The Role Of Government In Sophocles Antigone And Kreon

Sophocles’ Antigone frames a central conflict between Antigone and Kreon, two characters who have differing loyalties. Antigone is most loyal to her family; in fact, it is the question of whether her brother deserves burial rights that drives the play. Kreon, on the other hand, believes that loyalty to one’s city should take priority over loyalty to one’s family. A modern equivalent to this ideological dispute is the debate about whether the United States federal government is ethically justified in intervening in both foreign and domestic affairs. Kreon would support any action that directly benefits his state, whereas Antigone would be more concerned with the people who would be affected by the intervention. Additionally, religion is sometimes used to justify actions of the government in the same way that …show more content…
Getting involved in the wars and struggles of other countries can be messy and cause more even more problems, but in some cases, it is necessary. In certain situations, positive outcomes can come from such intervention. Governments must be careful to distinguish between the two scenarios. When it comes to domestic disputes about the role of government, it is also best to evaluate each situation independently because there is no correct answer that can be generalized for all cases.
In Antigone, though both Kreon and Antigone were justified in their motivations, Kreon’s perspective, in this situation, is wrong. “Your mind has sickened Thebes,” the prophet Tiresias tells Kreon towards the end of the play (1121). Kreon has become so stubborn that he is unable to change his mind or provide mercy. It is important to recognize that both sides are reasonable, but it is also valuable to see that sometimes one perspective will be more correct, depending on the situation. Had Kreon realized this, the play could have ended in peace, not