Two Kings of Ancient Greek history face similar dilemmas even though they existed and reigned during different time periods and in different places. Antigone tells the story of a tyrannous king who refused to let anyone interfere with his mandates. The Iliad tells the story of a wartime king who held family over law and survived using the advice of his trusted associates. Both of the kings have made their mistakes that have had led to severe consequences. In Antigone by Sophocles, Creon is King of Thebes as well as Uncle to the protagonist, Antigone. Creon acts a power-driven tyrant whose law is his word. The story starts out with a royal mandate that the body of the traitor Polynices must not be touched and must be left to rot. Anyone
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At times, the king of Mycenae lets his emotions get the best of him. For example, in Book 1 of The Iliad, Agamemnon’s men are stricken with the arrows because of Agamemnon’s actions of taking Briseis and Chryseis “For nine whole days he shot his arrows among the people” (Book I. Pg 4). Chryseis was at first claimed by Agamemnon while Briseis was claimed by Achilles. However, in order to appease Apollo, Agamemnon decides to send Chryseis back to her home. In return he demands Briseis instead. Achilles says “ ‘You are steeped in insolence and lust of gain. With what heart can any of the Achaeans do your bidding” (I.8). With Achilles refusal, Agamemnon forcibly removes Briseis which leads to great trouble for the Achaeans. This shows how Agamemnon used his emotion and power to make a rash decision that was very …show more content…
Creon with wanting to put the guard to death and Agamemnon with taking Briseis away from Achilles. However, with the pressure and responsibility of being a leader, it is sometimes hard to contain emotion. In Creon’s case, he was enraged that someone had betrayed his mandate. To Creon, his word was law and nothing was above it. In Agamemnon’s case it was so he could prove his dominance by having what he wanted. In this case, if the roles were reversed, I feel as if they would both make the same decision. In a sense, both characters made the rash decisions to display their dominance. Afterall, they were kings and they needed to prove
At times, the king of Mycenae lets his emotions get the best of him. For example, in Book 1 of The Iliad, Agamemnon’s men are stricken with the arrows because of Agamemnon’s actions of taking Briseis and Chryseis “For nine whole days he shot his arrows among the people” (Book I. Pg 4). Chryseis was at first claimed by Agamemnon while Briseis was claimed by Achilles. However, in order to appease Apollo, Agamemnon decides to send Chryseis back to her home. In return he demands Briseis instead. Achilles says “ ‘You are steeped in insolence and lust of gain. With what heart can any of the Achaeans do your bidding” (I.8). With Achilles refusal, Agamemnon forcibly removes Briseis which leads to great trouble for the Achaeans. This shows how Agamemnon used his emotion and power to make a rash decision that was very …show more content…
Creon with wanting to put the guard to death and Agamemnon with taking Briseis away from Achilles. However, with the pressure and responsibility of being a leader, it is sometimes hard to contain emotion. In Creon’s case, he was enraged that someone had betrayed his mandate. To Creon, his word was law and nothing was above it. In Agamemnon’s case it was so he could prove his dominance by having what he wanted. In this case, if the roles were reversed, I feel as if they would both make the same decision. In a sense, both characters made the rash decisions to display their dominance. Afterall, they were kings and they needed to prove