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Conflict between creon and antigone in sophocles
How does sophocles use creon in antigone
Contrast Oedipus and Creon
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Unlike the king that dies with his image and fame, a self sacrificing individual dies with the start of their legacy. After the death of King Oedipus, Eteocles and Polynices fought each other for the crown. Unfortunately, they both were killed by each other leaving Creon the king of Thebes. Creon’s law states that no one shall bury a traitor. Because Antigone, sister of Polyneices, broke Creon's law of a traitor, she was punished. In the play, "Antigone" by Sophobles, Creon's decisions are the reason for his destruction. Creon is the tragic hero of this play because he passes from happiness to misery, recognizes clearly, but too late the error of his ways, and responds with dignity and nobility once he has recognize his error. The play started cheerful, but ended woeful. After Creon was crown king of Thebes, he is in the stage of happiness. It’s clear that Creon is happy because the messenger says, “Creon was happy once as I count happiness: Victorious in battle sole governor of the land, father of children nobly born” (Exodus, 7, 8, 9). Having dominant power and winning countless b...
Many great rulers have been tempted by the authority of absolute power. In Antigone, by Sophocles, Creon, the Theban king, will do anything in order to earn this absolute power. Creon’s prideful attitude, disregard of the authority of the gods, and failure to listen cause him to fail as a statesman, demonstrating the nature of kingship in Sophocles’s Antigone.
This “spark” caused Creon to intensify his punishments towards Antigone, which in turn caused a chain reaction of events and eventually led to his tragic decline. Being portrayed as a menacing villain throughout the play, Creon began as an honorable man; however, overwhelming events and confrontations caused Creon to evolve into this monstrous figure. This play, Antigone, was titled after one of the play’s main characters; however, the title could have been “Creon”, due to Creon’s influence throughout the play. Creon was a major influence to the play’s plot as it involves Creon within a majority of the scenes, from beginning to end. Throughout the play, Creon’s tragic countdown is expressed, beginning with him as king of Thebes to the death of his beloved family.
In the play Antigone, created by Sophocles Antigone is a foil to Creon because their personalities contrast. This makes Creon a Tragic Hero because he thinks that he is a god but in reality he is a mortal upsetting the god's and he will eventually meet his demise. At the start of the play the reader is introduced to a character named Creon, who is the king of Thebes, the previous king, Eteocles, was killed by his brother Polyneices. There is a law arranged by Creon, so nobody could bury the body of Polyneices but Antigone, the sister of both Eteocles and Polyneices, wants to bury her brother and is willing to risk her life to bury him. She eventually gets caught and is sentenced to death by Creon.
In the play, Antigone, two brothers are killed in battle. One of them, Polyneices, is considered to be a rebel by the new ruler of Thebes, Creon. The corrupt and prideful king, Creon, created an edict that states that nobody could bury Polynices’s body because he was a traitor to Thebes and his family and denies the sanctification and burial of Polyneices's body because of his rebellion and intends to leave him to become the meal of wild animals. Polyneices's sister, Antigone, defies Creon by giving her brother a proper burial, no matter the consequences. Both King and Antigone sought to do what they thought was the right thing to do, even if it was against the law. Though King and Antigone are two completely different people from two completely different times, they were actually quite similar in that they both were minorities at a disadvantage, and lacking power and credibility among those in control. King and Antigone both fought for injustice and what they believed in, however, not necessarily in the same
Creon starts off being reasonable and understanding with the power he holds. For example, when Oedipus accuses him of trying to steal his crown, he said " If you discover I laid any plot together with the seen kill me, I say not only by your vote but my own." (Sophocles 136). This shows his understanding. Creon is comfortable with his power, people always greet Creon with respect, which demonstrates his power amongst the general population, for example, Creon said, “Now every man 's my pleasure; every man greets me." (Sophocles 136). Illustrates his relationship with the people of Thebes. Moreover, Creon is shown to be valuable towards the citizens of Thebes, when he said " I 'll go, you have not known me, but they have, and they have known my innocence." (Sophocles 140). This shows the trust citizens have towards Creon. Creon shows that he does not care for ruling Thebes, he states to Oedipus that "Now those who are your suiters fawn me, - success for them depends upon my favour. Why should I let all this go to win that?"(Sophocles 136). Creon eventually discovers that power is all he wants, leading towards King Oedipus ' exile. An example, is Creon said " Do not seek to be master in everything, for the things you mastered did not follow you throughout your life." (Sophocles 176), which explains that he manipulates with an intent that people mistake for honesty. Furthermore, this shows the end
In Sophocles’s play, Antigone, Thebes is just starting to settle down after a power struggle between two brothers led to one of them, Polyneices, waging war on the city-state to reclaim power, and eventually the two brothers’ deaths. Because of his act of treason against Thebes, Polyneices is denied rights to a burial, a very important part of Greek religion. His sister Antigone buries him despite the law, and is condemned to death by Creon, the king. Creon strives to bring a peaceful end to chaotic times. Although Creon claims the king must always be obeyed to avoid anarchy and chaos, Sophocles disagrees completely by showing what can happen when the king is wrong.
