Sophocles´ Antigone and Euripides´ The Bacchae

1058 Words3 Pages

Sophocles’ Antigone and Euripides’ The Bacchae are indubitably plays of antitheses and conflicts, and this condition is personified in the manifestation of their characters, each completely opposed to the other. Both tragedians reveal tensions between two permanent and irreconcilable moral codes; divine law represented by Antigone and Dionysus and human law represented by Creon and Pentheus. The central purpose is evidently the association of law which has its consent in political authority and the law which has its consent in the private conscience, the association of obligations imposed on human beings as citizens and members of state, and the obligations imposed on them in the home as members of families. Both these laws presenting themselves in their most crucial form are in direct collision. Sophocles and Euripides include a great deal of controversial material, once the reader realizes the inquiries behind their work. Inquiries that pertain to the very fabric of life, that still make up the garments of society today.
In Sophocles’ Antigone, the most prominent theme is the concept of divine law versus human law. The play opens with the debate between the sisters Antigone and Ismene concerning which law comes first- the devout obligations of citizens, or civic duty. Antigone requests for Ismene to assist her in burying their brother Polyneices, though the new king Creon, has prohibited burial on pain of death. It can be argued that Creon’s edict, which deprived Polyneices of his funeral rites, is understandable. The young man had been killed perpetrating the most atrocious crime of which a citizen could be guilty, and Creon, as the responsible head of state, naturally supposed that exemplary punishment was the culprit’s right...

... middle of paper ...

... others-or myself?
Haemon: It’s no city at all, owned by one man alone.
Creon: What? The city is the king’s- that’s the law! (819-25)
In addition, Creon disregards what had historically been the best counsel for the city, the blind prophet Tiresias. Despite Tiresias’ warnings that his “high resolve that sets this plague on Thebes,” will “strike [him] down with the pains [he] perfected,” Creon’s stubborn commitment to the laws of state turns to be his error. Eventually convinced by Tiresias’ warnings, Creon resolves to release Antigone from her isolated tomb. Regrettably, he’s too late and the consequences of his insolence for the divine laws were far worse than if he had “[L]ay[ed] [my] pride bare to the blows of ruin” (1220). Creon’s undoing can be viewed as an allegory of the calamities that ensue when the laws of man pursue to challenge the ancient laws of gods.

Show More
Related

  • Sophocles Antigone And Creon Essay

    1050 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • charant Character Changes in Sophocles' Antigone

    1452 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Sophocles' Greek tragedy, Antigone, two characters undergo character changes. During the play the audience sees these two characters' attitudes change from close-minded to open-minded. It is their close-minded, stubborn attitudes, which lead to their decline in the play, and ultimately to a series of deaths. In the beginning Antigone is a close minded character who later becomes open minded. After the death of her brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, Creon becomes the ruler of Thebes. He decides that Eteocles will receive a funeral with military honors because he fought for his country. However, Polyneices, who broke his exile to " spill the blood of his father and sell his own people into slavery", will have no burial. Antigone disagrees with Creon's unjust actions and says, " Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way." She vows to bury her brother so that his soul may gain the peace of the underworld. Antigone is torn between the law placed against burying her brother and her own thoughts of doing what she feels should be done for her family. Her intent is simply to give her brother, Polyneices, a proper burial so that she will follow "the laws of the gods." Antigone knows that she is in danger of being killed for her actions and she says, "I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down with him in death, and I shall be as dear to him as he to me." Her own laws, or morals, drive her to break Creon's law placed against Polyneices burial. Even after she realizes that she will have to bury Polyneices without the help of her sister, Ismene, she says: Go away, Ismene: I shall be hating you soon, and the dead will too, For your words are hateful. Leave me my foolish plan: I am not afraid of the danger; if it means death, It will not be the worst of deaths-death without honor. Here Ismene is trying to reason with Antigone by saying that she cannot disobey the law because of the consequences. Antigone is close-minded when she immediately tells her to go away and refuses to listen to her. Later in the play, Antigone is sorrowful for her actions and the consequences yet she is not regretful for her crime. She says her crime is just, yet she does regret being forced to commit it.

