Antigone: The Conflict of Hubris, Fate, and The gods

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Antigone: The Conflict of Hubris, Fate, and The gods

Sophocles, Antigone is a classic example of the role of the gods in the life of a Grecian. It is a story of the precedent set by the gods, versus the will and actions of the characters of Antigone. Creon deceives himself into believing that he is upholding the laws set by the gods. While he would like to think of himself as being above the gods, even he can not deny their power. The humans were to revere the gods above all else, despite any obstacles that tried to displace them. Creon lies to himself to convince himself that he is not violating the laws of the gods. At first, Creon is able to ignore the edicts of the gods, because his beliefs lie shallowly within the boundaries of his mind, whereas Antigone’s reverence for the gods pierces the depths of her heart.

In Antigone Creon falls victim to the tragic flaw of hubris, eventually leading the destruction of his house. Polynices and Etiocles were the rightful heirs to the thrown; however they were killed by mutual fratricide, a dishonorable way to kill and be killed. Creon’s only legitimate claim for the thrown of the house of Thebes would have been through Edipus; however, Edipus’ only claim to the thrown was the riddle of the sphinx. By Greek law this would not have transferred down to Creon, thus making his stake to the thrown an insecure one. Do to this, Creon has a plaguing fear of anarchy in his city. He wants to be a strong ruler, with no one questioning his authority, or challenging his power. This desire comes from a root of instability and illegitimacy. Creon’s first element of pride is to have a chorus that is loyal to him. If Creon could not even prove the legitimacy of his line to h...

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... discusses the conflict between the will of the god’s versus the will of man, and what right Polynices even had to being buried. According to Greek culture, Creon had ever right to make a decree stating that Polynices need not be buried within city limits; however, he was going too far in his decree of no burial at all. The Irony is that in the end he ignores religion again, to have Polynices buried with the city limits, where the god’s would have wanted him outside of the city.

There are many more elements of Grecian law and religion that this article discusses, and because of that this will definitely be a very helpful source. I can see many of the points that I was looking to make, backed up within this article. This article was an extremely helpful find.

Works Cited

Sophocles. Antigone Dover Thrift Editions New York: Dover Publications, INC. 1993

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