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SOPHOCLES: ((Sophocles' Praise of Man

A COLLECTION OF CRITICAL ESSAYS and the Conflicts of the Anti$1l.!K \1

by Charles Paul Segal c-- Quth 0 (>

It i. no coincidence that the most influential interpretation of

Edited by the Anligont!-anu one of the: most influential uuerpretarions of a
Greek tragerly--eomes from a philOGOphcr of idealism and dialectics.
Thomas (Woodard The d,lI;gone is certainly a play of amuheses and conllicu, and lhi'
-e ---~ alate of conflict is embodied In the: presence on sl:.Age of two pro-
lagoniau. each diametrically 0PI>OSCU (0 the other, Yel aa a result
o( Hegel', Iamcus anal)"is much discussion of the play h... Iocused
on the quest lon of which of the two protagonists has more: of "the
righl" on his .ide, Thi. approach runs the risk or conceptualizing
the protagonists toe simply 11110 antuherical "principles" which
somehow are, and uiaJeclically must be, ultimalel}' reconciled.
This ia not to lay that there are not conceptual iaauea Involved
in the characters oC Creon and Antigone.(Uut the i&luea are: too
complex to be J.alidactoriJy reduced to a single: antithetical formula-
lion, )Wc: mus~,,*,oitl oeeing the proragonuu .. one-dimensional
rep.reac:nlauvcs·o{ simple Opposilions: rillht and wrong. reason and
nnoUon. state ,and jnt~~~I-'aI. or the like. Such oppoeirione have
some validity; but a v~ny purchased at the price of oversimplifi-
calion and ultimately a misunderstanding of Sophocles' sense of the
tragic, 'The characters, like the play hoelC, have many levels which
Prentice-Hall, Inc. ~ Englewood cus« N, J. Iuse organically. sometimes indistinguishably, into a complex unity;

149'-~
and here the{c::onCrontations oC the two protagonists create an ever-
ramifying interplay between interlodting and expanding iUoca)
"Scphoclee' Pr.ahc of Man and the .f.3nlllt"11 of the Anligone- br Chufct Paul
ScK;af. Frum Arion. UI, No. • (Sumn\h 196.0, pp. 0{6·00. C',ul'yrinht © .~tfi-t by
Arion. Rrprhtlctl by perm!...Inn 0{ drion. RcyiKd lJy the author lor uu. volume..
and DOLeo omil ted, by pcuui..UJoo.
6.
 Suphuclcs' Prauc u/ Man and 'he COli/lieu oJ lhe AntlJ:;oue
II i> the essence and the marvel of work, of the Classical .l>cdoo
Ulat concrete and geueric so pcrfectly meet and unue, In this
qualilY Sophocles 13 pre-euunent, )0 the ,duligcme the churacters
arc the issues, and the Issues the characters. Uut the charaClclS al~e
not only "iSSUb:' Tlu:y are indivitluab moving as all men do Ii; til
complex. entanl)leuleut of will and circumstance, passion and alrru-
bOl, guilt anti innocence, l'hdr lieurching. sullcl"iuf{, growth to
understanding, and death give to the "philoeophicul" I:.:.ues sub-
uance and the breath of life. Hence they Can move us with a stare-
ment lhat docs not {ahify the: iUlertwining of idea whh particular.
concept wit h ..cuou, 10::.$ willa attaiumcm, Ulat Iorius the: structure
of our reality.
Recent criucs, abandoning the simple ·Ihesis·amilhesi. opposition
and look-ing OIL the play in terms of the acrion iLSeJr. have made it
clear Ihal il i> hard 10 find much pure "right" on Creon'••id7.l
though this iJ not (0 lay lhat hi:! Iate c:nlirely lacks a tragic dimen-
,ion 01' Ihal the conltict i••euled merely by a kind of moral dcfuuh,
Antigone. on the other hand. i:s vindicated by the end of the play,
lJUl unly at the: COd of tremendous sulledng. her own and that of
those d0$.C11 to her. Indeed, since she t.lbappears a lillie aher the
h ..lC·way point oC the elrama, one may wonder whether h h not the
goo". 'Teiresia•• and the rlghta of We corptte, which are vindicated
rather than Amigone herself,
BUI Anugone and Creon are clearly the central focus of the play.
