The ancient Greek tragedy of Sophocles entitled Antigone is famous for illustrating a dramatic struggle between the forces of the state, as embodied by Creon, and the forces of religion and family, as embodied by Antigone. The play asks a fundamental question: what is justice? This paper suggests that Antigone's theological worldview ultimately trumps Creon's purely secular one.
Antigone: A clash of state and personal values
Sophocles' drama Antigone unfolds the tale of the tragic daughter of Oedipus Rex. At the beginning of the play Antigone is the bereft sister of two dead brothers who died fighting in the Theban civil war. Creon gives the brother (Eteocles) who defended the city's current leadership a hero's burial while leaves the other brother (Polyneices) to rot in the streets, exposed to the elements. For Antigone, her Parmenidean or eternal worldview transcends the immediate needs of the senses and politics. Harmony must be maintained through obedience to the gods. This is contrasted with Creon's Heraclitean view which stresses that strife is the natural state of order and this must be accepted as part of life. Antigone's refusal to accept Creon's dictate results in her death, but her moral belief system ultimately triumphs even though Creon lives on at the end of the play, a broken man.
Creon's refusal to let Polyneices be buried was a very serious offense in ancient Greece religion, given that it was believed that if someone was not laid to rest, the soul could not enter the underworld and experience a final judgment. In deciding to leave the body exposed, Creon has effectively taken on the role of the moral arbiter of justice himself, claiming that his role as king makes him a fitter judge than the gods. In doing so, and showing such hubris, he brings the wrath of the gods upon his head and ultimately loses his son and wife as a result.
The dramatic impetus for Creon's demise comes when Antigone resolves to bury her brother's body. She does so out of family loyalty: for Antigone, loyalty to the gods and to her family trumps that of the loyalty owed to the state. Creon believes he can ignore the standards of religious justice and moral law because of his needs as a leader. From his point-of-view, he has a very logical reason for prohibiting the burial of Polyneices: he wishes to make an example of the young man to others who would challenge his leadership. Creon hopes that others who would consider rebelling against Thebes will look at the rotting man's body and shudder in fear. Creon would thus argue that the greater good is preserved by ensuring that the social order of the city remains intact, and Antigone's personal, familial feelings are less relevant.
However, Antigone believes that the values of the gods and the family are eternal, while the existence of all human-constructed states is transient. Thus, in defiance of Creon's order that anyone who buries her brother will be punished by death, she does her best (her sister refuses to help her) to throw dust over Polyneices' corpse. In Antigone's view, the point is not whether Polyneices was good or bad -- he was her brother, and she owes him this act of sacrifice, even if it means losing her life. He is her brother; that is all she needs to know.
In the higher, eternal moral economy respected by Antigone, the gods can do as they please -- they can do away with cities and kings, but their law must not be questioned. It is they who reserve the right to judge and make examples of the souls of humans, not kings. Antigone does not fear Creon's judgment because she looks to a higher authority as a guide for her actions, as well as honors the emotional ties of her heart. Also, she observes, that she can never replace her brother, unlike a husband, or even a king. Other roles in the lives of human beings are replaceable, but family is not.
Creon is in defiance of the gods' law by preventing the soul of Polyneices to be judged by the higher authorities of Olympus who may or may not decide to punish or forgive the young man: it does not matter; it is not Creon's role to judge souls as a mortal king. This becomes clear as the arbitrary and capricious nature of the gods' justice, which is not always 'fair' in the same manner as human justice, unfolds in the final reckoning of the play. When Antigone's actions are discovered, Creon resolves to make an example of her disobedience, just as he made an example of her brother's dead body. Creon walls Antigone up in a cave, burying her alive. When he realizes that he has displeased the gods, he tries to undo the mischief by setting her free. However, it is too late -- Antigone has already hanged himself. Creon's son Haemon, who is betrothed to be married to Antigone and loves the young woman, kills himself when he sees his beloved's corpse. And Creon's wife Eurydice kills herself in despair over the loss of her son.
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