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Power, Hubris, And Hamartia ' Sophocles ' Antigone

Good Essays
Rafael Tafur
Mrs. Morillo
English IV Honors
October 31, 2015
Power, Hubris, and Hamartia in Sophocles 's Antigone Lord Acton, a well-known British historian, writer, and politician, resonated the repercussions of power and dominance by stating that "All power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely” (Moreell, "Power Corrupts"). This is just one of the themes covered in Sophocles 's Antigone. Within this dramatic play, Sophocles questions the conventions of hubris, hamartia, and power. They all play a role in the narrative where Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, vows to pay respects to her dead brother, Polyneices, as he laid dead in the battlefield outside Thebes. At the same time, the ruler of Thebes, Creon, issues an edict against the burial of Polyneices 's body since he was the man responsible for trying to invade and destroy Thebes. In Creon 's mind, he sees Polyneices as a traitor and deserves no respect from anyone in Thebes. For Antigone, a question arises on whether she must follow the law or provide rest and comfort to her late brother in a dignified manner? Within the play Antigone, Sophocles expresses that hubris and the hunger for power and control can lead anyone to their ends, without regard to original motive. Sophocles uses Antigone and Creon serve as examples of the interaction of the themes of hubris, hamartia, and power. To start, the foundations of law and power are questioned when
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