Yel logelher Ihey give Ihe playa double fU<:II>. The "uoul>le ceuler
of gravhy" in rhe work. as one criric has called il. creales a lemion
and richness which makeJ it possible for Ihe aClion 10 reflecI baclt)
upon i"df in complex way•. And. a. anolher crWc h., aplly poinled
OUt. lhe decisive: qu...Hty of the manti judgm81t expressed at the
end of Ihe Iragedy requires a movemem iu which Ihere can be
sullicienl complexhy 10 make Ihe play an adequale ani'lie expr.,..
sion of Ihe eomplexily willch ex is" in life.
The cOIIIl'lcxily lies in pan 'in Ihe faci l.hal the IWO proragonilll.
lhoug'" wuilly oppotetJ in Iheir views. are nevenhde.. each bound
10 lhe Olher. "demonically bound," as Reinhardl has pUI il. Each
is nece...!)' 10 define lhe olher. On Ihe one hand. as Whilman has
well remarlted, "Anligone is Ihe balance in which Creon is weiHhed.
and found ....aminK.., on the other. AllliJ!one'. h.ulun:.. would
Charles Paul Sc:gal
mal<.c DO sense ....uhout Creon's aurhoruarian willfUlness. 11 i. the
essence ~f the tragedy that the one figure seems to generate the \
other, that the lWO COC:XJlit ;u comp'cnu:n1ary parlli of a whoie.))
This whole is not necessarily a Hegelian "IYluhc~is" of two 01'1>00-
jog: "'p.d1Ual substances," but lOlJu:lhing l.>oth infinlu~ly lim pier
and infinilely more complex, lomethlng which III auteccdenr 10 and
more balk than the couceptual Iorsuulauous abour aptrit and
absolutes. It is. norlung less rhau the nature of man. his place in
the world. and uie possibililies aud Iimirauons 01111. actions. Around
the..e luUes and derivative from them revolve the antinomies which
have been conceprualized in so lDauy dillereru ways: divine versus
human law, indivrdual Vt:hLU state, religious versus secular. prav:He:
"eAW public moraliry.
TI1C conllict between Creon and Antigone has its starring point
in the' problems of law and justice. At any rate, the dttlerencc is
most explicilly formula led in these Ierne; in AllliHolle'. greal speech
on she divine laws (lille. 15011.). a speech which is both confession
and defence, both plea of guilt and sclt-vind icarton, almost enco-
mium. ~gainat uie limited and relative "decrees" oC men she scu
the eternal laws oC Zeus, rhe "uuwriuen laws of the goili.':)hc
couples her asserrion of these ateolure "laws" with her own resolute
1 lover the human compulsion, and rt:lt:fu life wuh lIS compronU:ii
1
a"eJllan~e of dearn (160). Thue .h.e beg ins . 10 extend the conllici
outward iruo I~Ues of wuJ.er scope. SJ~e (h~:,;c5 1!_C: ~lvJne command
for the absolutes of death, Indeed. in her terms these ausolures are.
paradoxically. juS! Ihe Ihing. which "live alway," (151'-57).
Th...peech .. also Ihe [ocal rolllt [01' themes Ihal reverb<:rale
throughoul Ihe play. Antigone opposa Ihe "decrees" (kerygmata.
q
.cS,f) of Creon 1.0 the ·'law." (nomima;'of lhc f.;oUs, and thua-sharpens
the ague of what COOlaltulCJ "law" (nomos). By implication :.hc or
iutrooucea the diulnctlon between the man-made :lnd the: "natur",I:'
) the anifidal and Ihe.elernaJly exislelll. The IWO word., "decree"
and "law," have been wed conhuedly and indiS<:rlmlnalcly by Creon
(I«' 161. kerygma; 177. nomui; 191, nomo.; i:03. cAkcltcryittaJ.. elc,.);
and they now arc: ~cn to diverge.
