Creon has a rational, important reason to deny Polyneices a burial and to punish Antigone for her actions: doing only what is best for Thebes. As King, he announces to the populace of Thebes that he plans to “follow the course that he knows is best for the State” (1.197). By giving a speech to garner the trust and respect of his citizens, and making the promise to do what is “best for the state”, Creon demonstrates his commitment to governing wholeheartedly. His directive on the burial of Polyneices directly reflects Creon’s ethics of putting the cohesion of the city before anything else. He wants social order and stability, so Antigone breaking a direct order from the throne makes Creon seem fallible. Creon is obsessed with his reputation, …show more content…
Having witnessed the demise of her family due to horrible curses and fates, she knows that reverence and adherence to the Gods will comes before any earthly pursuits. The tragedies of her father, mother, and brothers has left her extremely dedicated to family, and to the Gods. When questioned by Creon, Antigone justifies her action “Your edict, King, was strong, but all your strength is weakness itself against the immortal unrecorded laws of God. They are not merely now: they were, and shall be…” (2.208) Antigone justifies that there will never be a higher authority than that of the gods, and that the laws of the gods are paramount to anything. She reveals that she finds honoring the gods more important than her life, and accepts her death at the hands of Creon. After Antigone is escorted out and punished, Tiresias arrives with an omen and message for Creon. He renders a grim tale of the misfortune that Creon has brought upon Thebes, disclosing that prophecies and offerings to the gods no longer accomplish their desired effect. Tiresias affirms the cataclysmic break from divine favor “The gods are deaf when we pray to them… for they are gorged with the thick blood of the dead” (5.232). Teiresias implies that falling from the gods favor, bringing newfound misfortune upon Thebes, is the fault of not observing their customs of burial. He reaffirms the point Antigone had made to Creon: Antigone