How Does Creon Show Loyalty In Antigone

Around 441 BCE, the ancient writer Sophocles wrote the tragedy Antigone, a play about loyalty, betrayal, and pride. Throughout the scenes of the play, calamitous occurrences take part, mainly involving the two main characters: Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, and Creon, King of Thebes and uncle of Antigone. Antigone, an independent, uncompromising young woman, simply wants to bury her deceased brother who was recently killed in battle. However, Creon, seeing Antigone’s brother as nothing but a traitor to his country, enforces a law which makes it illegal to give a burial to the remains. Not only does Creon’s unyielding decision cause conflict between himself and Antigone, it will also prove to be a fatal decision. Like in all disastrous plays,

However, in order to hide his insecurity about whether or not he is favored by his people, he portrays himself as a powerful, monarch who will stop at nothing to show his eminent power. He comes off as arrogant and merciless, demanding the respect of the people in his kingdom without actually giving them as genuine reason as to why they should give their devotion to him. The king, instead of cooperating with the people, illustrates his absolute power with demands which can be identified in the following quote: “This is my command, and you can see the wisdom behind it” (I, l. 48-49). Using the stated quote as a source, Creon's unyielding personality comes into light, and due to his lack of concern for the people's opinion, Creon begins his descent from an egotistic ruler to someone who will lose everything that is dear to

However, in his case, Creon suffers the fatality of his entire family, leaving him behind to ponder over his reckless decisions. Looking back on his foolish mistakes, Creon realizes that the death of his family was caused by his own wrongdoing which essentially hurts him more than if they had died some other way. Clearly showing that Creon has accepted the fact that he, not necessarily by his own hand but by his own egotistic ways, has evidently killed his son and wife, Creon says, “And proud men in old age learn to be wise.” (Ex., l. 150) Unluckily for Creon, he comes to terms with this errors far too late which lead him into a suicidal despair shown in the following quote: “Are there no swords here? Has no one a blow for me?” (Ex., l. 127) In Creon's eyes, living without his family and knowing he was the reason for their deaths is worse than dying. His agonized outlook on life is what truly classified him as a tragic character in