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Free Will In Antigone

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The theme of Antigone by Sophocles is that the gods control the destiny of man. No matter how much power a man on earth has, whether he is king or peasant, he can not control his own destiny. The gods will always be able to control the things that a man can not, such as health. A man can control his wealth, but can not keep himself from dying. In Antigone, there are a few examples of how the gods can control the destiny of man, even if that man is King.

The first example in Antigone is when King Laius, the king of Thebes, takes his son, Oedipus, to the oracle at Delphi. The oracle told King Laius that Oedipus, his son, would kill his own father and then marry his mother. King Laius thought he could change the fate if he got rid of his son. The King ordered his servant to take his son into the woods and kill him. Oedipus was found by a peasant in Corinth and adopted …show more content…

Creon thought that his power on earth surpassed the power of god. Later, Teiresias tells Creon that he will lose one child for the crimes of leaving Polyneices unburied and putting Antigone into the earth. The Chorus tells Creon, he needs to free Antigone then bury Polyneices. Creon does the exact opposite, so the gods punished him. Antigone died so the gods to Polyneices life. Once Eurydice has found out that her son has died, she kills …show more content…

In the first example, both King Laius and Oedipus thought that they could change destiny by providing obstacles on earth. Neither staking Oedipus’ ankles in the woods nor moving changed the fate of King Laius getting killed by his son. In the second example, Creon thought he could kill Antigone without being punished by the gods, but the gods, in turn, killed his family and left him

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