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The Role Of Creon In Antigone

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You’re the mighty King and someone dares to oppose you. Of course, you would not want that to occur, so you try to obstruct them from transgressing more edicts. Well, this is how Creon tries to prevent Antigone, which led him to his own defeat. Creon is the most tragic character in Antigone because of his actions. Antigone wishes to honor the Gods and bury Polyneices, but Creon has other thoughts. His unreasonable, prideful self, wanted the people of Thebes to hold him over the all-powerful Gods, which led to his downfall. He had devastated himself because he did not listen to his family and condemned Antigone to death. Creon has such arrogance that it ruins him and his family. His senseless judgments had him face life with this grief for not listening to his son, Haemon. Creon 's decisiveness had not only killed his niece Antigone, but also Haemon and Eurydice. …show more content…

If Creon had honored the Gods, he would have had a genuine life. "Since apparently the laws of the gods mean nothing to you.”(Prologue, line 60), Creon 's order was to hinder anyone from burying Polyneices, but because of that, he is breaking the God 's law. Creon thinks of himself as a King higher than the Gods. “Polyneices, I say, is to have no burial.”(Scene 1, line 39). Creon is placing his decree higher than the God’s because he knows that his city will try to act on their principal and listen to the God’s law. “But now at last our new king is coming: Creon of Thebes, Menoeceus son.”(Scene 1, line 1). If Creon had served the God’s law and had buried Polyneices, Creon would have lived a simple king life but because of his haughtiness, he stepped out of his limits and opposed the

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318 Words | 2 Pages

Antigone is loyal to the gods and not to Creon. Antigone states, “Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way. ’’(P.32). What she means is that nobody can block her or stand in her way from doing what she has to do for her brother.

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195 Words | 1 Pages

Creon shows an extraordinary amount of stubbornness throughout the story. An example is seen when Antigone wishes to give her brother, Polyneices a proper burial so he can have a pleasant afterlife with the Gods. Creon, as king wishes to have him rot in the fields because he turned his back on the state in which the events occurred.

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740 Words | 3 Pages

He is trying to be just but his vision and actions are clouded. Creon explains that he will not allow the burial of Polyneices because of what he did to his people which was betrayal. In Sophocles, Antigone it says “whose one idea was to spill the blood of his blood and sell his own people into slavery—Polyneices”. This shows that Creon is doing this for his people and to respect the fact that they deserve justice. Creon is just trying to help his empire and he believes it is fair for Polyneices to not get buried because of his actions against his people.

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486 Words | 2 Pages

He was a perfect example of a unfit ruler through the use of conflict and became a more proper ruler for the people of thebes. Creon was a selfish ruler who believed his rules were better than the rules of the gods and with that mindset the gods wanted to teach him a lesson by slowly killing everyone he loved. Once that happens he thinks about why all this pain has been brought upon him and he realizes and says “Lead me away. I Have been rash and foolish. I have killed my son and my wife.

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868 Words | 4 Pages

This is wrong. Creon’s way of law is proven wrong, because when Polynices dies, he does not want to bury him, which leads to Antigone hanging herself, and many more who commit suicide because of his decisions. Instead of accepting kingship as a responsibility for the entire kingdom of Thebes, Creon creates big

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606 Words | 3 Pages

However, Creon is not only authoritative but also wise. An example of this is when he says, "...whoever shows by word and deed that he is on the side of the state -- he shall have my respect while he is living, and my reverence when he is dead" (1. 45-47). As the king of Thebes, Creon is a man whose respect is earned, not given. Creon explains to the Chorus that a man who is loyal to the state and the ruler earns his total respect. A clever ruler would compel his subjects to obey him and follow his rules without explicitly stating the consequences.

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1234 Words | 5 Pages

“Not so self-centered that you never listen to other people” (Hugh Hefner). In the story of Antigone, Creon shows the characteristics of a tragic hero, as he is the king he shows his self-confident and he does not recognize his flaws until the end of the story. All of this leads into his downfall in the tragedy and causes him to realized what he had done. Creon is a tragic hero because of his self-righteousness, his excessive pride, and he does not listen to the opinion of others.

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1014 Words | 5 Pages

The play Antigone features a deep struggle of power for King Creon. Creon faced several insecurities, during his rule, as king of Thebes. These insecurities, which stemmed from an internal power struggle, went on to, not only affect his rule as king, but his personal relationships, and emotions as well. Other reasons for his actions stem from family matters that have hindered Creon's ability to successfully control and rule by himself.

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809 Words | 4 Pages

Against the warning of others, Creon goes on with his plan to essentially sentence Antigone to her death. Creon continually ignores what others counsel him to do because he believes that just because he is king, everything he does is right. It is this thinking that ultimately leads to the death of not only Antigone, but also Creon’s son and wife as well. All tragic heroes suffer from a tragic flaw that leads to their downfall. Creon suffers from two tragic flaws, pride and stubbornness.

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850 Words | 4 Pages

Creon’s decisions have lead him to lose his son and his wife, which is where his downfall begins. Creon becomes the tragic hero because he has endured pain from the deaths of his family. By not listening to Teiresias or anyone, but only to himself because he believes what he is doing is right, the death of his loved ones were

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1133 Words | 5 Pages

Creon is the protagonist in Antigone, because his motivation throughout Antigone is the stability and wellbeing of Thebes. Moreover, Antigone is the antagonist in Antigone, because her motivation is selfish and deceiving. In Antigone the setting is Thebes post the death of both airs to the throne. Eteocles dies defending his country from his brother Polynieces which died attempting to reclaim his right to the throne. The conflict throughout Antigone is Antigone’s responsibility to bury her brother Polynices and the law created by Creon, the new king of Thebes, which states that “No one shall bury him, no one mourn for him.”

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1097 Words | 5 Pages

As long as I am King, no traitor is going to be honored with the loyal man. But whoever shows by word and deed that he is on the side of the State,––he shall have my respect while he is living and my reverence when he is dead ( Scene 1). Creon’s regards towards his own laws cause him to withdraw from all other beliefs or opinions that others have to offer him. He believes that the people of Thebes should obey his rules if they want his support.

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1039 Words | 5 Pages

The character Antigone is the protagonist in Antigone, the second play out of the Oedipus Rex trilogy. Out of the trilogy she is apart of she is the most tragic figure, though other claims say that Creon is a more tragic figure. A tragic figure in Greek plays, according to Aristotle, is a fictional character in a story or play that has an error in judgment, known as hamartia. This error of judgment causes his or her own misery, known as peripeteia. In Greek plays, such as the one Antigone premiers in, this person is must be of nobility.

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494 Words | 2 Pages

In Antigone the new King Creon immediately abuses his power by ruling that Polyneices is to have no interment, even though he is heir of the former King and many believe him to be a warrior with honor. King Creon says, ”Polyneices, I say is to have no burial: no man is to touch him or say the least prayer for him: he shall lie on the plain, unburied: and the birds and the scavenging dogs can do with him whatever they like.” (Lines 43-46) This is an obvious corruption of power and an attempt to rule over others by force. It seems that he is trying to intimidate others to obey his edict to gain control by force.

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757 Words | 4 Pages

Creon was completely blinded by his pride and power that he lost those closest to him. Starting with his son... “Then she’ll die-- and in her death kill someone else. ”(Haemon; line 859). Creon thinks that his son is threatening him, and doesn’t pay attention to what his son is feeling towards Antigone.

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