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Edgar De Luna
Literary Tradition III
Dr. Saylor
9 November 2022
Awesome Title
In Sophocles’ Antigone, the author communicates the importance of balance in the
loyalty of the individual to the laws of the divine and civil authority. The main characters in the
play, Antigone and Creon, both possess an abundant fidelity to a particular one of these
authorities. Antigone prioritizes loyalty to divine law and her family, while Creon solely praises
the civil law which he imposes upon his citizens. Each of these characters take their respective
loyalties to the extreme while neglecting to take into account the opposing laws. This conflict
brings into question the extent to which divine law should be prioritized over civil law and vice
versa, as well as the interaction that human and divine will impose on the human person.
Although it may seem that Antigone emphasizes the importance of solely obeying civil or
divine law, the play conveys that in order for a society or an individual to flourish, both of
these extremes must be exercised in harmony with one another except when they conflict,
then divine law must be prioritized.
Antigone’s seemingly upstanding deeds of civil disobedience are driven by an excessive
love for her family and pious obedience to divine law. At the beginning of the play, Antigone
requests Ismene’s aid in secretly burying Polyneices, but she refuses by reminding Antigone
“that we two are women” (61) and “subject to stronger power” (64). Ismene understands that part
of Greek civil law expects women to obey the commands of their male superiors and that they
should be restricted to the household so as to not interfere in the affairs of the polis. Antigone
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challenges this tradition by crossing over to the affairs of the city, but her actions are driven by a
higher devotion to the laws that the Gods bestow upon men. She is able to bury her brother, thus
fulfilling her obligation to the dead Polyneices. However, the body is exhumed by Creon’s
soldiers to fulfill Creon’s decree. Rather than allowing this to transpire, Antigone “poured the
three libations for the dead” (431), thus attempting to repeat the funerary ritual for Polyneices.
Antigone displays an uncontrolled obedience to the laws of the divine, since according to Greek
tradition, Polyneices soul was able to dwell in the underworld following the completion of the
first funerary ritual. Furthermore, when Antigone is being questioned by Creon she claims that
Creon’s laws are trivial in comparison to her duty to obey divine law by giving Polyneices a
proper burial. She even claims that Creon’s decrees are incapable of surpassing “the god’s
unwritten and unfailing laws” (455). Thus, Antigone highlights the obligation of every citizen to
prioritize the laws of the Gods over those of men. She is so passionate about obeying the gods
that she is willing to perish in exchange for executing a holy crime (72-4). Antigone has multiple
options at her disposal on how to address her disobedience to Creon’s decree, but she
immediately submits to death while neglecting her family and her future husband.
On the other hand, Creon exhibits an unrestrained desire to prioritize his laws over the
laws of the gods. Creon regards civil law as a necessary means to provide order and stability to
the polis, therefore it must take precedence over divine law. Otherwise, there is disorder brought
upon by citizens that wish to take advantage of others and “this destroys the state” (297)
according to Creon. Through Creon, the author attempts to show that solely enforcing the laws of
man brings severe consequences in part of the divine. During his rise to power, Creon changes
the ancient Greek tradition of burying the dead to punish one person. By doing so, he creates
unrest in the citizens of Thebes, since the laws of the divine serve as the main source of authority
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and order in their city. Thus, Creon shows initial signs of excessively favoring his tyrannical
laws while overlooking the authority of the gods. Furthermore, once he seizes Antigone for
disobeying his decree, it seems that his law has triumphed over the law of the gods. However,
due to his neglect of the divine laws, Creon is cruelly punished by the Gods. His son, Haemon,
who had previously sided with Creon against Antigone, but he then tries to convince his father to
spare her so as to please the citizens that had previously voiced their resentment towards
Antigone’s sentence. Creon refuses to change his verdict claiming that “custom gives possession
to the ruler” (738). Haemon then tries to persuade his father that the conflict goes beyond his sole
rule as king of Thebes, and that divine laws also govern human beings. Then, Creon’s seer
Teiresias begs the king to free Antigone so as to please the gods and to avoid a foreseen tragedy
that will befall Thebes. Creon in his irrational state of mind mocks his seer claiming that “no
mortal being can pollute the gods” (1044). The Thebian King continues to regard his rule as the
sole authority over the people, thus remaining blind to the higher power that must be recognized
as part of the balance between obeying divine and human law. The culmination of Creon’s
punishment comes with the death of Antigone, Haemon, and Eurydice. Antigone commits
suicide, and Haemon follows suit when he finds the body of his deceased lover. Creon then
recognizes this as “a god who struck” (1271) out of resentment for opposing the will of the gods.
His repentance comes too late, and his wife, Eurydice kills herself because the death of her son is
too much to bear. Finally, Creon is unable to endure his punishment and he descents into
madness, with the chorus reminding the reader that “the gods must have their due” (1349).
Creon’s fatal flaw is similar to Antigone’s in the sense that he solely uses civil law in ruling his
city. He neglects his responsibility to serve and obey the Gods in harmony with following the
laws of men.
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Through Antigone and Creon, Sophocles wishes to show that there must be a balance
between compliance with divine and civil law. However, divine law must take priority over civil
law when they contradict each other. The convoluted conflict between these two characters
involves the individual’s responsibility to obey divine and human authority, but it even extends
into the characters’ familial bonds. Ismene is the principal example of the necessary harmony
between one’s loyalty to the will of the divine and human authority. She pledges her support of
Antigone in secrecy and she vows to “give no one notice of” (84) Antigone’s unlawful act, which
demonstrates Ismene’s understanding of women’s status in Greek society. Even though Ismene
recognizes the importance of burying Polyneices so as to faithfully follow the will of the gods,
she also understands that there is a civic duty to Creon’s laws, through which order is maintained
in the polis. Furthermore, during Antigone’s detention, Ismene pleads to her sister to share her
punishment so she can also fulfill her divine duty to honor the dead (545). Ismene is aware of her
loyalty to both the gods and the king, but unlike Antigone and Creon, she is able to take both of
these extremes into account, and understand that they must be in accordance with each other in
order to allow the individual or the city to thrive. Furthermore, she wishes to die with Antigone
since she appreciates the primacy of the divine law when it clashes with civil law.
Overall, Sophocles emphasizes the importance of obeying divine law in unison with
human law. He argues that human beings are able to prosper individually and collectively when
they exercise a proper balance between the two. The Chorus summarizes this point by saying that
when an individual “honors the laws of the land and the gods’ sworn right / high indeed is his
city, but cityless the man / who dares to dwell with dishonor” (367-71). It is a fitting explanation
of the necessary fellowship between one’s loyalty to the divine and human authorities. Only
through proper devotion to both of these is the human being able to reach his highest capabilities.
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However, excessive loyalty to either the divine or civil law leads to disorder and conflict in the
individual and the society at large.
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