Essay Physis vs. Nomos in Sophocles' Antigone

Imagine being put in a situation where honor towards your own blood opposes the law. In the city-state of Thebes, King Creon issues a law that bans the burial of Polyneices. The dead man’s sister, a young woman named Antigone, buries her brother against King Creon’s blessings. Antigone’s courageous actions lead her to her own fatal death. Sophocles emphasizes the importance of choosing family over authority in his play “Antigone”.

Like Creon, Antigone also never falters in standing up for what she believes in. Although Creon fights for stubborn pride, Antigone is trying to promote what is right and shows her higher reverence for God’s law rather than for Creon’s laws. In the eyes of the townspeople, Chorus, Choragos, and Haimon, Antigone is sacrificing herself to give her brother Polyneices the rightful honors due to the dead. Many side with this brave, honorable girl because she would rather suffer persecution and even death rather than give into Creon’s illogical demands. In the play, the chorus says about her, “You have made your choice, Your death is the doing of your conscious hand”. Antigone knew of the consequences before she acted and in doing so she chose her fate. At the time, she pleaded her sister Ismene to help her bury Polyneices but was rejected. Despite being alone in trying to rebel and perhaps she may have been afraid, Antigone goes out of her way and puts her life on the line to bring her brother respect.

First, Ismene is empowered to overcome her fear of disobeying Creon’s law as a result of watching Antigone act boldly to do what she thinks is right. At the beginning of the play, Ismene, Antigone’s sister, is obedient and shy. Ismene is fearful of the consequence of burying their brother, Polyneices, but Antigone helps her see what is right. After seeing Antigone willingly accept punishment for burying Polynices, Ismene has a change of heart. She tells her sister, “But now I know what you meant; and I am here To join you, to take my share of the punishment”

In the play Antigone by sophocles,Antigone has respect for her brother polyneices and wants to properly bury him even though it is against both her uncle creon/king and the law itself. Even though she would fight for the people she loves there would be consequences. She had the confidence to do what she thought was the right thing to do. But Creon thought otherwise. People should break or follow the laws based on whether their rights give them the confidence to protest for what they deserve.

Devotion to one’s family is admirable and sometimes very difficult. In life we would love to protect our loved ones despite the laws. Unfortunately some times that is not possible. But, Antigone ignored Creon’s laws despite the possible repercussions. Her loyalty and respect for to Polynices was a true testament to the strength of her character. "I will bury him myself. And even if I die in this act, that death will be a glory." Antigone is strong willed and steadfast in her devotion. Unlike Antigone, her sister Ismene does not want to go against the law. Antigone response solidifies her faith saying, “Do as you like, dishonor the laws the gods hold in honor" (lines 91, 92). Antigone does not fear her fate. She represents a strong

She goes against the law of the king and buries her brother, Polyneices. Once Antigone came up with the idea of burying her brother; she decides to go to her sister, Ismene, for help. Ismene is appalled by the thought of going against the king. Ismene yells at her sister, in fear of Antigone’s safety, “We are only women! We cannot fight with men!” (816). This statement shows how frightened women were of going against a man’s orders, but, of course, Antigone showed no fear. She speaks confidently, “Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way.” (816). After the crime had been committed, Creon calls Antigone to his court and asks if what he had been told was true; Antigone did not deny a word. This shocks Creon mostly because he thought a man committed the crime; “I swear by God and by the throne of God, The man who has done this will pay!” (823). Antigone went against the typical behavior of a woman and took a stand for what she believes in. If she was going to die, she thought, she might as well die with honor; “I knew I must die, even without your decree. I am only mortal. And if I must die now, before it is my time to die, surely this is no hardship,” (827). Even though at the end of the play Antigone gets sentenced to lifetime in a cave, she shows it does not matter the gender; anyone is can stand up for what they believe

Throughout life we often times will face struggle. In Antigone, the struggle is whether to obey or do her womanly right. When the play was written it was the women of the family who handled burials; however, her brother was to be considered an invader. Antigone pleads with her sister to help her fulfill her family and womanly right to bury their brother to no avail. Creon had made it clear that the body of Polynices, the aforementioned brother, should be left alone to rot. There is no question that there are parallels between the struggle that Antigone faces and the world we live in today. The only difference is the types of struggle that we face today.

