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Moral law and political law in antigone
Ancient greek government essays
Moral law and political law in antigone
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In Antigone, there was a major conflict throughout the play showing the limit of the authoritarian rule. The major conflict occurred between Antigone and Creon, Creon had no intention of burying Polyneices’ body because he was considered a traitor, as for Antigone wants to give a proper burial to her brother. From start to finish, Creon heavily enforced the authoritarian rule in everything. Whilst Antigone fought for what she thought was right minding Creon’s rule. Therefore in the play, the authoritarian rule was shown from Creon, Antigone resist’s Creon’s decree, and how authoritarianism and democracy were shown.
The authoritarian rule would show signs of dictatorship, as for a ruler or individual would have their priorities for a value
The main conflict in the story Antigone is between the king of Thebes, also the antagonist, Creon and Antigone the Protagonist. When Antigone's brother dies in war Creon does not want to bury him, But Antigone feels its her brothers rights bestowed on him buy the gods to be able to be buried and that it would be disrespectful not to. For example in scene one page two Creon says "He’ll be left unburied, his body there for birds and dogs to eat, a clear reminder of his shameful fate.That’s my decision." As you can see here Creon thinks he has the authority and makes the laws about what is going to happen but really that is divine authority. Another example is in scene two page three when Creon is interrogating Antigone, Antigone says "Yes. Zeus did not announce those laws to me. And Justice living with the gods below sent no
Furthermore, Creon is loyal to the state because he follows its laws. When he finds out that his niece, Antigone, is the one who disobeyed his authority and buried Polynices, he follows the law and orders to have her stoned even though she is part of his family and was soon to be married to his son, Haemon. Although it could be argued that Creon did go against his decree and changed his heart later in the play, he was too late because Antigone hangs herself and the consequences of his loyalty to the law had already taken effect.
Aristotle once said, “A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall.” A tragic hero is defined as a literary character who makes a judgement error that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction. In the play Antigone, King Creon was perceived as a powerful, respectable, and confident king; inadvertently his confidence and arrogance had led him to the termination of his reign. Creon was confronted with a difficult situation in which he must chose to abide the law or support his niece, Antigone. While being entangled with his pride, he had not given Antigone a chance to persuade him. He had done what he deemed appropriate as king by abolishing his own niece, unaware of the consequences that the future held for him. The interactions between Antigone and Creon in this play had exploited Creon’s flaws and had influenced his decisions which eventually
When Creon decided to forbid the burial of Polynices, as he believed Polynices was a traitor to Thebes, Antigone was outraged. This decision, viewed through the eyes of Creon, was just and fair; on the other hand, Antigone viewed his decision as cruel and selfish, which resulted into a major conflict between these two characters. When Antigone disobeyed his proclamation, Creon became infuriated towards this rebellious act. Those small events within the play expressed Creon as a ruler doing what he believes is right; on the other hand, Antigone’s rebellion expressed otherwise. Antigone was soon shown to cause an evil spark within Creon.
Antigone, in its simplest form, is a battle of wills. Creon is defending what he believes to be the right decision, and Antigone is doing the same. If either character practiced moderation in their views, their endeavor may have ended differently. It is important to think about why Creon and Antigone feel so strongly about their views, because they both have valid explanations. Despite these explanations having merit, they are useless when their owners will not budge on them. The eventual downfalls of both Creon and Antigone can be traced back to their blatant disregard for compromise throughout the
Envision a sibling of yours imprisoned for a blasphemous reason. There are only two paths left for your sibling, life in prison or demise. Would you labor tirelessly for their freedom in the sacrifice of yours or forsake them for your own liberties? Well, that depends on your morality. Morality has been around for many centuries, but only recently have two theorists, Lawrence Kohlberg and Carol Gilligan, been able to define morality. Kohlberg’s scale has six stages that primarily focuses on justice and fairness, while Gilligan’s scale of three stages is based upon care and social relationships. My moral judgment is an embodiment of both of these scales and more as I consider morality to not be confined to subjective scales, but boundless. Remember the question imposed above? Well, in the play “Antigone” by Sophocles, Ismene is living exactly through that. Even more, she challenges the limits of her morality to question her ability to save Antigone from Creon’s clutches. Ismene displays the most change in a character’s morality according to Kohlberg, Gilligan, and my personal scale, while attempting to extricate Antigone, which results in Creon becoming the tragic hero.
Most democracies today, like Creon, are too rigid and get carried away with maintaining the writ of the state. Such democracies are not true democracies. Through acts of civil disobedience by people like Antigone, governments are forced to mend their ways such that they can no longer freely curtail individual freedoms. We can say that democracy learns from its mistakes and improves, keeping in mind the changing times and customs. Summing up, Antigone decides to express her discontent with what she considers to be the unethical new regime of King Creon by burying her brother's body.
Antigone’s strength allows her to defend her brother’s honor against Creon, who wants to make a statement about traitors. However, both Antigone and King Creon commit faults while trying to protect the things they love. Antigone should not have died for her beliefs as it puts her loved ones and community in danger, and Creon should not have forbidden the burial of Polyneices as it angers the Gods and causes him great suffering in the end.
