Creon, State vs. Family the

¶ … creon, state vs. family The story that Sophocles creates goes back into the times of ancient Greek and the Thebes' civil war. It starts with the decision of the Creon, new king of Thebes to offer honors to Eteocles and to leave unburied, on the battle field, the body of Polyneices, Eteocles' brother. This decision, of not honoring Polyneices for acting against Thebes, offers the conditions of a classical Greek tragedy involving politics, family relations, death and a strong set of Greek democracy symbols.

Antigone, sister of Polyneices, decides to bury his brother with all honors despite the order that no citizen of the city will offer honors of burial. As soon as Creon finds out that Polyneices was buried, he orders that the person responsible be brought to him to receive the capital punishment for defying his order. As both Antigone and her sister Ismene are brought to Creon he decides to temporarily put the two in lock down.

Although death would have been the punishment for the two, Creon, after a fight with his son Haemon, decides to bury Antigone alive and to spare Ismene, although the signs that this was a wrong decision appear more and more. Sophocles ends the play in a tragic manner, when Antigone, Haemon and Creon's wife Eurydice kill themselves as a result of Creon's decisions. After this brief summary, it is evident that one of the most important issues to be discussed regarding this play are Creon's decisions.

He, as a new king, is trapped between family and state, between Gods' will and family values. What begins to be important for him at the beginning -- rules and state -- begins to fade away towards the end when he realizes that more importantly than that are family and morality. Sophocles' "Antigone" becomes, when analyzing Creon, a story of choice, decision and how a leader wins wisdom through making mistakes. Creon is a new king that comes to power after a civil war in a rather fragile state system.

As a leader in ancient Greece, Creon needs to enforce strongly his position and any action of his, especially during the beginning of his reign, has to be carried out in perfect conditions. Although he is advised that denying Polyneices's burial might have unwanted consequences, Creon decides exactly that, aiming at creating for his citizens the image of a leader that respects the laws of the state. Citizenship is an important political tool in the hands of a ruler and altering its rules might shake a ruler's position.

A citizen of the state does not act against the state, and once he decided that Polyneices has betrayed Thebes, he also removes his citizenship. Creon makes his first bad political decision when he decides to deny Polyneices' burial and sets the rules of the state, the human-made laws, in an adverse position than the rules of the Gods. The strong family relation, loyalty to family values and most of all towards the Gods, makes Antigone defy Creon's decision and buries her brother.

Put in front of such a complicated situation, to decide the killing of his son's fiance, Creon begins to doubt his initial decision. This is an important moment in the analysis of Creon's evolution. The strong position he adopted in denying the right for burial and, most of all, the punishment of anyone attempting it, is weakened when faced with family values.

What actually seems to be important to him is not the law of state but an image of a strong ruler in face of his people; an image of a powerful and consistent ruler to his decisions. Not following his own rules, in the end, would make him attractive to Thebes as he would stay close to the rules of Gods. Following his words, would have meant the despise of all Greece, something no political strategy would allow.

It could be said that his change of direction comes, therefore, from two causes. The first, and the immediate one, comes from the pressures the Chorus puts him to. It could be argued that the Chorus, in this case, is his political conscience that asks for admitting that his decision is detrimental for his rule. A leader that creates rules with effects that are opposing the beliefs of his people has little chance for a good reign, especially in the shadows of a civil war.

A state with a fragile political and social system is vulnerable to exterior forces. The other cause of his decision to bury Polyneices and release Antigone is his son's request and arguments. The question of whether Creon changed his hierarchy of values remains. Did he decide to bury Polyneices and pardon Antigone due to his political strategy or due to realizing that it was not just and moral in the first place? Creon is proud and arrogant in many of the play's moments.

He believes he has the power to create social norms and that morality is a business of the state. His pride and arrogance make him believe that he is more important than Thebes and that his words are all that matters. Therefore, by punishing Antigone who kept the tradition of the Gods, he puts himself in an antagonistic position with his community. A king, besides being strong or courageous, should also show compassion and be wise in his decisions.

Once he discovers the death of his son, his wife and Antigone, the king understands that his actions have.