The aame djvcrHen~e OCCUR with "justice" (dike), Arlli~one here \ //
appeals to Ihe, ':Juslice Ihal dwefb wllh lhe goo> l>dow': (151),} 'IV
wheri:aa Creon 11. 1at.ef to define the JWucc of ... m..n wlcly In rela-
 S:::Jphr.<les" Pr.iJe of Mun awd lhe Conflicts of the Antigone: 65
~ion (0 the polis. the ,alate. and to identify jusuce in private life'
with thal in puulic JHe: "For he who is a good ruan in hu domc:.tic-J..'
afl~in will be shown just in the cily 100" (oli.,o~). The cenainty
of diu identification is severely shaken in the Iolluwing scene,
where the qua.lion of justice CUfHt:S up in the most intimate: of /l t~
Creon', domesuc retauons and drivea a wedge between "pubtic" L...... . .\
~(...e
:.IOU "private" jusrice. Creon taunts hll son with "going: to Jaw"
(in Greek,. "being a I a case of justice," dia dikeJ) with hi. father
(7i.) and is told in reply thal he is mistaken in the mailer oC what
1
' lIy5
ia just (fa dika.-a, 713). 'The chorus is to accuse And one oC having
':t.~lIen .g.in>J.._lhe-lol~y:.seal-uLj.u."ce...- ~~55}~IH'-Lwill e~im,
at the end. to Creon. "A!~2-Y_l?~J!.~~_~c:n justice latc, ill it seerus'
(117 ) . . ... _ - - _ . . . . . - -
0
Anllgone'. unqualified declaration for absolute values thue pre-
dpitatcs a redefinition ol some basic moral ant! ethical categories.
They do not fit her ..nd have consequenrlv 10 be remade, She iI .f1-?
_"a law to herself' oulanumos. 811; and. as she is well aware (160ft.). pr
she must pay the price lo-r standing outside the conventional defini..
11011. ol "law" and "justice." She challenges human law with an
absolute which she backs up with the resolve of her own death, (or
III... is the Iultest assertion she can make of the Intensity of her moral
ccnvicrione. She can assert what she: is only by stak.inJ; her entire
being, her life. It is by this extreme defense of her bel iefs that she
rasa to heroic and deeply tr3J.;ic stature; and, simultaneously, by
the same gesture she males herseU incomprehensible 10 the other
acton, Creon. Isrncne, the chorus. Only l laeruon. who, at a lower _
level. maka and fulfils a similar resolve to die, comes close to un-
derstanding her; and in his filial act, aUirminK himself truly her
betrothed, he is Indeed "married" to her in death. Deatlr is the only
poesible union of such natures:
A corpse upon a corpse he lies, lhe unfortunate.
h.ilving got hiJ muriagc portion in° H;u.ks' hOUIC (lIiO;-iI).
In Antigone"' lpeech on the ··unwrltten Jaw$," emphasis natu..
r.. lly (.. lb upon law anti j u.u ice, for l~h~ selling is a oiurit.lkal one
and Antigone is, as it were:, on 111011 hn in the: cJose·knil fifth- ~
«("Hury chy·state, "law'· iilnd ··IeAalily" laVe iii. far whirr ranRc of
applic:.uion than they would in the more: compartmentalized dhia .
~ Chari" r«..1 ~ga/
of modem civifizarion, For Sophocla and his conremuorartes they ~
i~volvc. the entire public ~nd ~riv"le lile uf the citi~en, hil re! a-
bilitiea. moral, ~litic,al, social, implied in those relation•. >
Uo... wllh Lbc godJ and wllh hll fellow-men, and all the respond-
A. sense of L111S Wider realm of coullict is given In Anligone',
repeated use of the word kcrdos, "profit," "gain." in her greal speech
(4 6.-64), She c".un.. it "profit" to die before her lime (40.,6°), "Fur
whoever liva amid many woes, .s I do, how does not such a onc
win fWo{i1 in dying" (463-64). "Profit:' however, I' one oC the word. ,,-
UIOd throughout the pl .. y to characterize Creon', narrowly raiional}
iaLie and materialirtic view of human motivation, Dut in Antigone's
mouth it carries exactly the opposite significance: emotion. non.
