Antigone

Creon agrees that Antigone must be put to death, not because he wants to but because he feels he has to. He is angered that she has touched her brother's dead body despite him saying not to. He thinks that she did not hesitate to do it because she thought she had power or an advantage because she was Oedipus' daughter. Despite knowing that she would be killed Antigone knew she must give Polynices a proper burial. Creon does not plan on killing her unless anyone else finds out about what she has done. Antigone's death reflects how important honor and power was to the Greeks. Creon also held onto his pride. When his son tried to convince him not to kill Antigone he remained unmoved. He could not let his son tell him what to do or let his people know that he had been the reason for changing his mind. Even after his son, Haemon, says that he will die if Antigone does, Creon is still more concerned with his ego or reputation, as well as sticking to his word. After the death of his son and also his wife Creon realizes that perhaps what he valued above his family was not as important as he thought.

It seems that Sophocles and the Greeks believed that it was better to die young or for a purpose and be rewarded once dead then to stay on earth and receive no rewards in the afterlife. Antigone was not afraid to die, and was in fact aware that she would. She had a reason worth dying for and I think that the Greeks were brave in believing that dying for a cause was a noble act. During this time women were still uneducated and not thought of as having much to say. Sophocles portrays Antigone in a respectable and brave way in his work I think. Instead of choosing to follow what those on earth say (Creon telling her not to touch the body) she instead follows the gods. This is the point Sophocles wants to get across, that obeying the gods is what matters because your fate lies in their hands, not in man's.