Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone is a play that shows how a king’s power is blinded by his own fate. Creon is the King of Thebes, and he governs with political and social order. He is arrogant and shows no sympathy for others’ opinion because it is basically his way or the highway. Creon proclaimed an order throughout the city regarding one of the two-sister’s brother, Polyneices. Polyneices is to not have a proper burial like practiced in the religious doctrine; however, Antigone opposes her uncle’s order and buries her brother. Antigone’s determination and loyalty to her brother is caught between obeying the law of the gods or disobeying the law of the man. Creon argues that Eteocles perished in the fight to save their city, but …show more content…
Teiresias is an important character because he is never wrong about one’s destiny, and he warns Creon of a dreadful prophecy. Towards the end of the play, Creon finally listens to the chorus. “Go and release the girl from her rock tomb. / Then prepare a grave for that unburied corpse” (1230-1231. 641). At first, Creon ignored Teiresias and accused him of just wanting money. This quote proves that Creon’s mind was disturbed by the prophecy, and he had finally taken wise advice given again by the chorus. It is important to comprehend that Creon ruled by how he thought. He did not hold the rational ability to think ahead for his actions since he acted within the moment. The chorus ends the play talking about …show more content…
(1493-1497. 647)
This quote is significant because it clarifies to be successful, you need to act with wisdom from the start. Because Creon was the king, his authority determined his atrocious fate. One may argue that Antigone was the blame for the tragedy, but I disagree. From the beginning of the play to the end, Antigone keeps her promise to sacrifice herself for her brother’s burial. Regardless of her consequence, she stays loyal to the gods. I believe she is not the blame because the gods supported her through her actions. The guard explains to Creon what he saw for the first time at the corpse:
I don’t know. There was no sign of digging, no marks of any pick axe or a mattock. The ground was dry and hard and very smooth, without a wheel track. Whoever did it left no trace. (287-291.