rational (lbough equally firm) deterrnin..tion rhat willingly accepts
or even ~k.a •ell-destrucricn, not self-advancement,
In the: face of Antigone'. resistance all of Creon'. rationalism
breaks down and iI helpless. "Who iLl~IO love 10 die"
~~~~r~_~o~icJ.. at the. annq~lOiea:ne~t.. ot_G!E~.!.I~~.,.~~c~e~·-(2'J·~)~ Yet
Antigone exult.. in her "foolishness" and turns the word back upon
her judge: "But if 1 now seem 10 you 10 be engaged in Ioolish
deeds, perha "" I a m accused of foolishness by one who is foolish
himself" (469"70). In the very first scene of the play Antigone has
...ked to. be lell to suffer the consequences 01 her Colly (95'90) a nd
her arrirude continua to the end, Hers is the woman's ~mOlional
rouLancc to the ordered male reason of the state. And she reiulorces
her ~ction by lh~ least ~ationally comprehensible- of human acts, the
f
....cnficc: of her life. It 15 not thal she acts on unreason. but rather
that Creon'. kind of reason is inatle<luate to ~rasp her motives and
her nature.. 'This ch..llenge to Creon's supposed rationalism il to
make iudf felt even after her disappearance [rom the stage, for
the theme of re..son and "intelligence" (phron<in) domina ..s the
bst 350 linel of the play. Creon is to lee too late the mlstukca of
hi•.iII.Counded intelligence (p.h~enon dyJ!,!mmon hamarUmala,
116.), .nd Ihe chorus .dmonllion .boUl proud words leaching
f
"illlelligence" in old ..ge ends lhe play (135011.).
Given the clt»c: interconnections in Greek civilization among all
the major a.apeClI of life-intellect. morality. reliJ;ion-it is natural
1b.. 1 Ibil lheme of illlelli,;ence .hould be firmly linked 10 lhe prob-
lem of m""',, rel...Ion to lhe godo. In Sop~\ean lr"gedy, as in
 SlJphocles· Pruue uf Alun and lhe Cun/JicIJ uf lhe Antigone 67
much of Greek. thought before and after him. it U primarily the
realm of the goW which ddin<:1 the boundari'" of what man can
k.now. Where the one realm emu. the other begin,. and 10 overnep
the boundary-line h a ua'lgeroLCI violation of the things,thal are.
h 15 ... maller of "kucw IhyxU" geuera llzed to the human condlucn
t a whole. In rhis play. as in the later Oedipus Rex, k.nowledge.
\A I _au' or the presumption of knowledge, rettects the: li.uiu of human power
~ \f\Q)lV" nd Ulan's re5pol1~iuiJilia to uie .re;u of LIlt: UUk..1I0WII, the un-
controtlable, the sacred,
.,. Thus 10 return 10 Antigone's crucial speech. it is ,ignilicanl that
in UiM·u~ing rhe divine l""w~. she makes do poilu oC mali's nul know-
lug thdr origin (";uId no one knows when Ihey appeared," "157).
p\ Later in her rapid exchange wiLh Creon she opp-oses :.4 aimilur state-
ruent of IgllOi uuce to his po~ilive ussernons about law. right. piety:
"Who knows if these thing' arc held pure and hl'Jy below?" (5.')'
Creon understands nothing of the Hmits o.......tiuman powcr and
control. For him 10 know the way» of men is abo to know rhe
(\ way. of the gods: he 'e,," the human realm as exactly coextensive
V with the divine. He cxpn:~c.:s this presumption. with characteristic
bf induess, In his -repealed iuvocurlons to Zcu~;" awl these iilowly
build up in il crescendo or artQbance and disaster,
Hia tint refercncea.to Zeus seem "pious" enough, lhough danger
. '.gn! arc lcnsely pr('~enl.\ije 'iul calls upon Zeus (1Ii-l) alrer describ-
the guill,"aincd death of the two brothers (1701[.) and a.ks that
\jj IC god bear witne... to hi. own principle Ihat the .Iatf comes before
verydtin!UCl82 If.). Thi. oath is followed, .ignificamly, by the
decree iudf, the announCemc/ll of a deed which all Grecks would
recognize tU an unu:iually crucl and lievert: punbhment. if nOI an
actu.1 violation of acccplcd rdigious usagc. lie nexi <:alls upon
Leu. in '04 If.• also in an oalh and when di.eu..ing picty and
impielY. Yel here he i. nUL eVen the: cal Ill. a~)urcu slatt.,"$lI1an of the
c.....lier pas.a:.gt:; but hut with ...u(;c:r anu pc.:rhal':I retiring for hi. own·
pooition, he Ihrulelu Ihe guard wilh dealh .and w~m;e if he faill "0
caplure the violalor of thc decree. Whal gIve. th .. passage .pe(lal
II poinl it Ihc /I•• h oC illlpalicnce and thc intolcranl jibe at Ihe
~ chor"'" '·fooli.hnc:JI"' and "old agc"' when they ,ug!;""I, .hortly.
before (a7H If.) thai thc hori~1 miHht be the result of divhie illter·
vention. Anger and irrcverence both mount in Creon whcn, ,hartly
. '.
