Antigone: The Theme of Family Loyalty Essay -- Sophocles’ Antigone

The notion of innocence and justice is prevalent passim all types of literature. In Greek culture, honor is essential for creating a steady foundation within a society and family. Honor allow comprise you until the day you perish, and beyond. The honor for men in Greece is spiritual in that love ones show respect to the deceased by giving them a appropriate burial. Nevertheless, when a man acts upon betrayal of the city, that man looses the privilege to lead in such honor. This is evident in the life of Antigone when her two familiars, Polyneices and Eteocles, both die at each others hands at contend when deciding the ruler of Thebes. Polyneices cannot have a halal burial, because the new king, Antigones uncle, Creon created a justness that decrees that anyone who tries to give Polyneices a proper burial will have a dire consequence death. In Sophocles Antigone, the quest that Antigone endures to lie confessedly to her pure intentions of honoring Polyneices by giving hi m a proper burial is in juxtaposition with the fact that her defiance towards Creon is not just now to do with Polyneices, but also to show appeasement to the gods.Antigones starchy belief that her brother Polyneices should have a proper burial is establish by her conviction in that the justice of the gods is above all else. This law proclaims that all men be mourned and honored by family and friends through mover of a suitable burial. Antigones need to put honor upon Polyneices individual is so grand that she ignores the advice of everyone around her, including her sister Ismene, who tries to pull her away from performing this criminal act because it will disobey the law set by King Creon, and lead to her demise. However, Antigone does not care about the repercussions because even though s... ... For Antigone, if she dared to leave the dead man, her mothers son, dead and unburied, that would have been the true(a) pain, not death (510-512). Her desire to free the spirit of h er brother so that it can be at peace explains the true reason of her rebellious nature. Although Antigone has a bad reputation with Creon, and possibly Ismene, for being insubordinate, she stays true to her values throughout the entire play by following the law of gods, not so that she could appease them, but because she admired its value of honor and respect to loved ones that have passed away. This devotion and determination to give her brother a proper burial shows the true essence of her being that obedience to family is in fact hold above all else. Work CitedSophocles. Antigone. The Norton Anthology of cosmea Masterpieces. Ed. Knox and Mack. New York Norton, 1995.