Creon In Antigone

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Kreon began his reign of rule in Thebes after turmoil in the city facing many adversities. For Niccolo Machiavelli the greatest good is the good of the state. "Reasons of state" are the decisive reasons that outweigh any others. The good of the state is an end in itself, its Machiavelli’s teleology. As a result, a ruler must be concerned not only with perception and appearance, but the leader must be positively willing to act immorally or in a sense “evil” at the right times. Machiavelli emphasized the occasional need for the exercise of brute force or deceit. Although Kreon starts out strong with a Machiavellian mindset in terms of concepts with how handles himself and attempts to retain his power, inevitably Kreon will ultimately fail for…show more content…
Creon's fierce dedication to law and order seems to be exactly what Thebes needs. The city is just coming back together from a state of total anarchy. The people need a strong and steadfast leader to bring them together. How's it going to look if Creon goes against the very first law he makes? Creon's concern for his public image is certainly in some ways self-motivated. A wishy-washy leader can be a very dangerous thing in a time of crisis. If Creon appears to be weak the whole city could descend back into chaos.
However, Kreon soon loses touch with reality and the wishes of the community and, as we continue to see in Antigone Kreon becomes a tyrant. Kreon judges things too his liking and remains arrogant until the end when it is too late. Also notice that Creon isn't totally assertive about his original decree. Over the course of Antigone he becomes less and less extreme moving away from Machiavellian principles. Kreon changes his mind on having Ismene executed along with her sister. Afterwards he has Antigone entombed instead of executed. In the end, Kreon is convinced by Teiresias's the blind prophets prediction and goes to right his wrongs with Antigone. Unfortunately, he's a little too late. Before Kreon can correct the errors of his judgment, his niece, his…show more content…
In this he means that any things that make someone look bad should be hidden. This is where Creon fails in keeping up with another Machiavellian principle. Machiavelli endorses being merciless and ruthless which is common tyrannical behavior. But not to be viewed as a tyrant is key to keeping power. Antigone reveals the public opinion of him when she says “The citizens here would all agree. if their lips weren’t locked in fear…Lucky tyrants ruthless power to say and do whatever pleases them.” (Sophocles, 555-574) That sums up how Kreon is viewed in Antigone as well why Kreon fails another aspect of Machiavelli’s principles but comes close in concept of his actions. But to look good to where it becomes a hindrance is bad, as he states, applying it to generosity, He means it’s good to be generous, but too much of it will be your downfall. Creon does not have Polyneikes body buried show no weakness or remorse for the enemy. Showing mercy to enemies is considered looking weak. Creon can’t show generosity to enemies, or he looks weak; that’s how he viewed his actions. That’s what Machiavelli was referring to when he said that being generous could become a rulers downfall. You need to look generous to the public eye when it is necessary but Kreon falters in his image as displayed through the Chorus and

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