“Persuasion is often more powerful than force” once stated by great greek fabulist Aesop, Many of the characters follow this advice throughout the story (“Aesop Quotes”.). As Creon gives a speech to his city he uses ethical appeals in hope to assert his power and make himself look like a trustworthy leader.. Antigone does not listen to this and decides to disobey her uncle, sister Ismene tries to plant logic into her head not to disobey in fear that her sister may end up dying in result. Haemon being both the son of Creon and the fiance of Antigone he should have a hard decision to make but he cannot get behind his father in putting his future wife to death. Ismene, Creon, and Haemon all use the rhetorical appeals of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to be persuasive towards their goals.
In the first scene of the play we meet Creon. The overly prideful power hungry King of the City of Thebes. His City has recently been met with terrible strife as his nephew Polyneices has attacked the former leader Eteocles. Being abruptly placed into power so soon after the city lost their previous leader, Creon needs to show his people that he is a strong trustworthy leader. During his initial speech to the people of Thebes, he says to his subjects, “No one values friendship more highly than I,”(197 Sophocles,et.al.). In stating this he uses ethics in trying to make people believe that he is on the same level that they are and that which is obviously not true. Creon uses this tactic in hope to