The Oedipus Trilogy, written by the great ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, concludes with one of the greatest civil and moral dilemmas of ancient literature. Following Oedipus infamous marriage to his mother Jocasta, and subsequent descent into despair, his and Jocasta’s four children attempt to live in the shadow of their parents’ legacy. Eteocles and Polynices, rather than ruling jointly or sequentially, kill each other in battle. Their sisters Ismene and Antigone, watch as their Uncle Creon honors the loyal Eteocles and condemns Polynices to rot outside the tomb of his ancestors as punishment for rising against his brother. Antigone, however, decides that her brother’s body will not be desecrated while she still draws breath.
Each character in Antigone explains why he believes the titular character is justified her in the burial of her brother—with the exception, of course, of the obstinate Creon, who does not yield until it is too late. In his eyes, his word is unchangeable law. Even the timid Ismene admits that Antigone is right, but that the living need her as well as the dead.
Though doubtless the majority position, that Antigone was right in burying her brother is difficult to ignore. To prove this point, I indent to show the Greek heroine’s decision from utilitarian, philosophical, and moral perspectives. She gave her uncle a chance to endear himself in the eyes of his people, demonstrating a political aspect that is hinted at in the play itself. Antigone’s rights were clearly violated by Creon’s edict, as a real life Grecian experienced in Ancient Athens. And lastly burying her brother was, in the context of Antigone’s culture, simply the right thing to do.
It is tempting to jump straight to a place of moral condemnation when discussing Creon’s obstinate refusal to spare his niece from his egotistical lawmaking. However, when discussed from a political perspective—the very perspective Creon claims favors him—it is Antigone who finds the most relevant perspective in Theban politics.
When Creon describes Antigone as tainted with evil, his son Haemon rebukes him, saying that the people of Thebes are firmly behind her decision to bury her brother. “Shall Thebes prescribe to me how I must rule?” Creon asks. Haemon, insistent that an experienced ruler knows when to humor his people, replies, “See, there thou hast spoken like a youth indeed.” (Sophocles) Had Creon treated Antigone with the respect a family member deserved, he could have used his niece’s defiance as a way to align himself with the will of the gods. Creon is not the submitter, but the wise counselor who spares his niece in honor of the gods of the dead.
The idea of controlling the people to obtain power is explored in detail in Niccolò Machiavelli’s famous political treatise, The Prince. He argues that even the most corrupt ruler should be willing to give the people enough to please them, since their primary desire is not to be oppressed. If this is balanced with a lingering need for the ruler, Machiavelli argues that his power will be difficult to usurp.
Though he takes a harder line than I suggest in pleasing the people, I feel that my suggestion that Antigone’s family loyalty should have been used to political ends to be in the spirit of Machiavelli’s work. Take, for example, his view of the people: “…men are so simple, and so subject to present necessities, that he who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived.” (Machiavelli 1102). By telling the people it was his intention to please the Gods (rather than simply saving face), Creon could have deceived the people into thinking of him as a righteous leader.
But the situation had other elements. Creon feared that pardoning Antigone would be seen as submission—bad as a ruler and, in his eyes, worse because the object of his pardon would be a woman. He is quite blunt in his sexism: “Better to fall from power, if we must, by a man’s hand; then we should not be called weaker than a woman.” (Sophocles) Creon did not think it possible to cede his position without ceding an aspect of his masculinity.
If he were to decree Antigone’s pardon as the will of the gods, who could deny his strength? The faith that I place on this theological manipulation is not merely a declaration of the power of religion itself. Even devout atheist Sigmund Freud conceded the great power of mankind’s conception of deity: “The ordinary man cannot imagine this Providence in any other form but that of a greatly exalted father, for only such a one could understand the needs of the sons of men, or be softened by their prayers and placated by the signs of their remorse.” (Freud 21) He speaks of our need for a compassionate God who cares about our needs and remorse for our wrongdoing. Such gods were worshiped by the Thebans, who would have seen Creon’s gesture of compassion as an extension of the compassion of the gods.
In the end, it is a divine decree that sways Creon’s mind—too late for niece and son. Solidarity with divine forces would have been seen as a point of strength and wisdom by the people of Thebes. Antigone’s defiance then, is not merely an expression of her family loyalty, but could have been an invaluable tool for Creon to solidify his rule over Thebes.
Antigone’s defiance is not merely, as Creon saw it, a case of a woman usurping the proper power of men. It is, in my mind, a classic example of the philosophy of Socrates, who declared life must be examined to achieve its potential.
Socrates, as a critic of his society, met with an end similar to Antigone’s. The two characters, one real and one fictional, were remarkable forerunners of Western individualism. According to Socrates, everyone should remain critical of his society (Plato), thus keeping in check its excesses. When Athens tried to condemn six defeated generals to death for abandoning their men, Socrates, who happened to be holding public office at the time, was outraged that mob rule was subverting the law. In the end, the generals were executed, but Athens regretted the decision. Had they listened to Socrates, who argued for due process, the trial may have gone differently.
