Antigone Loyalty Quotes

The Broken Mirror of Loyalty Antigone, a classical Greek tragedy by Sophocles. One of the most common ideas expressed by the play is loyalty and dedication, primarily pertaining to the characters Antigone, Creon, and Haimon. Loyalty is conveyed by Sophocles as twisted and abstract. Creon’s pride clashes with his self-proclaimed devotion to the state, while Antigone’s ideology of honoring her family conflicts with her sister.

However, on the other hand, Creon is also stubborn and unwilling to listen to the opinions of others. He is a man who is unwilling to consider alternative viewpoints, and this ultimately leads to his downfall. His rigid adherence to the laws of the state causes him to make cruel and unjust decisions, particularly in regards to the treatment of Antigone. He believes that his actions are just and that he is acting in the best interests of the state, but in reality, his decisions are driven by his own pride and desire for power.

Or to break my sworn word? No, and I will not. / The woman dies”(Sophocles 3.26-28). Creon’s ideals of loyalty are those of familial and governmental.

When people demonstrate devotion or loyalty, they typically take pride in whatever they support because they think it is worthy of their devotion. People today take pride in their beliefs, but so did people a long time ago. In the play Antigone by Sophocles, the story follows Antigone, the niece of Creon, the king of Thebes, as she supports her beliefs. Antigone’s brothers Polynices and Eteocles were recently in a war against each other, Eteocles fighting for Thebes, and Polynices taking people from Argos to fight against Thebes.

Core values impact choices greatly, and in the play Antigone they may have impacted choices that led to the fatalities of Creon's entire family. Creon had a strong hatred for traitors and it definitely showed in the choices he made. Also he saw the city he rules as more important than his family and it was clearly evident in the choices he made. Then there was Creon's untrusting nature that caused him to make choices he would later regret. Creon's core values heavily impacted his decisions throughout the play and changed his life forever.

Where There Is Pride There Is Pain “ All men make mistakes… But when they do, they’re no longer foolish… If they try to fix the evil into which they’ve fallen… Men who put their stubbornness on show invite accusations.” (lines 1140-1147) Antigone’s words, actions, and ideas, contrast with Creon’s character to the point of these two characters having conflicting motivations.

In the play, Creon makes many decisions based on his intuition, and it is these choices that develop him as a tragic hero. An example of an event that contributes to his eventual downfall is when Creon declares his proclamation regarding the fate of Antigone's brother: "Polyneices, who returned from exile, eager to wipe out in all-consuming fire his ancestral city and its native gods, keen to seize upon his family’s blood and lead men into slavery—for him, the proclamation in the state declares he’ll have no burial mound, no funeral rites, and no lament. He’ll be left unburied, " (Sophocles, lines 227-234). In this passage, Creon shows his self-assurance in his authority as a ruler. His belief in his own judgments and unwavering commitment to punishing those he deems traitors based on his own assumptions demonstrates his trait of being self-assured.

He expresses this by stating,”Unfortunately... the prince Eteocles and Polyneices, have killed each other... I, as next blood, have… full power of… throne... no traitor is honored...whoever shows by word or deed...shall have...my reverence when he is dead.” Creon is informing the people of Thebes not only that he has been crown king fairly but also that whoever goes against the law that was enforced will suffer the consequences.

As long as I am King, no traitor is going to be honored with the loyal man. But whoever shows by word and deed that he is on the side of the State,––he shall have my respect while he is living and my reverence when he is dead ( Scene 1). Creon’s regards towards his own laws cause him to withdraw from all other beliefs or opinions that others have to offer him. He believes that the people of Thebes should obey his rules if they want his support.

At the very end of the play Creon decides to live with his actions (Sophocles 94). This shows that Creon has learned from his experiences which is honorable and noble quality. Furthermore, Creon made a choice that brought about failure must have been made to bring about results opposite to what actually happens (Aristotle). Creon enforced the laws so heavily because he wanted to protect the people.

(Antigone 8). This quote shows that he wants everyone to obey him and anyone who disobeys him will get in trouble. The last support can be found when Creon said, “But he who crosses law, or forces it, or hopes to bring the ruler under him, shall never have a word of praise from me.” (Antigone 23). This means that Creon is “madly in love” with his power and thinks that he can do anything because he is the king.

In the tragedy Antigone by Sophocles, Creon is an authoritative and wise ruler. For example, when Creon addresses the Chorus, he says, "...and as for the man who sets private friendship above the public welfare -- I have no use for him either" (1.23-25). Clearly, Creon informs the Chorus that he has "no use" for anyone who practices favoritism, and he makes it clear that he expects each of his officers to act professionally and responsibly. Though this lack of tolerance may seem cruel, it only helps Creon to assert his authority over the others; but one could argue that this quality is necessary to maintain order in one's kingdom. Obviously, as stated by Creon earlier that, "no ruler can expect complete loyalty for his subjects until he has

In ancient Greece, a common saying that all citizens had in their very core, a traditional Greek principle, was this: love your friends, and hate your enemies. This rule seems pretty straightforward and would appear easy to apply in real life. However, in the timeless play Antigone, Sophocles shows his audience a situation where this maxim does not apply. Sophocles concentrates on a complex story where the values and principles of the ancient Greek culture come into conflict. Religious or moral versus secular, family versus community, and living versus dead: all of these conflicting aspects are explored in Antigone.

He openly defies the gods wishes for all people to be buried and becomes mad with the power of a king (Sophocles, Antigone lines 528-554). He shows his “good side” only after he is punished by the gods. At the end of the play, Creon asserts himself by declaring that he regrets his actions as king and pities himself for

Love is a powerful motivation it can even drive you into hating someone, love drives you to do even what you wouldn’t normally do. Creon makes a law that forbids anyone from burying Antigone’s brother. When she finds out she goes against the king and buries her brother. When he is informed about what happened he punishes her. Antigone kills herself and then his son kills himself when he finds out that his love had died.