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Alondra M. Gomez

Dr. McCarthy

UHON 1010

20 November 2017

The Hypocrisy of Antigone

In Sophocles’ Antigone, Creon is repeatedly portrayed as a stubborn, power-hungry leader

set in his ways. His selfishness and misguided perception for the burial of Polynices lead him to

defy the authority of the gods and endanger the lives of others. Because of his clouded judgment,

he makes irrational decisions and stubbornly stands by them. In the end, Creon’s reckless behavior

as king proves to be the downfall of his family. However, similar blame can be placed on Antigone,

who is commonly acknowledged as the heroine of the play. In Antigone’s efforts to bring honor

to her brother, she defies the authority of the king. Her clouded judgement for the burial of

Polynices cause her to make irrational decisions, and the stubbornness of her actions end up risking

the well-being of those closest to her. Like Creon, she too is blinded to the fact that her behavior

ultimately does more harm than good. Surprisingly enough, Antigone goes on to embody the

characteristics of the one she most despises.

As the new ruler of Thebes, Creon has decreed that the body of Polynices be denied burial

rites, even mourning. Creon’s decree to leave the body unburied is a disrespect to the authority of

the gods, Greek culture, and their “great unwritten, unshakable traditions” (505). It is also a

disrespect to the deceased whose spirit is now unable to enter the underworld. This is paralleled in

Antigone’s stubborn desire to bury the body. By refusing to see her brother become carrion “for

birds that scan the field and feast to their heart’s content” (36), Antigone chooses to disrespect the

authority of the king and proceeds to bury the body. In doing so, she defies the crown and severely
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oversteps her boundaries as a woman in ancient Greece, a time in which women were merely

viewed as objects of possession, “not born to contend with men” (75).

Creon’s attempts to bring order into a previously cursed city lead him to take advantage of

his newly appointed role as king. In his need to assert his legitimacy as the new ruler of Thebes,

his judgement becomes clouded by the weight of the crown and his thirst for power. His desire is

not to be a virtuous king but rather a powerful one: one with no sympathy for the grievances of his

people, who “keep their tongues in leash” (570) out of fear of his “ruthless power” (566). Antigone

is much the same way. Her honest efforts to bury the body of Polynices are clouded by her need

to glorify herself, as she wonders, “what greater glory could I win / than to give my brother decent

burial?” (561-562). Fully aware of the consequences for breaking the law, she accepts the risk

knowing that “even if I die in the act, that death will be a glory” (86). It is this maddening desire

that keep her from pondering the ramifications her actions will have on those closest to her in the

future.

Struggling to rationalize against his father’s hard ruling, Haemon begs Creon to not “be

quite so single-minded, self-involved / or assume the world is wrong and you are right” (789-790).

Unwilling to admit that his behavior has been irrational, Creon accuses Haemon of becoming a

“woman’s accomplice” (837) and “woman’s slave” (848), allowing his stubbornness to get in the

way of his relationship with his son. This is also apparent in Creon’s encounter with the old seer

Tiresias, in which he accuses the prophet of lies and states that, “You and the whole breed of seers

are mad for money!” (1171). This much is also true of Antigone. In Ismene’s attempt to bring her

sister to her senses, she begs Antigone to think of the death they’ll die if they “violate the laws and

override / the fixed decree of the throne” (72-73). In turn, Antigone accuses her sister of being a

“coward” (45) and asks that Ismene “leave [her] to [her] own absurdity” (110). When Ismene tries
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to reassure Antigone that her quest is hopeless, Antigone responds to Ismene, “you will make me

hate you” (108). It is here that the reader encounters Antigone’s first act of cold-heartedness

towards Ismene as she begins to forsake the sisterly bond they once shared.

Throughout the whole play, the actions of Creon and Antigone are filled with recklessness.

Having no regard for how their deeds will affect those around them, they sow nothing but chaos

into the lives of their loved ones. Creon’s hateful demeanor towards Haemon as he tries to

rationalize with his father lead Creon to attempt the extreme. Unwilling to swallow his pride and

witness himself be “schooled by a boy [Haemon’s] age” (814), Creon immediately orders that

Antigone “die now, here, / in front of his eyes, beside her groom!” (853-854). This recklessness

on Creon’s part is what keeps him from making sense of Haemon’s warning that “her death will

kill another” (843). The same is true of Antigone. Her thirst for glory and eagerness to bury the

body of Polynices make her ignorant to the consequences Ismene will suffer on her behalf. It is

because of Antigone’s recklessness and her selfish thirst for glory that Ismene is also accused of

breaking the law. Not wanting to live a life without her sister, Ismene succumbs to the accusation,

only to hear Antigone’s cold words, “I have no love for a friend who loves in words alone” (612).

Not only does Antigone’s death affect Ismene, but it goes on to affect Haemon as he finds her

body “hanged by the neck in a fine linen noose” (1347) in the tomb. This act of hers not only fully

brakes the prospect of their once planned marriage, it is the driving force behind Hameon’s

decision to lunge “his full weight on the blade” (1363) of Creon’s sword and end his own life. This

curse of death, brought forth by Antigone, goes so far as to also affect Queen Eurydice who

“stabbed herself at the altar” (1426) upon hearing of the death of her son.

Creon and Antigone’s attempt to do something good only serve to jeopardize the ones they

love. If Creon truly cared about bringing order into the city and becoming a respected king, he
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should have given more thought to what his people wanted and needed, rather than questioning if

Thebes was “about to tell me how to rule?” (821). As for Antigone, if she truly cared about

honoring the dead, she should have paid closer attention to her actions instead of justifying them

by saying that she has “longer/ to please the dead than please the living here” (88-89). As heroic

as her words may seem, she pays no attention to the fault behind her own logic. Her desperate

desire to honor the dead keeps her from realizing that her future in the underworld will be an

eternity shared with the living she once displeased. This lack of forethought is very similar to that

displayed in Creon’s behavior, yet Antigone rarely receives criticism. Readers tend to have a

prejudice against Creon but often overlook Antigone’s actions. An upbringing in a feminist world

enhances our positive bias towards Antigone, causing us to disregard the fact that Antigone’s

actions are just as misleading as Creon’s.

Works Cited

Sophocles. Antigone. The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus.

Translated by Robert Fagles, Penguin Group, 1984.