Creon's Fear In Sophocles Antigone

THESIS: Creon believed his only option was to rule by fear in Thebes, as he assumed the only alternative was people comparing him unfavorably to Oedipus.

Creon’s actions were movtivated by his attempts to rally the people behind his grand, extravant displays of power. An example of this was in his condemning of Antigone to death by imprisonment. Antigone openly flouted Thebes’ laws, making Creon’s worst fear almost a reality. Creon believed that without taking action he would be seen as a fradulent, powerless ruler. The people would want another Oedipus, a hero, not a lawmaker. He feared that tolerating lawlessness would show that : “[He, Creon] is not the man, not now: she is the man if this victory goes to her and she goes free” (83). This

is how inferior to the “heroes” Creon felt. He tried to condemn Antigone to “the most barbaric death” (83) as punishment for defying him. He was truly a man living in another’s shadow. He knew this, and was willing to condemn others to death in order to try to fight this image. With this grand display of power against an “old hand at insolence” (83), he felt that he had finally measured up to Oedipus. He believed that he had given the people a reason to respect him.