Antigone feels that is her duty to fulfill the responsibilities of her family. “Give me glory! What greater glory can I win giving my brother burial”? Nevertheless, this act extremely defies one of the most imperative Creon’s laws that explain that there will be no committals for the individuals from Thebes’s society. By disobeying this law, Antigone creates a motion that result to her death into a deed .Antigone

Antigone’s argument with her sister about her plans to defy the king is the scene that opens the play. From the start, she appears certain that burying Polynices will restore justice when she says, “even if I die in the act, that death will be a glory” (Sophocles 86). She is so sure of the immorality of Creon’s law that she is willing to go to any means necessary to keep him from using her brother as a cautionary tale. In the philosophical statement made by Martin Luther King Jr., he says that, “An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.” Antigone stood alone in defending her brother's honor, and did not waver from her beliefs at any point. She was willing to go to great lengths in order to show the injustice within Creon’s law, and the risk of punishment had no effect on these intentions. Antigone took willful stance on the conflict, which dramatized the story by creating an intense conflict between two characters with strikingly similar characteristics.

At the beginning of the play, Antigone brought Ismene outside the city gates at night for a top secret meeting. Antigone wanted to bury her brother Polyneices' body because even though he died in dishonor he was her brother. Ismene refused to disobey the king which is also their Uncle Creon, and she failed to talk Antigone out of doing the act herself. "Consider, sister, how our father died,/hated and infamous; how he brought to light/his own offenses..Then, mother...did shame/violently on her life, with twisted cords. Third, our two brothers, on a single day...Each killed the other, hand against brother's hand." (Antigone, Lines 59-65) In this quote, Antigone justified her reasons for going against the law describing how her parents went

As Antigone begins to constantly question her sister, Ismene, on whether she would help give her brother, Polynices, the proper burial, Ismene refuses as she stays solid upon her decision to follow King Creon’s regulations. Completely offended, Antigone thus tells Ismene that she no longer expects nor wants any help from her any longer; she will act out on her own will even if it will be the cause for her death. Taking full responsibility for her course of actions, she states, “I will bury my brother; / And if I die for it, what happiness! / Convicted of reverence - I shall be content / To lie besides a brother whom I love” (128). Because Antigone is emotionally attached to her brother, her love for him overpowers her fear of getting punished. Since the law forbids her from doing what she believes is right, her love immediately alters into the act of stubbornness as she begins to give herself leeway towards persistent, yet irrational decisions. Conveying how Antigone’s stubbornness comes from a deep and passionate love for her brother, she states that if she does get punished, she will still stand with gratitude because her action was honourable. Unfortunately for Antigone, her intense love lead to her constant rebellion; however, because her only intent was to righteously give her brother a burial, it is clear to identify that her intentions are pure, and are in no way selfish. One can feel sympathetic for Antigone as her only true crime was letting her intense love blind her to the repercussions of her actions. Antigone’s stubbornness is what causes her rebellion against Creon's will; as a result, she is sentenced to a life imprisonment. Creon tried several times to discreetly let Antigone off the hook, yet she was persistent and stood by her actions. Recieving her punishment

Antigonê finds herself torn between obeying the law of the state laid out by Creon her uncle, and her duties to her family. Creon the new king of Thebes, didn’t want to give Polyneicês who fought against Thebes, the same honors bestowed upon Etocliês who fought for Thebes. Therfore, Creon decrees that anyone who burries Polyneicês body be stoned to death in the public square. Antigonê felt an obligation to perform

Throughout the play, Antigone is contradicted by her sister Ismene. Where Antigone is stubborn and hardheaded, Ismene is more obedient; Where Antigone is not afraid of going against the roles set for her gender, Ismene believes that they should be followed. When Antigone tells her sister of her plans to continue with Polyneices’ burial despite Creon’s orders, Ismene tries to reason with her, saying that because they are women, they shouldn’t disobey Creon’s proclamation. The equal value placed upon the views of both women is expressed in Antigone’s conversation with Ismene, in which she tells her sister “to those who agree with each, each of us was right,” (685-687). The play points out that at times, being obedient to the law even if one does not agree to it may be wiser than being stubborn and hard headed, even if it’s for a good

His decrees are the highest law of the land, and people are even willing to go against the will of the gods, leaving the dead unburied and dishonoured for him. Contrarily, Antigone has no status other than her royal blood, from a fallen king. Being terrified for her sister’s life, Ismene, Antigone’s sister, tries to stop her from burying Polynices, by telling her, that if they defy the King’s prerogative and break the law, their deaths would be more shameful even than Polynices. “Remember we are women, we’re not born to contend with men.

Antigone is disobeying a man’s law, which was established by her uncle and ruler Creon; for one of her moral beliefs. Her reasoning is that of her two brothers whom’ ultimately killed each other, one of which was buried with a full funeral ritual. While the other brother suffered being left