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How Does Creon Punish Antigone

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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

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Antigone Relevance In the book Antigone by Sophocles the main character is Antigone and her sister Ismene. Their close brother Polyneices has died in a battle against his brother over the city. Antigone wants to give her brother a proper burial but Creon the new ruler, announces that if anyone buries Polyneices they will be put to death. Creon believes Polyneices was a traitor.

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601 Words | 3 Pages

As king of Thebes, it is an absolute duty to uphold command and peace within his territory. Part of this responsibility is to execute orders and to punish any wrongdoers who chose to defy the orders. In the play, “The Burial at Thebes”, it follows princess Antigone who recently lost both her brothers. While one brother was given a proper burial, Polynices, the second brother, was forbidden to be buried by King Creon. Despite the king’s order were that if anyone were to bury Polynices, they would receive a death sentence, Antigone disregarded the warning and buried him.

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Due to his obsessive pride, Creon sees himself as greater than the Gods which angered them and as a result, Creon loses his family emotionally and physically. The start of the conflict in “Antigone” was because of Creon’s obsessive pride and the image of being greater than the Gods. In Greek culture, a burial is very important and must be “...performed with immense care, as the Greeks feared that the gods would punish those who neglected even the smallest detail” (Ancient Greek Burial Practices). Creon had no power on deciding rather Polyneices should have been buried at all because now not only did he receive a punishment from the Gods, but he has lost the trust of those around him, especially his family. And when Creon finds out that Polyneices body has been buried, he doubts the Gods for choosing to favor Polyneices, the traitor of his own kingdom.

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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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When the Chorus Leader claims “only a fool could be in love with death,” (246), referring to Antigone, Creon immediately ignore that idea. He instead latches onto corruption saying that “the mere hope of money has ruined many men,” (248). He later continues with this line of thought into a large monologue calling money “so current, rampant, so corrupting” (336) and blaming riches for “every godless crime,” (341). His first thought is of corruption and bribery because that is what would compel him to disobey man’s laws. He has no love in his heart like Antigone.

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1226 Words | 5 Pages

His free choice is represented by a quote from the guard surveying Polyneices body, “We saw this girl giving that dead man's corpse full burial rites—an act you’d made illegal” (337). Although Creon's own niece turns out to be the one that went against his word, he still chooses to follow through with the punishment even though the deed Antigone did was morally right. The punishment that he lays upon Antigone is excessive and unjust considering the crime. While in an argument with her, he calls to his guards proclaiming, “Take her and shut her up, as I have ordered, in her tomb’s embrace [...]

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88 Words | 1 Pages

One of Antigone 's tragic flaws is being loyal to the gods and her disloyalty to Creon. At the beginning of the play, Creon puts out an order that Polyneices, Antigone 's brother, may not be buried because he was a traitor. Antigone is not going to put up with this, she is going to honor the gods and give her brother, Polyneices, and rightful burial, even if it means being executed for her doing. Antigone 's determination to honor the gods and her brother is one of her tragic

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1786 Words | 8 Pages

In the play, Antigone, daughter of Oedipus learns about the death of her two brothers (Eteocles and Polynices).Creon, the new king of Thebes passed a decree to the city on the burial of the two brothers. In the decree, Creon declares that Eteocles body should be buried with honor and fame for his courage of saving the city from the enemy. Whiles Polynices body is left unburied and rotting for beasts to feed on because he came to destroy the city and enslave the people. Antigone defies Creon 's decree, buries Polynices body and gets caught. Creon imprisons her

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1501 Words | 7 Pages

In the classic play by Sophocles, Antigone is a tragic story of the bold Antigone who defied her uncle, King Creonʻs, edict by burying her brother, Polyneices, who died attacking the city of Thebes, trying to take the power away from their brother, Eteocles, who refused to share the throne with Polyneices. Even though Antigone knew that going against Creon and burying her brother would not end well for her, she still choose to risk her life to do what is right. After being caught breaking the law, Antigone is appointed to be locked away, isolated in a cave until she dies, but she hangs herself at the end. At the same time, things for Creon are not looking good, as everyone around him seems to be against him in his decision for punishing Antigone. Everyone Creon cares about kills themselves from a curse that is put on Creon for not following the Godsʻ laws.

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170 Words | 1 Pages

Creon is sometimes seen as the antagonist of Antigone. Because of this image, many people will disagree with Creon’s argument for the public’s welfare. Albeit, Creon might seem crazy for asserting his position in a harsh way, how else is the public supposed to listen to his plan regarding Eteocles and Polyneices: “Eteocles, who died as a man should die, / fighting for his country, is to be buried with full military / honors, with all the ceremony that is usual when the greatest heroes die” (1.1.36-39) “…his brother Polyneices, who broke his exile to come back with fire and sword against his native city… Polyneices… is to have no burial: no man is to / touch him or say… prayer for him; he shall lie / on the plain, unburied; and the birds and

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268 Words | 2 Pages

Antigone breaks king Creon’s rules and buries her brother. In doing so she is breaking away from the rule of Creon. She is deciding her own destiny. She ends up getting caught and faces consequences, she put herself in that situation deciding her own fate.

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1189 Words | 5 Pages

In Sophocles' Antigone, Creon falls into power due to a chain of events that aren’t caused by him, but by the crime Oedipus has committed. However, Creon decrees the law denying Polynices's burial to re-establish law and order in Thebes, and to establish himself as the new King of Thebes. In Creon's mind, since Polynices attacks Thebes, he is only a traitor to the state and does not deserve burial, whereas, Eteocles deserves it because of his defense of the country. This is Creon’s fatal flaw which causes the tragedy. Creon’s decision to keep his cousin from his natural birthright disobeys God’s will and goes against God’s rules.

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765 Words | 4 Pages

Antigone being the one to fight for her beliefs and obeying the god's laws attempts the burial of Polyneices and goes against Creon’s law to prove to him that he’s in over his head that he has too much pride in himself, in lines 15-35 Antigone claims that she is going to go

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525 Words | 3 Pages

The character Antigone strongly feels that the Gods should be respected always especially in the matter of family. When Creon orders that no one shall bury Antigone’s

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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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