ClunJes PGul ~&al
aIler Amigone', great speech, he swears her and Ismene's purush-
meru, "even if she u a liLS1Cr'J child, even if snc jl closer In blood
th4n any who worships Zeus at the altar of Our ho,:",c" (-jIlti.H7).
<L\A' elr' d6o.\.,;qr <1/1' 6"",,,0>.or{_
Toil 'l'a,..,d, J),ui.. Z'1""OJ cpuwv "l.1p.ci• • • •
Literally, the second line goes. "closer ill blood Ihan the whole
ah.a r of Zeus Hcrkcios," (Zeus who ilanw In the Iorccourr 3:1 lilt:
hO',uehoJd god.j ThIS statement is outmalched only by his reply La
'!eJrCljlu, lihorLJy before the tragic reversal:
You will not cover hllD in buri.l. net even jf the: Cilgle. of ZCUI
1ft'ub to au... LCh him up OIUU CillTy llim oU ..... Ieod to ZCUl' throne
(IU,S'i I). "
Thu from the ~an who first entered with "rhe gods" on his lips
(161). And. a line and a hall later he adds, in a characlcri::'lJC
Iusion of rhe "Imellecruat" ..ud the urelig:lous" themes. "For 1 well
.lnow thai no man can pollute the gods' (101~'H)'
h ia. rnen, nOI by accideru that AlIligone ucgill5 her grcal speech
with Zeus:
Creon. Dared you then (0 tr;ansgrcu these b.wli
.4nl'gone. h w.... 1101 lcus who 104l0c: IhC'~ UCCU:C:ol oC youn, nor
are .uc.h the: law. lh .. l JUllicc who cJwelb with the
godl below CJlilbJi,ht:d awong o.U:1\ • • • (ioJ9 11.).
.. lew is releva nr, of course, because he is the supreme god and, as
,kY'god, u especially a/kclcd by Ihe poUutiollS involvcd in the
corpac. But as a focal remlflller of Creon'. hybris and. more jlll~
POrlalll. . . Ihe fullesl .ingle emhodimenl of the realitie. of Ihe
univcn.e he i, the measure of Andl;onc',s dis.scnt and of her heroJ:)IIJ.
The gulf bel wee Creon and Antigone thus becomc' illllllense.
(ll it among t e ironies °
the play Ihat he who talk.s coll>lalllly of
"pollution" and "rever~nce'" (scoas) unuerstand, thena oniy in the
narrOWell and ICall reverent way. He who h:u rlttketl total pollulJon
of the cily In eXpoIlng Polyneica" corpae willacd: to avolu polhllion
by Ihe limited expcdielll of huryillg Andgonc alive (77~ IL). (The
decree ori1;iniilJly demanded ue.uh by Iloning. !i5'!i6.) II I' AlHigone.
cootlcmnctl Cor "impiely" (sec dYJ.Jc:bc:s. 51-1. !) IIi), who is Car closer
 Sopho·dCJ· Prtuse 01 Man Qnd the Conflicts 01 the Antigone 6g
10 understanding wh.1 piely and the gods rnean: "In acring piouslj'
I have gained [the charge 01) impiety' (dyJJcbdan cuscbousa, 9'~)'
Her very lasl word. in the pl.y renera re her claim: "See wh.1 1
sutler, and from wbom, reverencing piety" (9~.·H). Her pietj, ...
