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Comparing Loyalty To The King In Sophocles Antigone

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In Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone and Ismene are compared to each other by Antigone’s loyalty to the Gods and Ismene’s loyalty to the King, the fact that Antigone suffered more than she deserved, and rule and order of religion and law of men. This comparison of two characters illuminates the amount of power the Gods and kings have in the play.
Antigone and Ismene are compared by their characteristics of loyalty and disloyalty to the Gods. Antigone is loyal to the Gods and wants to give her brother a proper burial for the Gods. Ismene wants to obey the king and doesn’t protest him, even though she thinks Polyneices should be buried because he is family. Ismene thinks the God’s laws are important, but thinks the king's laws are more important. Ismene says the power of the Gods “means a great deal to (her)” but she has “no strength to break laws that were made for the public good… by the king” (Sophocles Prologue; 62-65). Antigone believes that the Gods are the most important, and she needs to do what the Gods want. Creon gave the order not to bury Polyneices not the Gods, and she thinks the Gods’ laws mean more than a king's order. She also believes it is an offence …show more content…

Antigone follows the religious laws and Ismene follows the laws of men. Ismene says, “The law is strong, we must give in to the law”(Sophocles Prologue; 4-8), when Antigone asks her to help bury Polyneices. She is referring to the laws of men, Antigone however follows the rules of religion. Ismene follows the rules of the king by not helping Antigone bury their brother, because she doesn't want to disobey the king. She wants her brother to be buried, but believes more in the king than her own family or the gods. Antigone follows the rules of religion, by following the Gods and burying her brother. The difference in Ismene and Antigone demonstrates how the amount of power a person has can affect their

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She believed that God’s laws were higher than man’s laws so she was ‘pleasing those [she] should please most’ (Blondell, 23). While arguing with her sister, Ismene, about breaking the law, Antigone demonstrated her determination to bury her brother because she knew that it was the moral thing to do, regardless of the deadly outcome. She was willing to perform the ‘crime of piety’ (Blondell, 23) – the crime that was ‘honored by the gods’ (Blondell, 23). To her, following God’s laws was the most justified even if it meant that she had to break man’s laws, because the God’s laws were ‘not for now or yesterday, but live forever’ (Blondell, 38).

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For this reason, Ismene’s opinion on Antigone’s determination to bury their brother illustrates how realistic her thoughts and actions are. When Antigone asks for Ismene’s help to burry their brother Ismene points out the flaw in her plan, “ Burry him! You have just said that the new law forbids it.” Her underlying respect for her brother made Antigone impulsive with her decision to burry her brother. With this in mind, Ismene points out her underestimating the power of authority, which demonstrates her skill of not letting emotions, get in the way of her thinking unlike her sister.

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THESIS As they are sisters, Ismene and Antigone share similar traits, but in other ways the sisters are strikingly different. While Antigone is defiant, free spirited, and edgy, Ismene is acquiescent, pliant, and soft. Antigone is liberated and extremely strong willed, while Ismene is content to recognize that “we are women, [who] are not born to contend with men” (Sophocles 74-75).

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On the other hand, Ismene is more concerned with loyalty and is hesitant to go against Creon's orders. This creates a contrast between the two sisters and highlights Antigone's bravery and unwavering commitment to her beliefs. The contrast between Antigone and Ismene serves to emphasize the themes of morality, loyalty, and bravery in the play. Antigone has accepted her fate for disobeying Creon. Despite the consequences of her actions, Antigone remains confident in her beliefs and is not afraid to stand up for what she believes is right.

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Antigone and Ismene both have different personalities. Antigone is a brave and rebellious individual. Ismene on the other hand is a loyal and honest to all. The sisters felt their brother, Polyneices, deserved a proper burial yet only Antigone was willing to go against the law of gods and the law of creon.

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Ismene is another example of someone who chose to fight for what she believes. When Antigone and Ismene’s brother, Polyneices, died there where many arguments about how to handle his death. Even though it was against the law, Antigone thought that her brother deserved a proper burial. On the other hand, Ismene is one who values family ties and lives by the law of man. And though Ismene agrees morally with Antigone’s decision to bury her brother, she was too afraid to risk her life by breaking the rules.

