Creon's Complex Character In Sophocles Antigone

A helicopter is flying over the Amazon rainforest, and the most spectacular bird’s eye view can be observed; this is the luscious, natural production of the planet Earth. From above, only a field of rich green treetops can be seen. However, the simple blanket is covering a most extraordinary and complex ecosystem underneath, filled with thousands of species of flora and fauna. The rainforest has four main layers: the emergent layer, canopy, understory, and the forest floor. The multiple layers create a diverse scenery, as the many layers of motivation create a very complex character in Sophocles’ Antigone, this character being Antigone herself. One of the most interesting dilemmas in the play is what actually led Antigone to bury her brother, Polynices, even though Creon’s edict labeled it as an illegal act, punishable by death. It is true that religious beliefs and cultural ethos played their parts in her motivations, but those were only the treetops. The layers underneath …show more content…
Thus, a new layer of motivations arises: Antigone buried Polynices out of her love for him. After all, he was her “own flesh and blood” (1). Family ties in Greek society were known to have held positions of great importance. Therefore, Antigone purposefully used this to create her next appearance. Her brother’s “unburied corpse … would have been an agony” for her, which led her to attempt the burial twice (18). Out of love, she wanted to “lift up his body with [her] bare hands” and prepare a grave or mound, something more meaningful than just a prayer (3). Antigone made it seem like her attention calling efforts were only to give proper respects to her other brother. It was not fair that Creon had not honored both deaths, and, instead, just “graced one with all the rites” (2). In no way could Antigone settle with a bare minimum -- a simple ritual that could have been