Antigone's sister, Ismene, was too afraid to go along with her. Antigone's fiancé, (who is also

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.

Antigone is a Greek Tragedy that was written in 441 B.C. by Sophocles who is considered one of the great tragedians of the Greek time period and even today. Antigone is a complex play which centers on the two main characters, Antigone and Creon; Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and the niece to Creon. This play starts with brothers to Antigone, Polyneices and Eteocles dying in war; they killed each other tragically while fighting over the throne of Thebes. Eteocles receives a respectable stately burial and Polyneices was considered a traitor and is disgraced, not allowed to receive a proper burial. If anyone gets close to the body of Polyneices or tries to bury him they would be condemned to death by King

Antigone takes place just after a war between Antigone’s two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices. Eteocles fought on the side of Thebes whereas Polynices resembled an invader. Afterwards, Eteocles is buried and seen as honorable. However, Polynices is denied a proper burial because he is considered a traitor to Thebes. In this play, Sophocles uses Antigone and Creon as foils by characterizing Antigone as a martyr and Creon as a tyrant to urge the reader to realize that one’s own morals are more significant than the decrees of any government.

While Antigone represents a full devotion to humanism, her sister, Ismene, represents not only the rejection of it, but also passivity towards the notion of morality which, in a sense, is equivalent to Creon’s treachery towards what we hold morally sacred. Ismene has long been used as a symbol of both anti-politics and anti-humanism, which creates a dynamic plot by contrasting the cowardly fear to stand up for one’s concept of what is right with a brazen display of self-fulfilled justice. (2) What’s worse may be Ismene’s knowledge of her cowardliness and complete complacency, as seen when talking to Antigone about her plan to bury their slain brother when sharing her fear of punishment, " Think how we’ll die far worse than all the rest, if we defy the law and move against the

and the law is only here to benefit him and to control the people. It

Sophocles’ play “Antigone” illustrates the conflict between obeying human and divine law. The play opens after Oedipus’ two sons Eteocles and Polyneices have killed each other in a civil war for the throne of Thebes. Oedipus’ brother in law Creon then assumes the throne. He dictates that Eteocles shall receive a state funeral and honors, while Polyneices shall be left in the streets to rot away. Creon believes that Polyneices’ body shall be condemned to this because of his civil disobedience and treachery against the city. Polyneices’ sister, Antigone, upon hearing this exclaims that an improper burial for Polyneices would be an insult to the Gods. She vows that Polyneices’ body will be buried, and Creon declares that anyone who

such as Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Poseidon, and Ares, or following the man-made law by that of King Creon. Throughout the scenes of the play, Sophocles makes use of the Choragus to push the beliefs of the gods onto the citizens of Thebes. Sophocles does this in order to make the play directly apply to Ancient Greece, and to provide cultural insight. When Antigone makes the decision to bury her brother, Polynices, she is going against the man-made law of Creon and following the religious beliefs of the Gods. To summarize Sophocles’ Antigone, a tragedy, would include the introduction of Antigone's two brothers, Eteocles, and Polynices, who came into rule of Thebes after Oedipus, their father's death, both brothers received a prophecy predicting the two will

As a punishment King Creon sentence her to be in an isolate cave and wait for her death. King Creon is cruel, blind and full of pride; he likes to impose his authority even if his not right. King Creon only cares about demonstrating his authority; everyone in his kingdom should know that only his word should be obeyed. He is the King and everyone in his kingdom must follow his rules.

The play Antigone was written around 441 b.c. It demonstrates how a man became the king of Thebes and that his nephew, Polyneices, was killed in a fight to have the throne of the city. Since both of the brothers in line for the throne were killed, Creon, Polyneices and Eteocles’’ uncle, went on to receive the throne for himself and said that he will show that he is loyal to the city be being strict to his rules he set. Polyneices went against the city and for that, he was not allowed to be buried. His sister, Antigone, felt that he should be buried and decided to do it little by little.

The Greek tragedy Antigone written by Sophocles around 441 B.C. is about a girl named Antigone who is determined to fight for what is virtuous and ethical when it comes to giving her brother Polyneices a proper burial. However, her uncle Creon who is also the ruler of Thebes, disagrees with Antigone’s noble deed and believes that he holds the most superiority and that the law is more meaningful than possessing feelings for friends and family. Throughout the tragedy, Antigone rebels against Creon’s laws and has faith that the heavens and the gods know that she is doing an honorable and just action. Whereas Creon believes that man and government laws are more important and valuable.

The German philosopher Hegel stated that the play Antigone written by Sophocles represents the tragic collision of right against right, with both sides equally justified. The play begins with tragedy and ends the same way. Polyneices and Eteocles were brothers whom killed each other in combat over the power of the throne. Creon, the brothers’ uncle, was the following family member to occupy the throne. But he did not desire the same pattern to repeat itself. Therefore he created a decree which punished all those who committed a crime before dying. These people would, in turn, be neglected of a burial ceremony. Eteocles was recognized as the defender of the city and with much dignity he was given all his death rights in his burial. On the

Family is very important and is shown through the many ways in society. That family will often be more important than the authority or law. The tragic Greek play, Antigone written by Sophocles. Within Antigone, Sophocles presents many situations where characters are forced to face their feelings of law or family. Throughout Antigone, Sophocles proves his strong devotion to family, even more. Sophocles presents these through the actions of Antigone, Creon, and Haemon with the choices that they make throughout the play. For instance, Antigone had many chances to obey the law or her own familial bonds. Antigone chooses to obey family, and bury Polynices even though burying breaks Creon's law. Antigone pleads with her sister to help, but when she says no, Antigone responds, “But as for me/ I will bury the brother I love” (Prologue. 192). Antigone was willing to break Creon's authority as a family means much more to her, this presents her as selfless. Along with breaking the law, Antigone also risks execution for that crime. When Antigone learns of her punishment, after Creon discovers, Antigone decides if entombing her brother was worth it. Following Creon's warning, she says, “This death of mine/ is of no importance; but if I had left my brother/ lying in death unburied, I should have suffered. / Now I do not” (Scene II. 208). Antigone shows the courage that even death won't scare her from her goals. Antigone chooses family, when in the face of the capital punishment.

In Ancient Greece, new ideals surfaced as answers to life's complicated questions. These new beliefs were centered on the expanding field of science. Man was focused on more than the Gods or heavenly concerns. A government that was ruled by the people was suggested as opposed to a monarchy that had existed for many years. Freedom of religion was encouraged in city-states. These new ideals, though good in intentions, often conflicted with each other creating complex moral dilemmas. Such was the case in Antigone, a play written by Sophocles during this era of change. In the play, Antigone and Creon battle a philosophical war exemplifying the conflict existing in the Greek ideals.

Throughout life you always have your family to share the smiles, the tantrums, the unseen moments, and tears. As we make it through to adulthood, we all secure those special bonds that we have with our family, but obeying the law has been embedded into our minds since a young age so which is more important? The book, Antigone is a greek-mythology tragedy play written by Sophocles about a curse put onto a man named Oedipus where he is destined to kill his father, marry his mother, and bring unfortunates to his city. Antigone, the main character is the result of an incest marriage between Oedipus and his mother Jocasta, the play begins with Antigone attempting to convince her sister to bury her brother, Polyneices’ body, going