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Unlike Antigone, Ismene feels it is better to follow the law and does not believe she is “[Dishonouring] [the dead]... [or is] strong enough to defy the laws of the land”(11). Ismene is scared of the punishment from Creon. She also does not believe she is strong enough because she is a women. Ismene feels that the dead will forgive

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When Antigone tells her sister, Ismene, her intention to bury their brother against the orders of their uncle, Ismene states that she will “. . . obey the men in charge. My mind / Will never aim too high, too far” (pg. 3). Antigone is a stark contrast to Ismene, who wishes to stay within the bounds of traditional society by staying obedient and submissive to men. Antigone has her own mind however, and is not afraid to make her own decisions.

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Her parents faced horrible deaths and now her brothers died while fighting each other for power. These deaths have put her in a position to play it safe and listen to those in power. Ismene’s words and actions make it clear to the audience that she loves her sister dearly and is not willing to lose her life or her sister’s life. Antigone believes that Creon’s law forbidding anyone to give her brother a burial, is unjust and not what the Gods want. So if Creon will not give her brother a burial, then she will do it herself and she does not care about the consequences.

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In the play, Antigone, by Sophocles, Polyneices and Eteocles, have killed each other and Creon orders Eteocles to have an honored burial while Polyneices is to be left without a burial. Antigone tells Ismene, who are both sisters of Polyneices and Eteocles, that they must bury Polyneices, Ismene tells her she can not so Antigone buries Polyneices alone in defiance to the state laws. Creon and Antigone have conflicting values. Creon holds the laws of the city higher even when other beliefs state otherwise.

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Antigone’s actions are motivated by her allegiance to her family, moral conscience, and religion amid Creon’s political injustice and tyranny. Antigone’s actions motivate her to demand Ismene to prove whether she is “a true sister or a traitor to your family” (26-27). Antigone maintains loyalty to her brother despite his actions which threatened Thebes. Her inability to bear the thought of her brother’s corpse being picked apart by animals and not being honored with proper funeral rites forces her to act. Antigone’s fierce allegiance to her family is laid bare as she is willing to sacrifice her life to honor her brother and defy the law in an act that she believes is morally just.

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Creon has officially made the decision that he is not going to bury Polyneices which angers Antigone. Antigone needs help to reach her goal and she says to Ismene, “You may do as you like, since apparently the laws of the Gods mean nothing to you (Sophocles, et al. 192).” Ismene is hesitant to agree with Antigone and join her in this task because she does not want to break the law and go against Creon’s words. Antigone is making Ismene feel

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Antigone wants to bury her brother despite the punishment, but Ismene disagrees. Ismene says, “We cannot fight with men, Antigone! / The law is strong, we must give in to the law… / … but I am helpless: I must yield / to those in authority” (Prologue, 7). Ismene has a despairing tone here because her value of polis is overtaking her value of oikos when she is talking about Polyneices.

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In the play Antigone, Sophocles demonstrates the conflict between family and God through the characters of Antigone, Ismene and Creon. Antigone being ambitious and strong willed throughout the play, fights for his brothers honor and proper burial while Ismene on the other hand, is more timid fears the consequences that may occur if the laws are broken. For Creon he is the King and holds most power, until the Gods feel he is incapable. Antigone, Ismene and Creon all use logical and emotional appeals to achieve a compromise to either bury Polynices or not.

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Sophocles’ Antigone, is a classic Athenian Greek play that discusses questions about the importance of following the law when one does not agree with it, and whether divine laws or man-made laws have more importance in society. While these themes are worth exploring, another interesting aspect of the play is the cruel treatment and punishment of the title character, Antigone, by her uncle and future father-in-law Creon, the king of Thebes. Creon’s harsh punishment, a parallel to the treatment of women in Greek society, can be seen in many of the dialogues of the play. Antigone is determined to provide proper burial for dead brother, Polynices, against the orders of the king, and goes to her sister Ismene for help. However, Ismene is distraught at the idea of defying the king (104).

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