This play is ultimately concerned with one person defying another person and paying the price. Antigone went against the law of the land, set by the newly crowned King Creon. Antigone was passionate about doing right by her brother and burying him according to her religious beliefs even though Creon deemed him a traitor and ordered him to be left for the animals to devour. Creon was passionate about being king and making his mark from his new throne. Although they differed in their views, the passion Creon and Antigone shared for those opinions was the same, they were equally passionate about their opposing views. Creon would have found it very difficult to see that he had anything in common with Antigone however as he appears to be in conflict with everyone, in his mind he has to stand alone in his views in order to set himself apart as king. Before he took to the throne Creon took advice from the prophet Tiresias who had so often had been his spiritual and moral compass, and yet in this matter concerning Antigone he will take advice from no one, not from the elders of Thebes, or even his own son Haemon.
Antigone’s opinions are distinctive as she clearly states her beliefs to Creon after being caught for performing her brother’s burial rituals. Antigone strongly believes that law has no validity when laid by a human as she questions Creon saying, “What laws? I never heard it was Zeus who made that announcement” (Antigone 450). This quote shows her reliance on the Gods for moral direction instead of the kings who reign over her. Although she disregards the law, she also accepts punishment; Antigone is able to follow her opinions and independently rule herself, yet also recognize the societal expectations of law and accept punishment. When being taken by Creon with her sister Antigone takes the responsibility of the crime all herself and recognizes what she did despite not being ashamed of it. One of the main views of Antigone that causes her disobedience is the belief that rulers should not keep loved ones from each other. Antigone clearly states, “He has no right to keep me from my own” this shows how she believes the connection between family overpowers that of a law passed by a vengeful king (Antigone 48). Antigone’s opinions contrast to those of Creon who is a gender biased ruler who sees women as lesser as he states “I will not be ruled by a woman” (Antigone 24). This shows his belief in who is credible within law. Not only does he have opinions on who
Sophocles play titled Antigone, embellishes the opposing conflicts between Antigone who stands for the values of family, and Creon who stands for the values of state. Sophocles explores the depths of Antigone’s morality and the duty based on consequence throughout the play, as well as the practical consequences of Creon who is passionate and close-minded. Although Antigone’s moral decisions appear to be more logical and favorable than Creon’s, a personal argument would be that both characters’ decisions in society can be equally justified.
In all works of literature you will find characters that change. From Oedipus the King to Antigone, Creon changes a great deal. In Oedipus the King, Creon has no intention whatsoever of being king. By the end of the play he makes it clear that his intentions have changed and he does want to take Oedipus’s power and become King of Thebes. When we see Creon in Antigone he has become king and he begins to make his mistakes.
In Antigone, Sophocles suggests there is no basis for political authority: that Creon's citizens obey him out of fear of the consequences of disobedience. Ismene's obeys his edict is because she fears death. The soldier reports the attempted burial of Polyneices and brings the captured Antigone to Creon to "save his own sweet skin." The chorus believes no one would risk death out of political or moral or religious objectives. Antigone utterly rejects the authority of Creon: "these laws were not made in heaven," she says, and I do not have to obey the laws of human beings. She acts as she does because she does not respect authority and because she does not fear death. Haemon appeals to Creon on the basis of power - he suggests public opinion is against Creon and Creoin is at risk of losing his power as king. Only Creon and Tireseas ever acknowledge the issue of political authority. And with both, it is unclear whether authority can be the motivation, because in both situations, authority issues are tied to issues of power and personal gain. As the chorus comments - can one sublimate ones personal desires to the public good? If not then power is the only way to maintain public order.
One major theme in Antigone is the abuse of power. Creon and Antigone cause doom to their lives as they display resistance to power. The two characters attempt to override divine law with the law of the states, which leads to ruin. Creon, displaying a resistance to moral law, denies Antigone the opportunity and rightfulness to bury her brother, Polynices. This is due to Polynices’ rebellion against Creon, the King of Thebes. Antigone serves as a threat to the status quo. She gives up her life out of her commitment to principles above human law—moral law. Creon believes that the laws created by the King must be obeyed no matter how big or small they are. Creon argues that the law created by the King is the platform for justice. On the other hand, Antigone feels that there are unjust laws, despite who made them. She believes she has a moral obligation t...
“...never let some woman triumph over us. Better to fall from power, if fall we must, at the hands of a man —never be rated inferior to a woman, never.” This quote spoken by Creon, in Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Antigone, adequately represents the opinion on women during the time in which Antigone would have been alive. Women were viewed as lower than men and were expected to be docile and passive. They were expected to never object to a man’s words, no matter if those words were to be unfair or unjust. Despite this, Antigone refuses to follow one of the most fundamental teachings of her culture by burying her brother even though the king, Creon, explicitly forbids the action, since her brother is a traitor. She rebelliously does what she feels is right, which cannot be said for her sister, Ismene. Ismene represents what a woman of her time was viewed as: weak and submissive to men’s