Athenian Attitudes Toward the Authority of State Through the Eyes of Plato and Sophocles
The first evidence of democracy, a government in which the citizens have say in the rulings, was discovered in Ancient Athens. However, when we study Athenian history, we focus on the democratic system of government and tend to overlook the Athenian citizen’s points of view. Through close examination of the writings of Sophocles and Plato, one can discover that the Athenian’s respect towards the governing power, changed during the Classical Athens period. Although the Ancient Athenian government seemed to have control over its people, Antigone of Sophocles and Crito of Plato reveal that from 441 BCE to 360 BCE, the citizens began to lose respect for the …show more content…
As pointed out by Haemon in Antigone, “the simple citizen/dares not risk [the King’s] scowl to speak his mind” (Sophocles 365). This shows that the fear to be obedient, stems from the inner drive to please those in power. The Athenians followed the laws they disagreed with because they had the opportunity to be active in their state through voting and were considerate of the final ruling. Fear motivated people to continue listening to the laws and doing what was expected of them so they could remain a part of the Athenian society. Additionally, rules that punished law-breaking with death encouraged obedience. However, without fear of death, Antigone could do as she wished. Antigone deemed burying her brother an honorable way to die so she was willing to disobey Creon’s new law. According to their religion, it is essential to perform spiritual ceremonies for the dead to show respect and it is an insult to human dignity to forgo such rituals (Department of Greek and Roman Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art). Antigone was furious that Creon felt he had the right to “call it wicked what the gods call good” (Sophocles 346). Antigone represents the opposite of the Athenians because she is defiant of laws and is willing to challenge authority. The rest of the Athenians would not dare confront the government because of their deep respect for the laws and their place in the system. Athenians enjoyed their democracy and feared the possible punishments and the displeasure of the authority enough to follow the
The first evidence of democracy, a government in which the citizens have say in the rulings, was discovered in Ancient Athens. However, when we study Athenian history, we focus on the democratic system of government and tend to overlook the Athenian citizen’s points of view. Through close examination of the writings of Sophocles and Plato, one can discover that the Athenian’s respect towards the governing power, changed during the Classical Athens period. Although the Ancient Athenian government seemed to have control over its people, Antigone of Sophocles and Crito of Plato reveal that from 441 BCE to 360 BCE, the citizens began to lose respect for the …show more content…
As pointed out by Haemon in Antigone, “the simple citizen/dares not risk [the King’s] scowl to speak his mind” (Sophocles 365). This shows that the fear to be obedient, stems from the inner drive to please those in power. The Athenians followed the laws they disagreed with because they had the opportunity to be active in their state through voting and were considerate of the final ruling. Fear motivated people to continue listening to the laws and doing what was expected of them so they could remain a part of the Athenian society. Additionally, rules that punished law-breaking with death encouraged obedience. However, without fear of death, Antigone could do as she wished. Antigone deemed burying her brother an honorable way to die so she was willing to disobey Creon’s new law. According to their religion, it is essential to perform spiritual ceremonies for the dead to show respect and it is an insult to human dignity to forgo such rituals (Department of Greek and Roman Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art). Antigone was furious that Creon felt he had the right to “call it wicked what the gods call good” (Sophocles 346). Antigone represents the opposite of the Athenians because she is defiant of laws and is willing to challenge authority. The rest of the Athenians would not dare confront the government because of their deep respect for the laws and their place in the system. Athenians enjoyed their democracy and feared the possible punishments and the displeasure of the authority enough to follow the