In this passage, the themes of conflicting civil and moral duty are explored in an impactful manner. Antigone is a woman in a society that is heavily male dominated - one of the only ways women can express themselves publicly is through performing the god ordained burial rights. However, a decree is passed that would deny her the opportunity to fulfill her duty to her brother and the gods. This results in a moral conundrum – should one give up loyalty to divine laws to conform to the requirements of the living realm? This question is timeless, and there are many opinions on the topic, often influenced those of renown authors of the past. Evidenced through the actions of the characters in Antigone, Sophocles believed that loyalty to the gods
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When faced with the royal decree that denied her brother a proper burial, Antigone proudly broke the law of the city and granted Polynices his death rights to ensure the sanctity of his soul, as well as to appease the gods’ command that all must be buried. In response to an outraged Creon, Antigone scornfully replies that no “mortal man … could overrun the gods’ unwritten and unfailing laws” (ll. 450-470, pp. 48-49). Her reasoning is that no mortal, even a king, has as much power as the gods do, and therefore any law that may be passed in the mortal realm will always be less important. She will always follow the higher set of laws. It is interesting that the word ‘unfailing’ was chosen to be used in this line, as it implies that Creon’s law was doomed from the start. Since divine laws are eternal, they will always succeed one way or another in the end, and so to assume that one could override these laws with another is overbearingly arrogant. However, Creon does believe he is acting morally with his decree. As the leader of the city, it is understandable that he should not honor a traitor and loyal citizen equally – but he is clearly overstepping his boundaries as a mortal. Thus, obeying the laws of the divine takes higher priority over laws of the state in this
When faced with the royal decree that denied her brother a proper burial, Antigone proudly broke the law of the city and granted Polynices his death rights to ensure the sanctity of his soul, as well as to appease the gods’ command that all must be buried. In response to an outraged Creon, Antigone scornfully replies that no “mortal man … could overrun the gods’ unwritten and unfailing laws” (ll. 450-470, pp. 48-49). Her reasoning is that no mortal, even a king, has as much power as the gods do, and therefore any law that may be passed in the mortal realm will always be less important. She will always follow the higher set of laws. It is interesting that the word ‘unfailing’ was chosen to be used in this line, as it implies that Creon’s law was doomed from the start. Since divine laws are eternal, they will always succeed one way or another in the end, and so to assume that one could override these laws with another is overbearingly arrogant. However, Creon does believe he is acting morally with his decree. As the leader of the city, it is understandable that he should not honor a traitor and loyal citizen equally – but he is clearly overstepping his boundaries as a mortal. Thus, obeying the laws of the divine takes higher priority over laws of the state in this