her paradox in 9'~ makes clear, i. not easy nor e;uHy grasped by
others, leas t 01 .11 the chorus (see 87')' who assert th.. "sell-wllled
paulon" destroyed her (875). ,Yel. it IS atmost an essential p:.lTl of
Antigone's acrion th.n it be not understood, that she Sland alone '-..l?r:/
against Creon's sod.llly convemeru claims of piety. the easy and )/}\
popular incoruistencies which all agree upon and tollow. lt i~ only
the tragic ch .. racier who sees things through to tlidr logical con-
elusions. and 10 diet. AJltigone. like Ajax. rejects IHe as compromise,
giva up existence when it CC;UCl to come up to the measure o(
the heroic aell·imjlge. "For you," she Ielb Isrnene shortlv after he
gre," speech 10 Creon, "chose 10 live, bUI I 10 die" (555). Her
both Iemene's gentleness and Creon's sclt-wifled rationality out: left
Iurthe.. behind. ~
h is again among the tragic aradoxe5 of Anli~one's poeirion
th.u die who accepts the: absolutes ealh has a far fuller sense
of the complexities of life, Creon, whu lacks a true "reverencev--
for the gods. the powers beyond human Hfe, abo lacks a deep
awareness of the complexities within the human realm. lienee he
tends to lee the wor-ld in terms or harshly opposed ca tC:J;ori;;5~ rip,ht
..ntl wrong. reason and folly, youth and age, male and Iernule, He-
~orn(ulJy joins old aKc with foolishness in sIx:akinK to the chnrus
(.1:11) and rdu:lo to lislen to his son', auvicc bec..use he b youlI~er
(7'9 IT....p. 7.6'.9). Vel his opp",ilion 01 old .nd young i. l.,er
10 be lurned again.. him hy Tdrcsias (.ee JOHH IT.), allli he i•• III Ihe
end. 10 be "I.ughl" by Ihe young son (.ec 7"5 .•6) who uies, Creoni
-I.m<nu, "young wilh • young 1.le" (..66),
All these c.lIlegoflCl imply the relation of superior and inferior,
Itronger and weak.er. ThiS highly JlrUClured :anu ag~rt:s.sive view_
01 Ihe world Creon exprCiS" perh.ps mosl 'lrildngly in repeatedly
formuhllling the conflict between AntJ~one and himself in terms of
the wom:an trying to concluer the man (sec 4"". 525. 678, 746.
756). He lea in AOIigone a challenge 10 hb whole: way of living.
~nd hu b;u~.~ auitudes tow ..rd lhe: world, And of couue he jl right,
']0 Charles Paul Segal
for An,"igone', full acceptance of her womanly nature, her absolute
volua"on of the bonds 01 blood and atlecuon, ia " 101ll.1 denial of
Creon'. obscsIivdy mascul inc ralionalilY.
Amigone', acceptance of lhia womanly obllgarion alanda out the
more by contrast whh Ismene's rejection of it: "We must consider,"
bJD~ne-aays, "lhat we were born aa women with women's nature,
.and are not such al 10 fighl with men" (61-02). Isrnene Ieeb her _
w~nhOOl1 a.I somelhing negative, as a weaknes.a. Antigone find..
in It a source of strength, Ismene capitulate! to Creon's view:
.. Antigone raina and find. in her "nature" a potenl heroism which
cuu acrou Creon's dichorcnnzing' of things anti has its echoes even
alter her death in the equally wom a uly, though leu .ignilit.:~IIl,
death 01 Eurydice.
It ia Antigone's very "nature," even more than her action•. which
Il~n~ in such challenging opposuton to Creon. Thus slte concludes
51.3 her ·fir5l, and moll important, clash with Creun with the' pointed
line: "!l is my nature nOI 10 share in hadng (syrlCcIJtIJcin). but 10....
