Throughout Greek literature, the blind prophet Tiresias makes several appearances. In Sophocles’ plays Oedipus the King and Antigone, Tiresias tries in vain to warn the kings of Thebes of their wrong doing. In Antigone, Creon, the king of Thebes, refuses to reason with Tiresias after sentencing his niece Antigone to death for burying her brother. Throughout the text Tiresias and the Chorus to help Creon see the errors he has made, but he is blinded by his stubbornness.
When Tiresias arrives in Thebes to speak to Creon it at first appears that Creon will obey the advice the prophet has to offer. This can be seen through their exchange where Tiresias says, “I will teach you. And you obey the seer.” (1094) to which Creon responds, “I will,/ I’ve never wavered from you advice before.” (1095-96) through this dialogue it is clear that Creon values Tiresias’s opinion. It is also ironic because Creon later refuses to heed the advice he has been given by the prophet. In other Greek literature, such as Oedipus the King by Sophocles, the title character also chooses not to believe the blind prophet and in turn blinds and exiles himself. Considering that Creon was present for the events of Oedipus the King, it seems rather obvious that he should follow the prophet’s advice. What is truly ironic about both Antigone and Oedipus the King, the blind prophet Tiresias is the only character in both plays that can actually see what is really happening.
Tiresias tries to explain to Creon that he is the cause of the problems in Thebes. Tiresias reveals that through Creon’s stubborn actions he is causing a plague on Thebes:
“And it is you-
Your high resolve that sets this plague on Thebes.
The public altars and sacred hearths are fouled,
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... After hearing the fate of his wife, Creon laments that he is to blame:
“And the guilt is all mine-
Can never be fixed on another man,
No escape for me. I killed you,
I, god help me, I admit it all!” (1442-1445).
Creon then prayers for death, but is denied and is forced to continue living as punishment for his pride and misguided actions.
It is clear that throughout the play Creon was given plenty of opportunities to see his wrong doings. Tiresias not only tells Creon that he is making a mistake but warns him of the consequences. Creon chooses to insult Tiresias and ignore his advice until he is swayed by others to follow the advice. However, Creon’s hesitation and pride cause him to lose everything.
Works Cited
Sophocles. Antigone. The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin, 1984
To open, the things he said showed how he changed and became the tragic hero of the play. Many of his statements reveal his personality including his admirable parts and his flaws. When Creon says: "I call to God to witness that if I saw my country headed for ruin, I should not be afraid to speak out plainly," (Sophocles, scene 1,24-26), it shows his strong sense of nationalism and leadership which catches up with him in the end. "The inflexible heart breaks first, the toughest iron cracks first, and the wildest horses bend their necks at the pull of the smallest curb" (scene 2,76-79) is what Creon says to Antigone after finding out she is the one who buried Polynieces. He thinks that if Antigone wasn't so headstrong and arrogant then she could have avoided the consequence he was about to give her. I think Creon was being a hypocrite because he is just as stubborn as she is. The reason why Creon and Antigone come in to so much conflict is because their ways of thinking are almost exactly alike. "It is hard to deny the heart! But I will do it: I will not fight with destiny" (scene 5, 100), is a statement that shows Creon detecting his fault and how he needs to correct it. After talking to Teiresias, the blind prophet, he realizes in order for the higher powers to forgive him he needs to release Antigone. "Fate has brought all my pride to a thought of dust" (exodos, 138). Creon recognizes his flaw and its consequences but it is too late because fate has already occurred.
The hubris resonating throughout the play, ‘Antigone’ is seen in the characters of Creon and Antigone. Their pride causes them to act impulsively, resulting in their individual downfalls. In his opening speech, Creon makes his motives clear, that “no man who is his country’s enemy shall call himself my friend.” This part of his declaration was kept to the letter, as he refused burial for his nephew, Polynices. However, when the situation arises where it is crucial that Creon takes advice, he neglects the part of the speech where he says “a king... unwilling to seek advice is damned.” This results in Creon’s tragic undoing.
“All men make mistakes--that’s not uncommon. But when they do, they’re no longer foolish or subject to bad luck if they try to fix the evil into which they’ve fallen, once they give up their intransigence. Men who put their stubbornness on show invite accusations of stupidity.” (Lines 1139-1145) In the Greek play, Antigone, Creon is an arrogant, self-centered king who has many foils throughout the length of the play. Teiresias’ character serves as the superlative foil towards Creon’s character by highlighting his sour attitude of disrespect, showing him what he has done wrongly through their negative interactions, and by exposing his fatal flaw. Teiresias is an old, blind prophet who has never been proven wrong, so when he tells Creon what
Creon's character possesses an infinite number of glitches in his personality, but his excessive pride was the root of his problems. His pride leads him to make accusations, before he considers the wise advice of others. Creon's pride also fills him not just as a king superior to the Gods, but also a man superior to women. The issue of Antigone being condemned to die becomes more than just a person who disobeys Creon; instead, the punishment is given even more eagerly, because it is a woman who disobeys a man. Creon's intelligent son warns Creon the people of Thebes sympathize with Antigone, but Creon accuses Haemon of being a "woman's slave" (line 756). Even though he is suppose to be loyal to the state and her citizens, he defensively questions if "the town [is] to tell [him] how [he] ought to rule?"(Line 734)The Theban king is too prideful to obey even the wisest of prophets, blind Teresias, insisting that "the whole crew of seers are money-mad" (line 1055). Creon finally puts his pride aside and listens to the Chorus' wise advice. It is difficult even then, and he obeys only because he fears the punishment that he might receive. "To yield [for Creon] is terrible" (line 1095) meaning to swallow his pride and admit that he is wrong is a very difficult thing for him to do. When Creon loses his wife and son, Creon's pride disappears, and he admits that he made a terrible mistake by not listening to anyone's advice.
