Antigone Abstract

The world of the Greeks was based on the "divine laws" set by the Gods who were the rulers of the land and who promoted people to heaven or hell. At times, Creon, the city's new leader, followed the rules, but in most cases went with what he felt was good for the state. Antigone on the other hand created this mindset thinking that if the God's divine law is not followed all bad will happen, which in the end really did happen.

The first example to support this theme of Antigone was when Antigone went and buried her brother without permission from the state. Antigone, at the beginning of the play, to her sister Ismene, that "...I will do my part----and yours, if you will not----to a brother. False to him I will never be found..."(Hadas 118) This quote shows how determined and faithful she was to the Gods, "divine law" and to her family, whether the law got in the way or not. But, after the fight between the two brothers, by Creon not giving Polyneices a proper burial he was going against the "divine laws" set by the Gods and only doing what he thought was right because he believed that only his word would actually count and he always had the right answer.

The second example to support this theme of Antigone was when the guards brought her inside to talk to Creon, she told him that the reason why she buried Polyneices without state permission is because "...for it was not Zeus that had published that edict;"(Hadas 127) and she also told him that "... Nor did it deem that your decrees were of such force that a mortal could override the unwritten and unfailing statutes of heaven..."(Hadas 127) By telling Creon this, Antigone is defending herself for burying her brother and she is also letting Creon know that he did mess up and that he is not the all powerful, but the ones who made Earth and put him on the land are whose laws count, and his cannot override the laws of the Gods.