share In loving (syrnphilcin)" <s"~). Her WOIW nOI only answer
Creon', charge: that Polyneices is an enemy and hence deserving of
hale. not Jove (5.11), but .. lso expose more ot the Iundamenral
dillerences between the two protagonlslI, In the coutlict over basic
terms like "law:' "piety," "profit," liea mud. of the movement of
the pl.y. The words lor "love" and "hale" used l>y Creon and
Amigone in 5..·.3 (and throughout the play) have. cerf ain ambl-
gui."y, Echthros, "enemy," means -also p"rsoually "hated": philo»,
"Irtend," mc~n. also ~n intim..tc:ly "loved one:' Creon limply idellti~
fica Ihe lwo me.nings; th.t ia, he idelllifica "love" :is personal .nd
emolion.1 <pIJiicin) wilh polilic.l agree"'elll (ICe .bo, e.g., 187) .nd
"hale" will. polilical enmily. lIuI Andgo"ca being .nu her aClion
place into dram..Lie eonlliet the qUell ion of who deserves "Iovc" and
who "hate:' Helice :at the end of their fint encounter Crcon answen
Antigone'... It ia my nature not to .hare in h;,ating bUl to Ihare in
J ]ovjn~" ~ith ~nc "~f hi. characterinlc dichotomies of man·woman,
6'''' lupcnor.lnfc:rlOr: Go bdow then anti love them, if love them you
mUll: bUI no wom'n will rule lIIe while I live" (5'~'"5)'
Creon'. definition of man by hl5 civic or political TeJadons alone
extend.. to areOll other lhan "love:" He can conceive of "hol1or"-
only for bend,clOn o( the aute ('07'10) .nd••ngrily rejecu .ny
 Supilocies' PrlJue 0/ Man and flae CUII/liels u/ llie Anlisouc 7'
idea .ha. rhe goJ.s could "honor" a rrancr (.ee ,U.I IL).lle again
lJ..e sumcs that human anti divine-or pulilkal and rcligiuuli-
v..lues e:xactly colndcJt:.~nligolle, on the ether hand. looks at
"honor" in tenus of what is due: to the: god=, (see 77); ami l lueruon
c... n Iind AlltiHone. a 'Woman awl a violator ul the: ruler's edict,
"wonhy '0 gain golden honor" (ti!J!J).
Yet nOI llIerely human reladu... arc involved ill the ccntlict be- -
tween Creon and Antigune. IJUI ba~ic ..uuudes toward IIIC;~ whole:
of exl:..tcIlt:C. It is the finn ila)iIUOn~ the Iuruous ode 011 m a u (1Sj¥ Ii'.)
which mas k..i rhe lint Jignifit:ant expansion of the meaning or the
acuou to this broader level. 'The ode is not without its iJmuij;ulLics
and ironies, Ior au praise of man'a .intellectual achievement is
severely qualified in uie course o( Ihe play. 11 i, preceded, more-
over, by sever..l biaiis oC very non-Imellecrual anger by Crcun;
and illlllledialely before••he guard, a simple and conventionally
pion. man, dila.el on the element of "chance" in human life (see
,aH) and e"iLl wilh a lIa.emenl- ot grali.ude 10 "the goo." (3~ I).
The otic iuelf i, abo perhapl no. 10 confident a. mlgh. a. 1irs 1
appear. 'The ...djc:clive which ueKriLn:a man. deinos, means nut
only "wouderfuf," but a lso "terrible, "fearful," ali sever ul (UIIl·
Of
meuuuors have pouued out. Bru tilt: grcau::il aUlLJI~uity lie) III mall
hin~lC. Man claims control ... nd dominarion, yet he cannot ":011I1'01 -
hinudf. has dilhcuhy in controlling other men, and perhaps cannot
even (anuol Ihe nalurOll world. The irony or sdC·colurul 1:1 pointed
up by .he word u.ed ,0 dc::;cribc man'. civic ami legal ".elllper"
(orgas, '5ti) in .he otIe. (or .hia word mean" al.o "anger" and iJ I()
uacd .honly before in .he aeene wilh .he guard (urge, aUo). Similariy
.he word Cor ".hougill" in .he otIe (phronema, '5~) aillniii.1 alllO
"pridc" and hill thal aClue in the ensuing acent: with Antigone (:tee
~5!J), as
well al a, Olher ~rucial poinLi in .he play.
There il lillie '1uolion lhal lbe OI!e rellecLi much o( lhe Opl!'
miJlic ra.ionalilm of Sophoclca' lime: .he Sophillic view o( Illan',
abili.y '0
work. crealively upon hia enVirOIll?el1l and .?e prollably
Pro•• gorean concep' .hal lhe I.ale••he polIS. alan? wllh law and
. lice ia a human crea.ion and perhapl .he mOil Impor.alll lIage
)UI , "1 . "'If
in manta Oli.liCrtion of himadf over 3galnlt a hosu c or (nul ~rc:nt
world. The cnumerillion of man·. cultural itUIVilIICc:a JUj,lY UIeU
derive from SophUlic "cuhure·hillories," or a. Ie... (rom .he ,new
'.
