Antigone-Higher Law vs. Laws of City States

A detailed Summary of Antigone-Higher Law vs. Laws of City States

Laws of the City-State vs. Higher Law as Seen in Sophocles' "Antigone"

In Ancient Greece, after 800 bc., new ideas came to the forefront concerning the governing of society. These ideas led to a more organized leadership and a government whose decisions were primarily based on majority rule. This system took the form of city-states, large self-governing towns. These city-states were founded on principals of "freedom, optimism, secularism, rationalism,...[and] the glorification of body and mind". Accompanying these principals was an obligation of fierce loyalty to the city-state and a willingness to shed blood for its betterment. These ideals, while ambitious and noble, often ran in stark contrast with those previously laid down by Greek gods, whose routes went back to the chaotic Dark Age of Greece(1150-800 bc.). Problems of this sort were probably commonly debated in city-states during the time Sophocles wrote "Antigone".

In the play "Antigone", Antigone is faced with an extreme example of this conflict. Her Brother, considered a traitor by the king, has died, and she must decide whether to give him a proper burial or yield to the king's wishes and allow his body to be desecrated. She chooses to bury him, citi

Creon's actions, although seemingly savage and unjust, can easily be justified within the culture of the Greek city-state. In this society, freedom and leisure time were enjoyed with the assumption that when the time came, every able bodied man would be willing to fight for his people. Indeed, political leaders and local authority figures were usually heroes of war. A policy Creon wholeheartedly endorses, "Alive or dead, the faithful servant of his country shall be rewarded." But Creon seems to take his loyalty a step further, perhaps to set the standard for the remainder of his term in office. It is in one of his first orations as king that he says, "As God is my witness...no man who is his countries enemy shall call me a friend." . It is clear that he aims to establish himself as a true patriot of the state. In this fiery speech Creon also foreshadows the tragic end, "I have always held the view...that a king...unwilling to seek advice, is damned." , advice he would have done well to take himself. In trying to impress his citizens it seems Creon's judgment becomes clouded and he construes the Greek ideal of loyalty into a liscence to do whatever he wants and disregard the will of the people, who are who he is supposed to serve in this "ideal" society.

ng the will of the gods. "I will bury my brother, and if I die for it...convicted of reverance-I shall be content" , she remarks to her sister in defiance. Later, when captured and bro

Some common words found in the essay are:
Creon Antigone, Ancient Greece, Antigone Antigone, Teiresias Sophocles, Achilles Odysseus, Age Greece1150-800, creon antigone, Laws City-State, proper burial,

Approximate Word count = 985
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English