In the story “Antigone”, Sophocles shows that Creon’s attitude is very angry, making everyone sees him as a tyrant more than as a king. His regard for the laws of the town causes him to abandon most viewpoints, like the laws of the gods, or the rights of the people. He believes that his subjects should obey the laws he has set in place, even if moral or religious beliefs contradict his laws and beliefs. Creon’s idea of a good leader is one who maintains order through violence and fear. More over his arrogant, power-seeking personality prevented him from seeking out advice or listening to his own people.
Creon does not want to be a bad king, using his power for evil things, but instead, he wants to be seen as strong and great king, but his temper and arrogance stops him from becoming a good king, and he stays more like a tyrant, the people only keeping their mouths shut because they are afraid to speak. For example, in lines (8-64) he gives a speech to the people of the town. He states that “As for the man who sets private friendship above the public welfare, I have no use of him either”(lines 23-24).He is being cruel, so the people of Thebes do not take him for an easy king but rather fear him if they do not obey his laws. This puts them in a tough situation, whether they should listen to their friends and the gods, or to Creon’s tyrical rule. Creon states, “As I see it, whoever assumes the task, the awesome task of setting the city’s course, and refuses to adopt the soundest policies but fearing someone, keeps his lips locked tight, and he’s utterly worthless” (lines 198-202). This shows Creon thinks that a good leader should be powerful and set firm, strict laws in order to be respected. He believes that if someone di...
... middle of paper ...
...ten to him through fear and aggression, and sets strict laws to prove his strength, but only makes his people hate him for putting his laws against the laws of the gods.
Overall, Creon’s leadership is very strict and centered on the state and his laws. But it’s not just this that makes him a bad leader; it’s his temper and his aggressive attitude that make him terrible as a leader and a person. Whenever he is angry he acts very harsh to the people around him, even if it is not their fault, and he makes rash decisions that only benefit him, going against his own moral code. Creon’s leadership was too cruel, and too strict to work, and he forced the people to stay silent and listen and not have their say. Generally, Creon’s leader ship would have never worked because of one, his temper, two, his strict and tyrannical rule, and third, his aggressive and harsh attitude.
One of Creon’s many failures as a statesman is his prideful attitude. For example, Creon believes that gods chose him to lead the kingdom: “But see, the king comes here, /Creon, the son of Menoeceus, /Whom the gods have appointed for us/In our recent change of fortune.” (Par. 122—125).This quote explains how authoritative Creon was when he first became king. Also, Sophocles explains how Creon’s divine rights made him feel superior to everyone else, which made him more insolent. In addition, Creon believes that he is the sole leader of the kingdom: “We’ll have no woman’s law here, while I live.” (Sc 2.444). Sophocles illustrates the dangers of pride in kingship. He emphasizes more on how kings should be reasonable to the citiz...
First off, Creon’s belief in civil law caused him to do a grave action which in time lead to his downfall, he lied to the city of Thebes. Creon was never meant to be the king of Thebes, until the deaths of both princes, Polynices and Eteocles, he had no choice but to step up to the throne. He was unprepared and unqualified, he had to tell the city of Thebes the story of how both man died. So, Creon lied about what happened between the two brothers, making one the hero and one the villain; “Well, what else could I have done? People had taken sides in the civil war. Both sides couldn’t be wrong; that would be too much. I couldn’t have made them swallow the truth.” (Anouilh
Throughout the story of Antigone, particularly the end, Creon proposes the bad-boy in control personality. He acts as the ruler he is and puts his power to work. He fears nothing unless his family is involved. He has no mercy when it comes to the law. Additionally, he is greatly affected by the environment he creates around himself.
A popular teaching of ancient Greek philosophers, was the ideal of “Sophrosyne” (wisdom), which rooted from self-knowledge, or “Know thyself” which was intended to be learned throughout a life time. Self knowledge would eventually lead to wisdom, good judgement, balance, control and harmony. In the play Antigone written by Sophocles we are presented with King Creon who believes he is righteous and blessed with wisdom from the heavens declares a ruling that no traitor of the nation shall receive burial, which goes against divine law. Did Creon make a wise judgement when dictating his new law or was it his pride that got the best out of him, leading him to his downfall.
Creon starts off being reasonable and understanding with the power he holds. For example, when Oedipus accuses him of trying to steal his crown, he said " If you discover I laid any plot together with the seen kill me, I say not only by your vote but my own." (Sophocles 136). This shows his understanding. Creon is comfortable with his power, people always greet Creon with respect, which demonstrates his power amongst the general population, for example, Creon said, “Now every man 's my pleasure; every man greets me." (Sophocles 136). Illustrates his relationship with the people of Thebes. Moreover, Creon is shown to be valuable towards the citizens of Thebes, when he said " I 'll go, you have not known me, but they have, and they have known my innocence." (Sophocles 140). This shows the trust citizens have towards Creon. Creon shows that he does not care for ruling Thebes, he states to Oedipus that "Now those who are your suiters fawn me, - success for them depends upon my favour. Why should I let all this go to win that?"(Sophocles 136). Creon eventually discovers that power is all he wants, leading towards King Oedipus ' exile. An example, is Creon said " Do not seek to be master in everything, for the things you mastered did not follow you throughout your life." (Sophocles 176), which explains that he manipulates with an intent that people mistake for honesty. Furthermore, this shows the end
Thinking that the king rules alone and if one ever disobeys the King, they are to bear consequences. The King of Thebes, arrogance leads to tragic endings for his loved ones such as his wife and son. Creon believed that since he was the king, he had the right to make decisions without bothering to discuss it with others, and that he could rule alone, because he was greater than everyone else. King Creon had made a law to not bury Polyneices, if anyone were to break the law the consequence would be death, and yet somebody disobeyed the law leaving Creon furious, stating, “Money!
