Kreon Religion In Antigone

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Kreon is a “cliché” tyrant who is willing to use any mean to achieve his purpose (Morwood, 40). His unjustifiable tyranny materializes vividly when he threatens, without any legal base, the Guard, who told him that someone buried Polyneike’s corpse, if he does not reveal who commit the “dirty” crime (369-371). Kreon’s initial decree states the punishment of burying Polyneike is public stoning (Morwood, 40). However, he violates his own law as he changes the punishment to “a living entombment” (Morwood, 40). Furthermore, when his son, Haimon, confronts his decision, Kreon violates his law again and orders his men to drag Antigone and slaughter her in front of his son (819-821). Thus, Kreon lacks an objective judgment and does not act…show more content…
the gods, prophets, texts, and even seers) to serve his purpose. However, if his interests clash with the religion’s doctrine, the cliché tyrant will disobey the religion, which is the case of Kreon. First, he reassures Teiresias, the blind seer, that he is a “witness” to the honesty of his wisdom (1056). However, when Teiresias, whose point of view is “given a divine endorsement,” advises him to bury Polyneike, Kreon objects and states that he will not allow the burial to happen—not “even if the eagle of Zeus [… snatch] him up to the throne of [the] god” (Morwood, 38 - Ant. 1108-1109). Even though he regrets his blasphemy later as he orders the Polyneike corpse to be buried, it is too…show more content…
Kreon’s insistence on his first decree is driven by his ambition to restore order and to provide stability in the city (seeking power). However, he ignores that seeking stability is not an end in itself. It is a mean towards a greater good—achieving justice, for instance. Polyneike’s rotten body symbolizes Kreon’s injustice, which is just like a rotten body: it affects the surroundings. Kreon’s tragedy reaches its climax when he discovers that his son and wife commit suicide and he finds no one else to blame but himself. His pride does not allow him to listen to the other side of the argument. As for Antigone, seeking individual justice and personal glory leads her to death. She can argue that she seeks justice for her brother, who represents a collective unity to her. However, she would not seek justice for a husband or a child, who, by definitions, should represent a collective unity to her, too. She seeks justice for a particular individual, which is the opposite of a collective social

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