Heroic Leaders

A detailed Summary of Heroic Leaders

Heroic leaders come in many odd shapes and forms. As can be seen in the characters of Sophocles' Oedipus the King and Antigone. Contained within these famous Greek tragedies one can see how leadership is fostered and the challenges encountered by the two characters of Oedipus and Antigone. Although they are tragic heroic leaders, they are able to maintain an integrity that is vital in a leader. In comparing Oedipus and Antigone there is a similarity between them in terms of the main characters' leadership in response to situations.

Antigone was a hero in the play. Even though she directly disobeyed the orders of the king, she did what she knew was right. The right thing to do was to bury the body of her dead brother. The gods did not save her because they knew what was to come. By the death of Antigone, it would allow Haemon to kill himself, making Creon suffer more. By the rules he has set, he lived to regret making them. Antigone knew that it would not matter what the king or anyone else said. As long as it would please the immortals, it would be correct. By not burying the body of Polynices, it would not allow his soul to pass to the underworld. The Gods would not consider this good. They wanted to seek vengeance on Creon. N

Creon had all the rights to make the law against burying Polynices' body because he was the king. Though people may have disagreed with it, they would have to follow it. If they didn't, it was punishable by death. To most people it seemed reasonable, but to Antigone it didn't. This was her flesh and blood. She could not stand by and let the animals devour the corpse of her brother. Polynices gathered up an army and led it against Thebes. Any enemy of the city could and should be put to death. The law that Creon made was not at all unreasonable. It sounds like a pretty common occurrence when dealing with traitors. The only person it was unfair to was Antigone. Even Ismene would have obeyed the law. But Antigone insisted on taking care of her brother. She knew it would please the dead and the afterlife. It was more important to her because she knew the afterlife was eternal. So it was best not to mess up.

In conclusion, the two leaders Oedipus and Antigone are similar to the leadership and heroism they displayed and the conviction of their actions. Although their actions ended negatively, they were true to their roles of leadership when the situation demanded it; thus making them heroes. Oedipus and Antigone aren't commonly what one would refer to as a great heroic leader but I feel a leader who maintained their integrity shows great valor. Sophocles thus created characters of valiant magnitude but his plays also demonstrated that having a heroic persona might ver

Oedipus' intelligence was ultimately his flaw, hence his

Some common words found in the essay are:
Oedipus Antigone, Chorus Priest, Antigone Polynices, Oedipus King, Antigone Ismene, Antigone Contained, , oedipus antigone, answer riddle, answer riddle sphinx, heroic leaders, antigone hero, oedipus king, riddle sphinx, leadership response, oedipus tragic, answering riddle, sphinx killed,

Approximate Word count = 1033
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English