Law and Order in Sophocles’s Antigone

“Do I rule this state, or someone else?” Throughout Antigone, a play written by Sophocles in 441 B.C., the newly crowned king, Creon, constantly questions what it means to be a ruler. During a war between his home city of Thebes and a rival city, Oedipus’s two sons, Eteocles and Polyneices, kill one another. Creon leaves Polyneices, who fought against Thebes, to rot on the battlefield while giving Eteocles a glorious funeral for defending his birthplace.

However, Antigone, Oedipus’s daughter, defies Creon’s orders and buries her deserted brother. Torn by his need to establish supremacy as the new leader, Creon must also face the consequences of loyalty towards his city and his family. Though he longs to fulfill his pride as a man, he must first submit to the desires of his country and family.

Creon makes establishing supremacy his first agenda as king. His actions toward Polyneices, whom he believes to be a traitor, reflect Creon’s feelings toward the House of Oedipus. He sees them as a disgrace and takes the opportunity to carry out any grudge he might have on them. By doing so, Creon emphasizes the value of loyalty to the state, at any cost and despite family associations.

Antigone’s defiance of Creon’s orders shocks and threatens him. Her place in society as a woman cast aside, she possesses a stronger argument for her cause than he possesses for his. Antigone adheres to the divine law of the gods, cleaving to the doctrine that “Hades makes no distinction in its rites and honors,” that all men become equal in death. She makes it known that no law surpasses the divine, inherent law of the gods.

Creon’s final challenge comes from his son, Haemon, who is also Antigone’s betrothed. Though he understands his father’s position, Haemon implores Creon to reconsider his decision. When his effort fails, Haemon avows to stand beside his betrothed. It takes a prophet to convince Creon that his country and family are turned against him. Creon realizes that the news comes too late and that it would have been better for him to succumb to the desires of his loved ones.

The tragic Creon victimized himself with his own pride and desire for complete loyalty to the state. His assertions as king led to demise by Antigone, who challenged his supremacy with divine law. Creon even blinded himself against his son, who practiced the loyalty so prized by his father by dying for his betrothed. In Antigone, Creon exhibits the natural tendency of man to lust for control, but recognizes there are certainly more essential attributes to strive for.