    Read More

  • Sophocles' Antigone - Creon's Mistakes

    699 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Antigone

    1762 Words  | 4 Pages

    The opening events of the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, quickly establish the central conflict between Antigone and Creon. Creon has decreed that the traitor Polynices, who tried to burn down the temple of gods in Thebes, must not be given proper burial. Antigone is the only one who will speak against this decree and insists on the sacredness of family and a symbolic burial for her brother. Whereas Antigone sees no validity in a law that disregards the duty family members owe one another, Creon's point of view is exactly opposite. He has no use for anyone who places private ties above the common good, as he proclaims firmly to the Chorus and the audience as he revels in his victory over Polynices. He sees Polynices as an enemy to the state because he attacked his brother. Creon's first speech, which is dominated by words such as "authority” and "law”, shows the extent to which Creon fixates on government and law as the supreme authority. Between Antigone and Creon there can be no compromise—they both find absolute validity in the respective loyalties they uphold.

    Read More

  • Antigone Unjust Analysis

    739 Words  | 2 Pages

    Due to the structure of said hierarchy, the lawmakers who decide on what laws govern the land are often not the best representatives of how the common people of the given society feel. This notion applies especially in the era of Sophocles, when the lawmakers were noblemen who lived a lifestyle incomparable to that of their subjects and followers. In Sophocles’ play Antigone, Creon, the king, banned the burial of Antigone’s brother Polyneices who he believes is a traitor. Antigone finds this law unjust and proceeds to break it, finding her brother and giving him an honorable burial knowing full well the illegality of her

    Read More

  • Antigone, by Sophocles

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    Summing up, Antigone decides to express her discontent with what she considers to be the unethical new regime of King Creon by burying her brother's body. By taking this bold step, Antigone shows the strength that an individual’s actions hold in a democracy. Creon, with his stubborn attitude, shows how a democracy where peoples’ voices are not heard can be dysfunctional, and that laws should be made by taking other people into confidence and not on an individual basis. In the end, Antigone resolves to sacrifice her own life in the service of a greater justice. It is this kind of formidable resolve that changes the course of history, and that is something that we can respect equally in the 5th century B.C. and the 21st century A.D.

    Read More

  • Antigone, by Sophocles

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    Antigone utilizes her moral foundations, her religious roots, and the events of her past to form a sophisticated argument. Despite being unable to convince Creon to reverse her punishment, Antigone is able to convince the people of Thebes that she was right in her actions. After Antigone’s death, and the deaths of several others, Creon reflects on this monologue and realizes the honest truth behind Antigone’s actions and words.

    Read More

  • Sophocles Antigone: The Allegory Of The Cave

    661 Words  | 2 Pages

    Paralleling ¨The Allegory of the Cave,¨ Creon, the king and antagonist of this play, foolishly believes that his opinion is infallible and the people of Thebes must blindly obey. Similar to how the cave dwellers naively accept the puppeteers images, the Thebans accept Creon's law for what it is, except for Antigone. Antigone is able to recognize that the law is incorrect, because she has seen the light and therefore the truth; this is the beginning of the unraveling of Creon’s reign. Creon rules as a King over those who remain in the dark; however, because Antigone has seen the light and can now recognize the truth, she stands in the path of Creon's leadership. Plato establishes that ¨ The state in which the rulers are most reluctant to govern is always the best. . . The state in which they are most eager, the worst;¨ contrastingly, Creon is represented as a power hungry tyrant ”declaring ¨Is not the city Held to be his who rules it?¨ Ultimately, Creon’s refusal to accept the truth leads to the death of his niece, son, and wife and the undermine of his rule as predicted by

    Read More

  • The Source of Conflict between Antigone and Creon in Sophocles' Antigone

    1274 Words  | 3 Pages

    In conclusion, the gods and the love of her family rule Antigone’s life. Creon’s life is ruled by what he thinks is good for his country and pride. Creon did not change his mind to free Antigone until a prophet told him he would suffer horribly for his actions. However, because Creon was so stubborn for so long and did not take heed to anyone’s advice sooner, he ultimately suffers in the end, as does everyone else in the play. This was all due to a man’s lack of good judgment, his selfish pride and his stubbornness.

