The Greek play Antigone, written by Sphocles, stresses the use of power and morality versus the law. The story deals with Antigone’s brother whose body has been left unburied because of crimes against the state. The sight of her brother being unburied drives Antigone to take action against the state and bury her brother regardless of the consequences. Antigone percieves her actions to be courageous and valid, while Creon, the King of Thebes, percieves them as blasphemous. Antigone justifies her actions through the fact that divinity and humanity are shown to be colliding forces where divinity out weighs humanity in ancient Greece. This thereby creates Antigone as a political play dealing with the conflict between the laws of the state and the conscience of an individual citizen of the state.
Antigone follows divine laws, while Creon follows the laws of the state. Her brother’s afterlife was so important to Antigone that she was willing to give up anything to ensure her brother’s happiness and "future" after his death. This supported in the play by the way she is so outspoken about what she had done after she is caught and while she is being questioned. "Why should I be ashamed of my loyalty to my brother?" Creon didn’t like her speaking in the manner such as this because it shows him that she has no remorse for disobeying his orders. Furthermore, it damaged Creon’s incredible pride. Hiss pride is so great, he can’t even be swayed by his son Haimon. Haimon asks his father to take his advice and not have Antigone executed, but, because of Creon’s stubborness for the law of the state, Creon gets furious and makes the situation worse then it already was. He was way too proud to take advice from someone younger, and in his anger he decided to kill Antigone right away in front of Haimon’s eyes. "’Just understand: You don’t insult me and go off laughing. Bring her here! Let him see her. Kill her here, beside her bridegroom’”. This was too much for Haimon to take, and he runs out of the room, yelling, "’…her death will destroy others’" Blinded by his pride and arrogance, Creon takes that remark as a threat to himself, unknowing that it wasn’t directed to him, but was a suicide threat by his own son.
However, Creon may have been viewed as justified in his actions as well. Creon states that the gods would be unhappy if a traitor to their earth were to be buried. Someone that was a traitor to the Gods land would not be admired. The gods would agree that the person should be punished. He "should" have been taken as correct on this argument because kings were the lawgivers and thought to be god-like. The same type of thing goes on in today’s government with our president. If we don’t like him , which many may not, that does not give us the right to ignore his laws or the laws of this country. The fact is laws are made for a reason, be it good or bad. Even though they may seem a little far-fetched now, they were probably very reasonable then. The law may seem to be unjust to us in today’s society but that does not give anyone the right to create their own laws to live by. Unless, they are rebelling against absolutism; and this is precisely what Antigone was doing. In the story, Creon was refferred to as a tyrant. By defining Creon as a tyrant, he serves as a dictator who took control and changed the laws of the land. Therefore, his laws were absolute, and unjust in the first place.
The morals that Antigone had instilled in her since the day of her birth are what caused her to rise above Creone’s tyrany. Her moral conscience could not allow her brother not to be buried. The fact that she was a woman standing up to the King, of all people, didn’t help sway Creon’s decision. Back then women did not have any more rights than the slaves did and to be talked to in such a powerful way by a woman was just unheard of, especially to a ruler. Only a strong willed woman with divine law in her corner could hope to accomplish a goal like standing up to a tyrant. Despite that, Creon had a chance to make amends. He was forewarned of his stupidity by many people "All mankind is subject to error. Once a mistake is made… it is wise of him to make amends and not be unbending. Stubbornness is stupidity’". Teiresias, a old man who could accurately tell the future, spoke these words to Creon. However, Creon’s stubborness held strong. This is why his egotistical nature kept him from being righteous.
The contradictions between the beliefs and actions of Creon and Antigone are strong throughout the play. Both have well-structured arguments, but neither completely dominated the other. Antigone is motivated by her strong religious feelings while Creon is out to make good for his city-state. The chorus’ opinion is the determining factor, as in the end, they convince Creon to set Antigone free. Creon had to weigh each factor carefully, and in the end, he had to decide between ideals. His mind was torn up in two. “It is hard to give way, and hard to end and abide the coming of the curse. Both ways are hard.” The contradiction of ideals was what led to Antigone’s and Haimon’s death. Both sides were just, all beliefs were supported. Creon was forced to decide the anunswerable, decipher the encoded, complete the impossible, and determine right from wrong when there was no clear answer. Antigone’s actions were justified in tragedy of Antigone. Yet the magnitude of her actions can only be viewed when set against the background of the time period. A strong woman was unheard of in ancient Greece. But the interpretation that Antigone was justified in her actions and that she acted on the side of divinity, can help to visualize the text and the culture that produced Antigone.

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