Theme Of Power In Antigone

Creon does things in his own way knowing that nobody around him agrees with what he is trying to do. In the beginning Creon has set a law against the burial of his nephew Polyneices, because of his crimes. Polyneices sister, Antigone does not agree with Creon, and she tells Ismene, her sister that Polyneices will have a proper burial. “Look- what’s Creon doing with our two brothers? He’s honouring one with a full funeral and treating the other one disgracefully! Eteocles, they say, has had his burial according to our customary rites, to win him the honour with the dead below. (Sophocles, 317). This quote shows how stubborn that Creon can be. Creon always has to be in control which will prove to be part of his flaw.

In the play Antigone by Sophocles Creon is the king of Thebes. In this piece Creon becomes overwhelmed with the power given to him as king. The result is Creon turning into a corrupt king. He orders laws that must be followed with consequences of death. He uses the body of his nephew, Polyneices, as a way of frightening the people into submission. And finally Creon walls up his niece, Antigone, to die because she disobeyed him. Such actions can not be justified and ultimately makes Creon a bad ruler.

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.

This quote explains the main conflict of the play. Creon has ordered that Polynices, Antigone’s brother, cannot receive a proper burial because in Creon’s eyes he is a traitor. Polynices fought against his brother to claim the throne of Thebes, the pair ended up killing each other. Tiresias tries to tell Creon that he is wrong to do this because it is angering the gods that he is denying them a body. Tiresias even warns Creon not to be stubborn, “Stubborness/ brands you for stupidity-pride is a crime.” (1137-1138). Pride in Greek tragedies is most often the cause of a characters downfall and Creon is no exception.

King Creon’s tragic flaw is hubris. He does not listen to advice given to him by the blind prophet Teiresias. When Teiresias tells Creon, “Give in to the dead man, then: do not fight with a corpse- what glory is it to kill a man who is dead? Think, I beg you: It is for your own good that I speak as I do. You should be able to yield for your own good” (Antigone 36-40). King Creon does not like the fact that the prophet believes he is wrong and should do what everyone else has so far advised him to do. He accuses Teiresias as giving him such a prophecy because of bribery from others and a hunger for gold. Hubris is also revealed from King Creon in Scene III. Creon’s son, Haemon, tells Creon that the people of Thebes believe they have never seen a girl die such a shameful death and that the people live in fear of Creon. Haemon tells Creon he also believes Antigone should have been allowed to bury Polyneices and should be set free. King Creon responds with, “You consider it right for a man of my years and experience to go to school to a boy?” (Antigone 95-96). This shows that Creon does not believe a man of such age, “wisdom”, and “experience” should listen to anyone or change because of anyone else’s

In order to be an influential leader they need to inspire and the only way that will be possible is if they listen to the people around them. Furthermore, Sophocles’ purpose in writing about leadership was to convey that as a leader, they must know what their true values are, because it will help them make decisions easier, help them listen to those around them and it will help them maintain their position as an impactful leader. Creon needed to get a hold on what he truly valued. There were improvements that needed to be made but he was ignorant. His son, the leader, and Tiresias tried to advise him but Creon failed to communicate well with

Moreover, power highlights the inequity between males and females and results in the person becoming more emotional and taking everything more personal, and that power leads to an excess of pride which results in the ignoring of people’s warnings. All these things, especially ignoring the warnings of others, leads to a lot of suffering for the person with a lot of power and/or the loved ones of that person. Creon's pride and new power prompts him to prevent a burial for Polyneices, even though he is guilty of the same crime as his brother, Eteocles. Both men wanted to have the power of ruling Thebes alone and both men lost this battle equally. King Creon is corrupted by the same power that drove these men into

Creon is characterized as an authoritarian tyrannical ruler. He created the law stating that nobody was to bury the body of Polynices because he betrayed the city of Thebes. Creon was right to make his law because Polynices was a turncoat and died on Theban soil. Although his law was harsh, he believed that he was in the right because a villain such as Polynices did not deserve a proper burial. Creon was especially enraged when Antigone disregarded his law because Polynices was her brother, “Oh but I hate it more / when a traitor, caught red-handed, / tries to glorify his crimes (Creon 552-554).”

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.

Antigone is a Greek tragedy which explores the flaws and unfairness of the universe. Written by Sophocles around 441 BCE, it is the third and last of the three Theban plays. Its bold and fearless themes and perspective on the true sorrows of human misery makes it an impactful drama that is a true depiction of Greek tragedy.

In Ancient Greece, as the government turns to democracy, an important political debate arises between two crucial topics, authority and family. If a leader, for example, creates a law to restrict his or her people, but a member of the leader’s family breaks the law, he or she must decide where loyalties lie. Sophocles enters this debate in his play Antigone when Antigone, Creon’s son’s fiancée, breaks a heavily enforced but possibly immoral law. Although Sophocles emphasizes the importance of authority, Antigone illustrates that family is held in higher regard, exhibited through Creon’s tragic downfall.

Throughout time society has developed a system from which humans are able to define good and bad, Ethics. Although Ethical norms have been adapted throughout the passing of time, its most intrinsic values have prevailed, enabling individuals to agree on standards of what good and bad are built on their moral standards. Morals are what give the individual the capacity to distinguish good from bad. In the ancient Greece morals were indeed the individuals perception of good, and bad however, these perceptions were greatly abided and driven by the divine laws imposed by the gods. In Antigone, a tragedy written by Sophocles, we see the how the main character defies the kings rules and stands for her own perception of what she believes is the rightful thing to do .We are able to able to see the decision chosen by the two main characters, Creon and Antigone are the ones to define and condemn their faith and the one of those who live around them. In Bernard Knox’s Introduction poet T. S. Eliot states, “Antigone did the right thing for the wrong reason”(pg53). I believe that Antigone by deciding to mourn for her dead brother does indeed the right things but for the wrongs reasons. Through her actions she evidently follows the ethical norms imposed by the Greek divine laws, but it is her moral judgment the one to ambiguously expose her true reasons, the fulfillment of an unalloyed lust, creating a rupture beyond the scopes of rationality by incarnating the simple desire of taking upon

In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Antigone, war functions to emphasize the strength of love. Scenes that allude to the power of love only occur because Sophocles has set the play to be after a war. Sophocles depicts a war in which brothers spill each others blood on the battlefield. Though filial love is broken between the Eteocles and Polyneices, Antigone’s love still remains for her two brothers. War highlights the shortcomings and tenacity of love through the deaths of Eteocles and Polyneices, Antigone’s perseverance and civil disobedience in the name of love, and the suicides of Haimon and his mother Eurydice. Sophocles not only alludes to the power of love, but the way in which untamed love can

The abuse of power is a rampant problem in our world today and has plagued society since the dawn of government. In Antigone by Sophocles, this issue is a prominent theme. One of the main characters, Creon, rules over the people of Thebes, but does so selfishly and unjustly. These same actions can be seen in our modern world by those in authority. Creon’s abuse of power is reflected in today’s governments through law-making, punishments, and the removal of opposing perspectives.