"I would not count any enemy of my country as a friend." In the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, Antigone finds herself torn apart between divine law and state law. The play opens up at the end of a war between Eteocles and Polyneices, sons of Oedipus and brothers of Antigone and Ismene. These brothers, fighting for control of Thebes, kill each other, making Creon king of Thebes. Creon, as king, gives an important speech to the citizens of Thebes, announcing that Eteocles, who defended Thebes, will receive a proper burial, unlike his brother Polyneices, who brought a foreign army against Thebes. This speech introduces the major conflict of divine law versus state law. Furthermore, Creon cherishes order and loyalty above all else. He cannot bear to be disobeyed or watch the laws of the state be broken by anyone, especially by a woman. However, Antigone places her individual conscience and love for her brother Polyneices above and against the power and authority of the state, which costs her life.
Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone is a sad tale that is essentially about a girl who buries her brother who was deemed a traitor by King Creon, the leader of Thebes. The story dives into the dilemma of valuing yourself over moral obligations toward another human being. King Creon’s hubris impeded his decision whether to allow the burial of Antigone’s brother Polyneices and this led to King Creon losing all that mattered to him: his family and leadership. Thus, King Creon’s excessive pride is his tragic flaw, a deadly trait for any leader. While taking the throne, King Creon commanded, “Polyneices, who returned from exile, eager to wipe out in all-consuming fire his ancestral city and its native gods, keen to seize upon his family’s blood and lead men into slavery—for him, the proclamation in the state declares he will have no burial mound, no funeral rites, and no lament.
Over time, history has given society many to whom we call true heroes. There are many reasons these heroes have been looked up to such as: bravery, dedication, confidence, and inspiration. However, a tragic hero requires a few different qualities. Aristotle describes a tragic hero as a “member of royalty,” someone who “must fall from tremendous good fortune,” and someone who creates pity for him or herself (“Connections: A Theory” 2000). In Greek drama, Sophocles’ Antigone and Euripides’ Medea both contain several possible tragic heroes including Medea, Jason, and Creon. More specifically, in Antigone Creon exemplifies the qualities of a tragic hero best due to his prominent power as king of Thebes, the way he holds strong to his stubborn pride, and the sympathy felt for him in his tragic downfall.
Antigone finds herself in extreme agony when she hears that her ruler, King Creon will not allow the burial of her brother Polyneices. King Creon rules off his principles regarding friendship and loyalty
Antigone did the right thing by defileing Creon's strict orders on burying Polynices because the unalterable laws of the gods and our morals are higher than the blasphemous laws of man. Creon gave strict orders not to bury Polynices because he lead a rebellion, which turned to rout, in Thebes against Creon, their omnipotent king. Antigone could not bare to watch her brother become consumed by vultures' talons and dogs. Creon finds out that somebody buried Polynices' body and sent people out to get the person who preformed the burial. Antigone is guilty and although she is to be wed to Creon's son, Haemon. He sentences her to be put in a cave with food and water and let the gods decide what to do with her. He was warned by a blind profit not to do this, but he chooses to anyway, leaving him with a dead son, a dead wife, and self-imposed exile.
In the Greek tragedy, Antigone, there is one character constantly mentioned throughout, despite not being alive. This character happened to be Polynices, the nephew of Creon. He was the son of Oedipus, and the brother of Antigone, Ismene, and Eteocles. Oedipus was the king of Thebes, but due to certain circumstances, he exiled himself. His two sons, Polynices, and Eteocles agreed to share the throne. Once they were given this opportunity, Eteocles claimed sole power over Thebes, and drove Polynices away. When Polynices was gone, he planned an attack on Thebes. He brought his army to Thebes, and Polynices and Eteocles killed each other in battle. Since these brothers were supposed to be the leaders of Thebes, now a king was needed. Creon, their uncle, stepped up into the position. His first decision as ruler was to bury Eteocles, and leave Polynices body unburied. He also said if anyone were to try to bury Polynices, they would be accused of treason, and executed. This decision is what
In the play Creon goes against the Gods by making it illegal to bury Polyneices, Antigone’s brother because he is deemed a traitor. The burying of a dead body is seen as a necessity by all of Greece as it is an unspoken law of the Gods. Antigone goes to bury her brother so his afterlife will be better. She does it in spite of the law that Creon has made. “It is the dead, not the living, who make the longest demands” (192) She tries to explain to her sister, Ismene, that they must bury Polyneices, but even that close relationship has trouble because of the law. Ismene is unwilling to suffer the consequences of the law, to save her brother’s soul “Forgive me but I am helpless: I must yield to those in authority” (192) Even the two sisters who have just lost both of their brothers have different views on the matter. One will not stray from the law and what is deemed right by their king, while the other will accept any punishment, even death just to do what she believes is right.
Imagine two friends, one burns down your house and the other tries to put the fire out. You would be happy with the one that tried to put it out? That is premise in the play Antigone written by Sophocles. The two nephews of Creon, Eteocles and Polyneices alternate the throne of Thebes. But one year Eteocles refuses to step down and Polyneices is infuriated. Polyneices and six foreign princes march on Thebes, but are unable to conquer it. Both brothers end up dead in a duel leading Creon to become king. Creon declares it unlawful to bury Polyneices body, while Eteocles is to receive a full military burial. Although both Eteocles and Polyneices are nephews of Creon, Creon is right to bury Eteocles and to not bury Polyneices.