    Read More

  • Civic Responsibility vs. Religious Duty in Antigone

    1123 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the play Antigone, Creon, king of Thebes faces a harsh conflict with himself, involving the values of family and religion verse the civic responsibility he must maintain for the city of Thebes that comes with being the new king. In theory no decision Creon makes is going to be the rite one. Although both Antigone and Creon have justified reasons for believing in there own laws only one can be upheld by the play and how Sophocles interoperates the play himself. Creon must decide whether to punish Antigone, a princess, daughter of king Oedipus, or fail at enforcing his own law and look weak in front of the citizens of Thebes as their new leader. The law stated that anybody who touched the corpse of Polyneices, a prince, and son of Oedipus would be stoned in the town square.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Moral Conflict in Antigone and A Doll's House

    1471 Words  | 3 Pages

    Antigone shows the contrast between state law and divine law.  Although the two have similarities, they are enforced in very different ways.  The major conflict is this – according to divine law, Antigone’s brother must be buried, but, according to state law, Antigone’s brother is not to be buried due to his political standing.  The divine law is a law that is the same for everyone and does not change, whereas the state...

    Read More

  • Antigone: Divine Law Vs. Human Law

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    Possibly the most prominent theme in Sophocles' "Antigone" is the concept of divine law vs. human law. In the story the two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices have slain each other in battle. The new King Creon, who assumed the throne after Eteocles' death, decrees that because Polyneices committed treason against the king, he shall not be buried, but instead "He shall be left unburied for all to watch

    Read More

  • Religion vs. State in “Antigone"

    829 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the play Creon goes against the Gods by making it illegal to bury Polyneices, Antigone’s brother because he is deemed a traitor. The burying of a dead body is seen as a necessity by all of Greece as it is an unspoken law of the Gods. Antigone goes to bury her brother so his afterlife will be better. She does it in spite of the law that Creon has made. “It is the dead, not the living, who make the longest demands” (192) She tries to explain to her sister, Ismene, that they must bury Polyneices, but even that close relationship has trouble because of the law. Ismene is unwilling to suffer the consequences of the law, to save her brother’s soul “Forgive me but I am helpless: I must yield to those in authority” (192) Even the two sisters who have just lost both of their brothers have different views on the matter. One will not stray from the law and what is deemed right by their king, while the other will accept any punishment, even death just to do what she believes is right.

    Read More

  • Right Against Right in Antigone by Sophocles

    1085 Words  | 3 Pages

    The German philosopher Hegel stated that the play Antigone written by Sophocles represents the tragic collision of right against right, with both sides equally justified. The play begins with tragedy and ends the same way. Polyneices and Eteocles were brothers whom killed each other in combat over the power of the throne. Creon, the brothers’ uncle, was the following family member to occupy the throne. But he did not desire the same pattern to repeat itself. Therefore he created a decree which punished all those who committed a crime before dying. These people would, in turn, be neglected of a burial ceremony. Eteocles was recognized as the defender of the city and with much dignity he was given all his death rights in his burial. On the contrary, his brother Polyneices was neglected of his death ceremony because he was accused of attacking the city of Thebes. It was Creon’s perspective that if he betrayed his own decree there would once again be anarchy and chaos in Thebes. Then there was Antigone, a wise young woman who was engaged to Creon’s son and was the sister of Polyneices and Eteocles. Antigone had a deeper understanding of the higher unchanging morality of behavior versus misbehavior. Antigone would rather be civilly disobedient than suffer over the unburied dead. Two completely different points of view seem to exist in the same environment. In the play Antigone, the clash of dialectal ideas of justice is seen in the different lens of Antigone and Creon.

    Read More

  • Comparing Positive and Natural Law

    1441 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Do what you believe is right.” This is a phrase common to us all, brought to our attention by parents, reinforced by teachers, and preached by leaders. But how does one define what is right? Is it what we believe in our hearts, or is it what we know is acceptable? This is a predominant dilemma that can be traced throughout society, and is the main focal point of Sophocles’ play Antigone. Written in 441 B.C., Antigone is one of the earliest records of the conflict between Natural law and Positive law. Sophocles deftly exposes these two philosophical standpoints and their respective moral and political aspects by way of the two main characters, Antgone and Kreon. Antigone is a champion of Natural law, while Kreon practices the Positivist approach. Both characters deem their behavior superior towards the other, and both assume religious justification for their actions. Sophocles ultimately proves that with so much support for each philosophical standpoint, a solution to the dilemma is hardly in sight.

    Read More

More about Sophocles´ Antigone and Euripides´ The Bacchae

Open Document