Creon wants to be respected and feared as a king because this will prove him to be the
A leader is someone who leads or commands a group, organization, or country, in Antigone Creon is a good leader. Creon leads the city of Thebes as a ruler, he is very powerful as a leader and takes his job seriously, while some of the decisions he made were not the best he was a good leader because of his qualities. Creon had punishments for the laws that were broken and Creon didn't want the laws that he made broken. Creon also understands that to be a good leader he had to prove himeself and there will always be setbacks in leadership that cause you too need a backbone. You can’t just walk into a country as a leader and tell everyone what to do and they would trust you. Finally Creon had a lot of pride and while this pride is for himself it also helps the county and
Creon believes that his laws are absolute and must be followed above all else, even Divine Law. Therefore when Antigone, in accordance with divine law, goes against Creons edict by burying her brother she is forcefully imprisoned and sentenced to death by Creon. In Creons opening speech he says, “Of course you cannot know a man completely, his character, his principles, sense of judgment … Experience, there’s the test” (Sophocles, p. 67). How Creon handles Antigones unlawful actions serves as his first test as the new king of Thebes and ends up showing the Thebans a glimpse of his true nature, that of a tyrannical ruler. This can be seen again when Haemon comes to Creon with the hope of dissuading him from his current course of action. He does this by trying to make Creon understand that the citizens of Thebes don’t agree with his use of power and planned execution of Antigone. Again Creons authoritarian nature comes to light in his response to Haemon, “And is Thebes about to tell me how to rule… Am I to rule this land for others – or myself?” (Sophocles, p. 97). To which Haemon counters by saying that “its no city at all, owned by one man alone” (Sophocles, p. 97). Creon, being the tyrant he is, fails to heed the wisdom of his sons’ words, which ultimately leads to his downfall. Creon, like Machiavelli, believed that it was
In the awe-inspiring play of Antigone, Sophocles introduces two remarkable characters, Antigone and Creon. A conflict between these two obstinate characters leads to fatal consequences for themselves and their kindred. The firm stances of Creon and Antigone stem from two great imperatives: his loyalty to the state and her dedication to her family, her religion but most of all her conscience. The identity of the tragic hero of this play is still heavily debated. This tragedy could have been prevented if it had not been for Creon's pitiful mistakes.
Creon seemed to be a loyal king, would wanted to prove his worthiness to the people of Thebes, but Creon also had a stubborn side. This stubborn side of Creon rooted from his love of power. Creon strongly believed in a powerful kingdom and felt that everyone should obey his rules as king and this revealed that he was truly self centered person who thought highly of himself. However, Creon will experience a change of heart toward the end of the play.
Creon also defied the laws of the gods. This is what is expressed in the line, "No wisdom but submission to the gods." In Antigone, the edicts and decisions that Creon made demonstrated that his law was more important than the gods laws. His defiance of the laws eventually made him believe, by talking to Teirisias, that something bad would happen to him, so he gave in to his decision. When he gave into the gods, he gained wisdom and learned that his actions would be punished.
The gods cause Creon's destruction, acting in a just and logical way to the blasphemous deeds he committed. His destruction is very much in his own hands, despite the many warnings he receives from advisors such as Tiresias ("you have no business with the dead"), Haemon ("I see my father offending justice - wrong") and the Chorus ("could this possibly the work of the gods?" "good advice, Creon, take it now, you must"). He drives head long into it, ignoring those who counsel him. His inability to listen to others is very critical to his downfall, as we see in his rebukes to the Sentry for example ("Still talking? You talk too much!"). This is a fundamental weakness within his character. His stubbornness, as Tiresias, "brands you for stupidity". What appears in Creon's own eyes to be stern control ove...
Sophocles, following the Greek standard of tragedy, casts Creon as the tragic hero plagued by his own pride, inflexibility and power. Creon believes his authority to be twofold, both as the king and as the head of his family. He claims that the throne is the source of all power, saying ?whoever is chosen to govern should be obeyed ? must be obeyed, in all things, great and small, just and unjust? (Sophocles 217), and he demands the utmost allegiance from his son, bidding him to ?subordinate everything else?to [his] father?s will? (Sophocles 216). Creon is filled with hubris, and he rejects any solution that might compromise his image. For instance, when the guards escort Antigone to the palace, he demands of the Choragos, ?Who is the man...