In addition, Creon disregards what had historically been the best counsel for the city, the blind prophet Tiresias. Despite Tiresias’ warnings that his “high resolve that sets this plague on Thebes,” will “strike [him] down with the pains [he] perfected,” Creon’s stubborn commitment to the laws of state turns to be his error. Eventually convinced by Tiresias’ warnings, Creon resolves to release Antigone from her isolated tomb. Regrettably, he’s too late and the consequences of his insolence for the divine laws were far worse than if he had “[L]ay[ed] [my] pride bare to the blows of ruin” (1220). Creon’s undoing can be viewed as an allegory of the calamities that ensue when the laws of man pursue to challenge the ancient laws of gods.
Creon first abused his power when he decided to go against the God’s law that every human deserved to be buried after death not depending on what that certain per...
The gods cause Creon's destruction, acting in a just and logical way to the blasphemous deeds he committed. His destruction is very much in his own hands, despite the many warnings he receives from advisors such as Tiresias ("you have no business with the dead"), Haemon ("I see my father offending justice - wrong") and the Chorus ("could this possibly the work of the gods?" "good advice, Creon, take it now, you must"). He drives head long into it, ignoring those who counsel him. His inability to listen to others is very critical to his downfall, as we see in his rebukes to the Sentry for example ("Still talking? You talk too much!"). This is a fundamental weakness within his character. His stubbornness, as Tiresias, "brands you for stupidity". What appears in Creon's own eyes to be stern control ove...
... middle of paper ... ... Several speeches follow in which Creon expresses his realization. His stubborn nature for one was realized during this moment; oh howl, for the sins of a stubborn mind!
...lines 1445-1446). Creon just could not take the guilt anymore, knowing that the cause of their death was his fault, all because of his excessive pride. Pride can be portrayed as confidence, it can bring one great success, but it is a deadly emotion that can also take everything away from one when it exaggerates. When it is too late to fix an issue, the only thing left are regrets of what could have been said or done to prevent the obstacles caused.
...e is another corpse before me. Alas for the poor mother, alas for the child” (Sophocles 1302-1307). This shows how mean Creon was; however, he does understand how his mistake was as a result of his own actions.
In Oedipus, he wanted nothing more than to help Oedipus rid the city of whatever plague the gods were hurling at them. Creon goes to Apollo's shrine to find out why the gods are angry and then brings Tiresias to help Creon see what has the gods angry. Oedipus does not want to believe the truths Tiresias is telling him and falsely accuses Creon of plotting against him to become king of Thebes. Creon is so hurt by this that he tells the chorus, "This accusation against me by our ruler Oedipus, It's outrageous. (514)" By the end of the play, Creon tells Oedipus that "I'm always as good as my word; I don't speak before I think(1520)."
The cover up of Creon in a golden blanket, blinded and trapped, shown in the production of Antigone by the Wilma theatre implicates Creon 's blindness. He cannot see that his actions upon setting the law to prohibit any citizen from giving Polynikes a proper burial is against the law of the gods and many objections of his people. He blinded himself in his golden blanket of sovereign power as the king of Thebes that whatever he does is for the good of his kingdom. As Antigone points out to him many of the citizens shares her thought that Polynikes needs a proper burial but they “trim their tongues to [Creon]” because they do not want to disobey the law (Antigone 219). How could he, Creon, not learn from the mistake of Oedipus? Has he not
Tiresias could see the future but yet, was unable to stop the tragedies that occurred in Creon’s family. However, tragedies occur in Creon family within the curse he received for his disobedience to the law of their gods. Along with, Tiresias was an old who was blind making impossible to stop the tragedy. In addition to that, Tiresias guided by a boy came to Creon to advise him hopefully that Creon would realize his own mistake and come back from it.Therefore, Tiresias said ‘’ This is no small thing Creon!All men make mistake, but the wise man makes amends when he understands it’’. Moreover, Tiresias was considered prophet so he had to follow the law the gods. In fact, made it clear to Creon his disobedience would result in curse to his
... for his mistakes in the denouement. Devastated by Antigone’s death, Haimon ends up committing suicide. Creon then realizes how wrong he was, however it is too late. This is not the only karma that Creon receives though. Creon’s beloved wife, Eurydice, also met her death when she was told the fate of her son. Creon finally realizes how blinded he was, and how he was continuously making foolish decisions. Two losses in one day- Creon is filled with great remorse and regret. Like the ‘Sun King’, all the sunlight in Creon’s life has faded. The world no longer revolves around Creon, as all his valued things in life have vanished. If you attain power, use it wisely. Otherwise you will end up heartbroken and repentant, just like Creon.
In the beginning of the story Creon visits the oracle at Delphi to find out what the curse on Thebes is being caused by. Upon his arrival to Thebes he informs Oedipus of what the oracle said: