The Importance Of Religion In Antigone

Both were oppressed by laws that they had no control over, and both fought against those laws with the reasoning that morality is more important than the words of men. Rather than obeying Creon’s decree, Antigone chose to display the respect she had for her brother. King placed his political and social goals for equality in America over his personal safety. Consequently, both Antigone and King paid the ultimate price for their actions and beliefs—with their lives. While Antigone’s motive for breaking the law was more personal, and King’s was more politically inclined, the ideas they shared in regards to the morality of breaking such laws were similar: a morally unjust law is not truly a law at

In Sophocles’ piece, King Kreon prohibited the burial of Polynices, Antigone’s brother, because he was seen as a traitor to his country. Antigone blatantly disobeyed King Kreon’s proclamation because she thought that Polynices ought to be buried not only because he was blood- family, but because the gods law states that burial is a necessary ceremony. Her sister, Ismene, tried to warn her of the trouble she could find herself in, if King Kreon finds out that it was Antigone who had buried her brother, the traitor. (Blondell, 21). In addition, Antigone does not hesitate to admit to this illegal deed when the guards catch her in the act (Blondell, 37,38). While she acted out of respect for her brother and the gods, it was selfish in the fact that she was only thinking of herself. She did not hesitate to disregard King Kreon’s law and did not take any factor into consideration. Antigone accepted that her life was the price to pay for her civil disobedience, but her actions also, unintentionally, led to the death of two other people. Although, in the end, King Kreon sees that Antigone was right, the reason for which she had fought, and ultimately lost her life for, had no significant positive effect on anyone else.

Antigone begins to argue that Polyneices is her brother and that she won’t be forced to betray him by not burying him (45). What really makes her determined is the moral obligation she feels that “the gods hold dear” as well as what she believes will allow her to become a martyr, having “a noble death/And lie…, a dear sister with a dear brother” (72-73). Moreover, Antigone even calls what she’s doing “a crime of reverence;” a fitting phrase seeing that she is going against her polis and hurios and in doing this, obeying the gods and her morals. Antigone, therefore, is committing not just a crime, but a crime of reverence, which she deems higher than all else (74).

Finally on page 774, Antigone is still determined to give her loving brother, Polyneices, a proper burial when she says, “…as for me, I will bury the brother I love.” In this incident, Antigone is headstrong about giving her brother what he deserves, despite the fact that Ismene told her to obey the law. Antigone is acting as if she were a rebellious teenager because she is contradicting political laws to perform acts that would seem moral to her for the sake of Polyneices. Like the discussion Antigone had with her sister, she will remain being headstrong to whoever confronts her.

While both Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr. fought for their religious and human rights, I believe that Martin Luther King Jr.’s ability to use both religion and nationalism gave him the ability to achieve his goal of civil disobedience in ways that Antigone could not. Martin Luther King Jr. used his religious background to give his claim greater influence in the deep south, calling upon every one of the Christian faith to rally behind a Reverend in trouble. His call to nationalism gave him the ability to have the nation standing with him against the leaders of Birmingham, evoking a sense of pride and unity in the nation against this injustice. Antigone used her civil disobedience to fight for her religious right to bury her brother Polyneices body. While Antigone remained nonviolent throughout her protest, her lack of negotiation with Kreon shows that her civil disobedience was misguided. Antigone failed to rationalize with Kreon, instead choosing to blatantly disobey without exhausting all of her options. Martin Luther King Jr.’s use of religion, nationalism, and negotiation are why I believe that his civil disobedience was more effective than Antigone’s.

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

From the very first scene opening with Antigone sharing her intentions with Ismene, Antigone is introduced with these good virtues: “Death so we meet, were honor; and for that capital crime or piety, loving and loved, I will lie by his side. Far longer is there need I satisfy those nether powers, than power on earth” (Sophocles 3). Antigone proclaims her willingness to die by her brother in order for him to be buried with honor and for him to have died loved, for it is what the gods desire and she has an obligation to them as she will need to satisfy them longer. During the same exchange, Antigone invited Ismene to join her in burying their brother: “Though you desire, shall you, with my good will, share what I do” (Sophocles 3). Antigone is allowing Ismene to join her in her admirable and noble mission to honor their brother and appease the gods so that Ismene has a chance to prove herself to the gods and to their family as

Both Antigone in the play Sophocles Antigone and Dr. Martin Luther King in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” went against the “law” to do what they thought was right. Both heroes knew about the consequences that came with their actions. Antigone decided to bury her brother, Polyneices, despite the possibility of being killed. Similarly, Dr. Martin Luther King continued protesting and creating speeches peacefully in spite of him being sent to jail.

Antigone’s argument with her sister about her plans to defy the king is the scene that opens the play. From the start, she appears certain that burying Polynices will restore justice when she says, “even if I die in the act, that death will be a glory (Sophocles 86).” She was so sure of the immorality of Creon’s law that she was willing to go to any means necessary to keep her brother from becoming a cautionary tale. In the philosophical statement made by Martin Luther King Jr., he says that, “An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.” Antigone stood alone in defending her brother's honor, and did not waver from her beliefs at any point. She went to great lengths in order to convey her belief that Creon had been unfair in the conviction of Polynices. In doing so, she attempted to awaken the consciences of the other Thebans and prove to them that even though Creon was their leader, they had the ability to voice their concerns about

Even though Antigone exhibits a blamable pride and a hunger for glory, her disobedience is less serious than those of Creon. It is evident that Antigone’s actions are driven by a love for her brother, and a desire to please the gods. While Creon’s actions are

Sometimes the law is not on our side and we have to choose whether to abide by the government’s rules, our religious beliefs or our personal morals. In Antigone, Antigone decides to disregard the law and do what she, and the vast majority of the people in the city, believe to be right. From the onset of the play, we are shown that Antigone does not fear authority and is wholeheartedly willing to die for her brother. Antigone says, “At least he is my

Many believe that the divine word holds more power than man, Antigone is one of these people and hold the divines laws higher than man's laws. On the other hand, Creon believes that holding power is the way of life and tries to uphold his laws over the deity laws. Creon does this when the brothers Polyneices and Eteocles kill each other and Polyneices is designated as a traitor. Creon decides to prohibit the people from burying Polyneices properly and follow the god's law to prevent more rebellions. Antigone on the other hand believes that a Creon's law holds no power over her from giving a proper burial. As Antigone is talking to Ismene she states "No one shall say I failed him! I will bury my brother -- and yours too, if you will not"( Sophocles ). This statement shows

Antigone and Martin Luther King, Jr. both fought against unjust laws, nevertheless, Antigone was sticking up for a proper burial for her brother, while Martin Luther King, Jr. was fighting for the minority group to be treated equally to everyone else. Though both were fighting for what was right, Antigone was only impacting her brother’s life and Martin Luther King, Jr. was impacting minorities all over that were being treated with unjust.

In the play Antigone, the character Antigone, chooses to obey the laws of the God's rather than the laws of man. Antigone risks everything, including her life, but her convictions are unwavering.

The human struggle to defy what is intrinsically wrong but established as permissible is openly apparent in the initial scenes of the play – strong-willed and brave-hearted Antigone reveals her plan to unlawfully bury her brother, only to be rejected and dismantled by cautious and law-abiding Ismene. Although Ismene is saddened by her brother's fate, nomos renders her helpless; social constructs have influenced her belief that their standings as women and individual citizens are no match for state law. Consequently, she is appalled that Antigone would even think of defying Creon, believing their brother's fate is out of their hands. She even warns her sister, "tis witless to be over busy."1 Her chance to rightfully bury Polyneices, and more importantly, to realize her innate responsibility to her kin, is temporarily barred by human-allotted law and practice.