His willingness to stand out, dissent from leadership, and even critique Greek beauty standards earned Socrates a reputation that would cost him his life when Athens needed a scapegoat. He was indicted as a corruptor of youth and antagonist of the gods. Though he defended himself eloquently, he was still convicted by a narrow margin.
Antigone likewise employed a philosophy in which her decision to bury her brother was justified because it was her right to do so. She recognized that Creon would disagree and that she would most likely be put to death, but she was unwilling to compromise her beliefs simply to live longer. She says of her uncle, “he hath no right to keep me from mine own.” (Sophocles) Antigone knew she bore an inalienable right to bury her dead family member. This philosophy places the rights of individuals higher than the ability of the government to restrict those rights.
And as it is logical for Antigone to obey the law, it is logical for her to retain her right to bury her family. When the two conflict, which triumphs? In Antigone’s reasoning, her eternal duty rests with her dead brother, not her living uncle: “I shall rest, a loved one with him whom I have loved, sinless in my crime; for I owe a longer allegiance to the dead than to the living: in that world I shall abide for ever.” (Sophocles) Since she must pick one, she picks the one that answers to her conscience most closely.
Her attitude echoes the last words of Socrates defense: “The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways—I to die, and you to live. Which is better God only knows.” (Plato)
The moral aspect of Antigone’s position is perhaps the most complex. She follows her conscience in a logical decision, yes—but is her conscience correct?
Antigone’s decision is foremost, a familial one. She explains as much to her sister Ismene: “I will do my part,—and thine, if thou wilt not,—to a brother. False to him will I never be found.” (Sophocles) More than defying Creon, Antigone argues that she is staying loyal to her family. Eteocles has been appropriately honored, but Polynices will be eaten by vultures unless Antigone buries him herself. She recognizes that her family has been fraught with misfortune, but she denies that it has any bearing on her loyalty. Whatever the sins of her parents and siblings, they still are in her care, even in death.
The religion of Ancient Greece also plays a part in the nature of Antigone’s decision. For a soul to properly find peace in the afterlife, it was essential for the body to be buried. Leaving Polynices to be eaten by vultures was, in the eyes of all Thebans, the denial of his soul’s final rest. Antigone’s compulsion to honor her brother’s death was also religious. In her last recorded words, she cries out, “Behold me, princes of Thebes, the last daughter of the house of your kings,—see what I suffer, and from whom, because I feared to cast away the fear of Heaven!” (Sophocles)
Moral dissension from the government is the key component of Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience. The concept is embodied in Antigone in a bold way. Antigone is not merely denying the government taxes because she does not agree with their wars. She disobeys the government’s decree to act by the dictates of her conscience.
In Civil Disobedience, Thoreau discusses the nature of supporting governmental decisions:
It is not a man’s duty, as a matter of course, to devote himself to the eradication of any, even the most enormous wrong; he may still properly have other concerns to engage him; but it is his duty, at least, to wash his hands of it, and, if he gives it no thought longer, not to give it practically his support. (Thoreau)Antigone does not, at any point in the play, have the luxury of this kind of decision. But she nevertheless typifies the kind of personal resistance to which Thoreau attaches so much value. Her goal is not to change the entire structure of Theban government, or even to change Creon. She only wishes to maintain her integrity by giving the honor due to her deceased brother.
The firm instance of a young girl to retain her loyalty in the face of death inspires not only one of the most compelling tragedies of all time, but a dynamic treatise on the relationship between the individual and the government.
We have examined this issue from utilitarian, philosophical, and moral perspectives. Antigone’s desire, aligned firmly with the people of Thebes, provided Creon an opportunity to improve his image as King, which he throws away despite abundant counsel to the contrary. In the pattern of Greek tragedies, however, this is not his primary punishment. He loses his wife, son and niece in death, not merely an opportunity.
Antigone’s actions matched her philosophy of life, on that is analogous to that of Socrates, one of the great thinkers of the ancient world. The individual is not an agent of society, but a member of it, one with his or her thoughts and actions. Antigone’s right to bury her brother goes beyond the power of the government.
The moral aspect of Antigone’s decision could receive endless discussion, but put most simply, it is her familial and religious duty to bury her brother. She finds not only right but necessity in these two areas. She must obey her conscience because she has found what is right, and no one can stop her.
And no one does. The legacy of Antigone will linger on in Western Literature as a powerful reminder of the potency of individualism, family ties, and religious fervor. The reader of the play receives a sense that the deaths of Antigone and her relations serves not merely as a warning, but as a compelling call to strongly follow one’s convictions in the face of any odds.
Works Cited
Freud, Sigmund. “Civilization and Its Discontents.” Internet Archive. Web. 20 Sep 2015.
Machiavelli, Niccolò. The Prince. The University of Adelaide Library. Web. 20 Sep 2015.
Plato. Apology. Web. 15 Sep 2015.
Sophocles. Antigone. Web. 15 Sep 2015.
Thoreau, Henry David. Civil Disobedience. Web. 18 Sep 2015.
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