State Power In Antigone

Prompt: In Apology and Antigone, private persons come into conflict with public power or the state. Choose one of the texts and discuss the nature of the conflict between the private person and state power, the ways in which this conflict comes about, escalates, is resolved (or not resolved), and the implications of such a resolution or non-resolution. To what extent is this conflict relevant to our time?

The notion of challenging the state and more importantly, those in authority has not been a prevalent form of action in society. The principal reason can be attributed to the complex theme of “civic versus personal loyalties” (citation). This theme has been an essential part of human civilization and Sophocles illuminates this in his renowned

Understanding the basic plot of Oedipus is vital to know in order to understand how Antigone comes about in her predicament. Oedipus was Antigone’s father and had another daughter, Iseme, as well as two sons: Polyneices and Eteocles. Oedipus lived a cursed fate. His parents had abandoned their son based on their prophecy that one day he would kill his father and marry his mother. However, Oedipus has evaded his death as a baby and raised to be what his parents feared. Thus, the prophecy was not avoided as Oedipus killed his father Laius in a quarrel and married his mother Jocasta when he assumed the throne of Thebes. In the conclusion of Oedipus, he had learned what he had done and in order to end the unbalance/plague that had erupted within Thebes, he left. He had given his two sons the throne of Thebes to share. However, they quarreled ultimately killing each other in battle. From this, begins the story of Antigone.

Abraham Lincoln perfectly described the character of humans when he said, “nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test man’s character, give him power.” Creon perfectly exemplifies this quote when he violated moral codes to make a statement as a ruler of Thebes. His ascension to power came about after Polycensis and Etecoles killed each other. However, instead of moving forward and restoring normality

While Sophocles makes it clear that the voice and opinion of a civilian is of vital importance, Creon took everything that Antigone said with a grain of salt. At every step of the play, Creon had the ability to right his wrongs but in a way, Sophocles conveys that those who are the most powerful are not necessarily the most wise. From this, the reader can draw many implications regarding the relationship that coexists between the state and power. A principal implication is that the voice of everyone matters despite his or her standing in society. Antigone carried very strong convictions right from the inception of the play and if Creon had the ability to analyze what his niece was fighting for objectively, he could have avoided the same fate his brother did. Choragos articulated that “there is no happiness where there is no wisdom,” and this was the critical point Sophocles sought to convey (1039). However, Antigone still lacks a level of explicitness in the way it is structured. Sophocles’ choice to not give concrete resolutions in turn opens readers to dimensions to new interpretations and provides an outline on how to analyze our current environment between the state and the private