When Antigone goes against the king’s orders and buries her brother, she is acting in accordance with her own moral code. Antigone believes that it is more important to uphold the laws of the gods than those of man, and she is willing to suffer the consequences for her actions. This conflict between Antigone’s morality and the king’s laws creates a tense and suspenseful drama. Antigone is ultimately put to death for her beliefs, but she dies with her head held high, knowing that she has acted in accordance with her own conscience.
Sophocles’ Antigone is a tragedy that raises important questions about morality and the conflict between man-made laws and the laws of gods. Antigone’s story challenges our assumptions about right and wrong, and forces us to consider how we would act in similar circumstances. This makes Antigone an timeless and relevant work, still resonating with audiences today
In ancient Greece, life was full of perplexing issues that revolved around the growing field of science. Freedom of religion was encouraged in the city-states and man was more concerned with earthly matters than with the Gods or heavenly concerns. As a result, many new ideas and beliefs emerged. These new values, however beneficent in intention, frequently conflicted with one another, resulting in complex ethical problems.
In this period, certain plays such as Antigone by Sophocles show us. In the play, Antigone and Creon fight a metaphysical debate regarding their values. They both base their actions on what they believe is moral and wrong. The problem arose when their ideas that supported their behavior over Polyneices’ burial contradicted each other, generating a contradiction in ethics.
Antigone, the heroine of the play, believed in the idea of divine law which is based on natural law. Natural law consists of certain unwritten laws that are common to all humanity and were not created by any human authority. Antigone feels that it is her moral obligation to bury her brother because of this. On the other hand, Creon, Antigone’s uncle and king at Thebes, has just passed a decree stating that no one is to bury Polyneices because he was a traitor.
When Antigone goes against this decree she is seen as going against what is morally right in Creon’s eyes. So who is right? Who has the correct view of morality? Sophocles cleverly uses Antigone and Creon to show that morality is not always a simple concept, but instead can be relative.
In the original version of Antigone, however, Creon’s side was more holy than it is in Sophocles’ play. The everyday route followed by Creon contrasted strongly with Polynices’ noble death. In order to bury her brother, Antigone feels that Creon is disregarding the laws of the heavens by mandating that no one may give him a proper burial. According to Antigone’s thinking, if someone isn’t properly buried, he or she will not be accepted into heaven.
This is a direct contrast to Creon’s reasoning, which only cares about the laws of man. Antigone feels that the law of man should be subordinate to the law of the Gods. This is where Antigone and Creon’s morality diverge. Antigone has a very strong sense of morality that is based on her religious beliefs, while Creon’s morality is based on what he believes will maintain order in his kingdom.
While Antigone’s actions could be seen as Stubborn and short-sighted, she was motivated by something much greater than herself. Antigone was willing to give up her own life in order to uphold what she believed was right. Her beliefs were in direct opposition to Creon’s, which ultimately led to her demise. Antigone was a tragic hero in the sense that she was willing to die for her beliefs.
Her death served as a cautionary tale for those who would dare defy the Gods. Antigone’s story is a timeless tragedy that speaks to the human condition. We are all capable of making choices that lead to our downfall, but it is how we respond to those choices that defines us as individuals.
Antigone was a very religious individual, and the gods’ approval of her brother was extremely important to her. Antigone’s family life and the gods’ were invaded by Creon’s order, as well as his edict disrupted both of those things. In Ancient Greece, one of the most significant principles was that government should not interfere with matters relating to religion.
Antigone was willing to risk her life because she felt that it was more important to uphold her religious beliefs than to obey the law. Sophocles Antigone is a play about a young woman who is willing to risk her life in order to uphold her religious beliefs. Antigone is a very religious person and the acceptance of her brother by the Gods was very important to her.
Creons order was personal to Antigone and his edict invaded her family life as well as the Gods. An important ideal in Ancient Greece was the belief that the government was to have no control in matters concerning religious beliefs. Antigone was willing to risk her life because she felt that it was more important to uphold her religious beliefs than to obey the law.
Antigone is a tragic hero because she choose to put her own beliefs above the law, even though she knew that it would cost her her life. Sophocles Antigone is a play about morality and the conflict between following ones individual conscience versus adhering to the laws of society. Antigone is a prime example of a tragic hero who follows her conscience rather than the law. By doing so, she brings about her own downfall. Although Antigone’s actions are heroic, they are also foolhardy and result in her death.
In Sophocles Antigone, Antigone goes against Creon’s edict not to bury her brother Polynices and is willing to risk her life in order to give him a proper burial. Antigone believes that it is more important to uphold her religious beliefs than to obey the law. Antigone is a tragic hero because she choose to put her own beliefs above the law, even though she knew that it would cost her her life.