In Antigone, Creon is the king and wants to keep Thebes in control since it is a mess and has a law where one does not bury an enemy “Aren’t you ashamed to differ from them? So disloyal!” Antigone thought that was wrong because everyone deserves to rest in peace “Wasn’t Eteocles a brother too cut down. Facing
Have you ever read the play Antigone and wondered who the tragic hero is? The tragic hero in the play is Creon, because he is a good ruler trying to restore order to Thebes but because of his pride and stubbornness he ends up alone and losing loved ones. One way we know Creon is a tragic hero is he says “This is my command, and you can see the wisdom behind it. As long as I am King, no traitor is going to be honored with the loyal man.” (Creon 1/40)
The epitome of one who is hubris is Creon. Creon has some much pride and self-confidence that is causes him to be defiant towards the gods. In the beginning of the play, “Antigone”, Sophocles portrays Creon as a decent king. He makes rational decision and seem to rule like a king who knows what he’s doing. Then, a twist in the play occurs where Creon becomes more of a tyrant instead of a king.
He had ruled that Eteocles would receive a decorated military funeral, while Polyneices would not be buried at all. It is true to say that his law violated our custom of honoring the deceased, especially during wartime. However, he considered Polyneices a traitor for attacking Thebes and putting the kingdom at unnecessary risk. His actions threatened the safety of the kingdom, which Creon must protect, seeing it is his duty as king. When Sentry went to Creon with concerns about the law, Creon stated, “Is it your senile opinion that the gods love to honor bad men?”
¨All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong.¨ This is one of the many concepts that tragic hero's fail to understand in greek tragedies. A greek tragedy is a play in which the protagonist, usually a man of importance, falls to disaster through the combination of a personal failing and circumstances that he cannot control. In greek theatre this protagonist is called a Tragic Hero. A tragic hero is someone who is born into nobility, and through his own doings, losses everything in the end..
In the play Antigone, Sophocles tells the story of the titular character as she buries her traitorous brother in defiance of a tyrannical despot. Through this action, the play asks the question of whether the laws created by one man “could override the gods, the great unwritten, unshakable traditions,” (504-5). Some may argue that Creon's decree is merely one of necessity, an unavoidable evil to allow the city of Thebes to heal and unite. He is a patriot holding his city together in times of strife. While Creon may believe this, saying "our country is our safety" (211), it is actually his lack of love that causes him to deny Polynices his burial.
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 [...]
As Antigone said when Creon asked her if she has heard of his edict, “It was public. Could I help hearing it?” (708). This tells us that Antigone knew that what she was doing was illegal and yet she still chose to bury Polyneices no matter the consequences for her. On the other hand, you could say that even though Antigone knew what she was doing was wrong, she did it because she knew that it was the right thing to do.
Courage is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery. In the Greek tragedy Antigone, continues to fight for her for her family’s name although it has been slandered because of mistakes her ancestors made in the past. When Creon creates a law that forbids anyone to her brother, Polynices, Antigone heroically attempts to save her brother’s honor her brother even though she knows the harsh consequences that may follow. Although Creon is always loyal to the state based on what he believes, Antigone’s courage to her family can't be matched by any other character. Antigone is the courageous character of this play because she would accept any consequences for her brother, she would die for him, and let her dream of being a mother and wife vanish.
Antigone is the daughter of the late king Oedipus, and Creon is the king of Corinth. The conflict that these two face is the burial of Polyneices, who was Antigone’s deceased brother. Creon was not allowing Polynices to be buried, because he had fought against Athens. To Creon, this was correct: “And yet you dared to overstep these laws?” (Sophocles Line 458)
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
Antigone believes she should have the right of her brother’s burial. Creon states, “No one shall burry him, no one mourn for him” (Sophocles 2) illustrating that Polyneicis is irrelevant in the city of Thebes. The law in Greek society is a female should not have power or freedom over any circumstance. Antigone demands rights over her brother and will not accept
People have been using ethos, pathos, and logos quotes for a very long time in order to get something that they think is necessary. In Sophocles play as translated by Seamon Heaney, Antigone says these types of quotes in order to justify the burial of her brother Polyneices. In Antigone, there are many wonderful examples of Antigone using ethos, pathos and logos in order to get what she thinks is right. Antigone believes that it is the right thing to bury her dead brother's body even if he was a traitor. “For good ideas and true innovation, you need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate”, a quote about argument by Margaret Heffernan, a famous author.
Another reason why Antigone was so against Creon’s decision to with held Polyneices from a proper burial was because she thought that it's not what the gods would have wanted, and that the gods are much more powerful that Creon. However, Creon didn't just affect Antigone, he affected his whole family, but in particular, his son Haemon, destined to marry Antigone, when he sent Antigone to
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.
