Sophocles Antigone And Creon Essay

Sophocles’, a playwright and Greek tragedian often wrote plays that displayed moral lessons and difficult situations that shift the entire atmosphere of the setting. In his play Antigone, written around 422 CE, it is the second of The Three Theban Plays. It follows Two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices warring for kingship, who eventually end up killing each other. And the new hereditary ruler becomes their uncle, Creon. He declares that Eteocles should be buried honorably, while Polynices’ body should lay unburied on the battlefield. One of the main characters, Antigone strongly opposes the declaration of her brother’s unjustful burial and believes it's the law of the Greek gods to bury people. While, Creon, the new ruler, upholds his law
She vows to protect her family’s rights and decides to bury her fallen brother Polynices on her own terms. She is eventually caught by one of Creon’s servants and confronts because of her“disobedience”. Antigone then responds to Creon’s demands of Polynices’ burial saying,
Nor did I think your edict had such force
That you, a mere mortal, could override the gods,
The great unwritten, unshakable traditions.
They are alive, not just today or yesterday
"They live forever, from the first of time, (Pg.82, 501-507)
Antigone loyally sticks by the laws of the gods and proclaims that Creon’s laws of kingship is insignificant compared to the gods’. Creon, insulted by Antigone’s proclamation of his feeble power, sentences her to a barbaric death. She accepts her fate of execution and dedicates her death to the gods.
Land of Thebes, city of all my fathers-
O you gods, the first gods of the race!
They drag me away, now, no more delay.
Look on me, you noble sons of Thebes-
The last of a great line of kings ,
I alone, see what I suffer now
At the hands of what breed of
Antigone obeys the gods’ and fought for the burial of her brother. Even though Antigone commits suicide to escape her misery, her brother is rightly buried and she is reunited with her family in the afterlife. While Creon, obeys his own laws of man and refused to bury Polynices. And because of that, Creon suffers the tormenting deaths of his wife and son. The conflicts presented are to what we deal with in modern day society. Just like the laws of the gods and the laws of man collide in Antigone, the laws of nature and the laws of man often collide also. In life, acts of nature, like weather and natural disaster deeply affect the way people move around in society. Weather and natural disasters can cause people to relocate their lives, lose loved ones, and even change how people think about the world we live in. Even when we try ignore the damage done to nature or the affects nature has on us, it still