CJHJrICJ Paul Segal
rauonalistic, "anthropological" view of man which treats of human
civilization aJ the resuh of a gradual 510w advance. Similar klca.s
are already preaelll in Acschylw' Prometheus Bound, wriuen per'
haps some twenty ye... rs before the Antigone.
'Though Sophocles draws he.vily on these rauonahstie view, he
doca no. necessar ily Iullv approve them. Throogh rhis ode he
th{oWi them Into rhc dramatic action of the play and aliowl rhesu
to be weighed in the: b:dancc o[ uie lfagic ourcome. It is not Ihat
he denies Oleir validity, for he 100 is obviously much Impressed
with the: range of human achtevernent, But he can 110 long-er rCHanJ
"progress" and a Promethean conquest of nature as havilll{ the
heroic pouibilitia which Aes<.hy'us--and perhaps Proragoras-s-saw
in them. Sophocles does nOI see in reasuII and technical control
sunply a source of human (reedom,- as Ae><:hylu. did. bUI sees in
them too a poteurial source of human bondage anti limuauon.
And his retlccuons on .hi, ,nbjec. are .0 mature in IIle'-OedipIlJ
Re,,~ where, it will be recalled, knowledge and intc:llil1cnce are by
no mCaJU unambiguous KO<Hts, though they are nunc the less in-
separable pan. of lIIan', endowment.
'111UJ, to come back. to the ode on man, when the chorus taka
up the creation of law and jusuce after the praise of man's other
achievemenu Lhey s.y thai men may come "now to good.' now to
l," (,li7) He may be "high in his cilY" (hypJipuliJ) bu. also "wilh,
ou. cily" (apolis) ,hould he be led '0
.n .CI o( r.,hne", (",Ima).
His nalure then. as thiJ "rashness" or "darlufo(' llll~gests eVen here,
conlaiRa an irration.. l or violenl and dcstructlve putential. rerhaps
in this Ihilt of cmphasis Sophocle~ means lU 511g~e!il thai IUCCC5.I
in the areas o( law and ju~lice. the areOla whkh concern relation,
with other human bdnb13. i~ more dillicu1t 01111.1 h::i.$ certain than
COlllral over lhe lower ordeu o( nalure. Thoul{h Ihe Sophis.
Pro.agoras iJ probably more oplimi,lic, i. i. imereslin~ Ihal Sopho-
dOl' luggealion o( Ihe grealer dillicuhy o( law .nd lumce would
correspond roullhly wilh Pro•• gor.I' empha.i, on ~he dillkuhy and
importance of Ujuukc'" an? .. ~cve~c:?ce... the ~u~1Ilu:5 wlllC~~ mak.:
It po&&ible (or mcn to unite: In Cilies or SOClt'IIt::i. I~ the myth
which Pla.o pu .. in hia mou.h (Pro/agoras 3.oc-~.~a), _
Thia complex. connection between cOlurol and human fclauona
baa a.1w a further aig-nHicaficc lor Andgonc. Her wom..nly "mHurc." ~
 S<1phocleJ' PrQiu 0/ Man and ,h, Con(licCl of {h, Antigone
centered on "aharing in love," opposes Creon', auuude ot domin.·-
lion which lI.nds 'p.rt hom the otherness oolh ot men and nature
and looks upon them as • potemial "enemy" 10 be subjugated, Thus
i l .is Antigone. u'le woman-s-or, perhaps, at... another Ievel, the
( "woman" in him-that Creon must subdue, or. in one of hu
Iavorue metaphors, must "yoke." It is Imereerlng in the light of
th ls oppoeu ion th.u when Andgonc leeks a heroic exemplar [or
75
CharI.. Paul Segal
proud opin wilh di •••ter lIands allO in (Ihe realm 01) the terrible
(deinon)" (lOgIl·97). Thus when lorced by coutrontarion wilb the
uncontrollable 10 "yield," he echoes the lead-word in the earlier
praise of man's power of control: "Many are the wonders [terrors,
dei",,), and nothing more wonderlul (terrtble, dcinon) than man."
Anligant:, who in her own way allO refuses to yiei d/ ' irnages
lO

hersetl. she invokes the fiKure ol Niobe, a loving mol her, bUI also a
( abo againu Creon's Ihnitarions. 'The contrail between the two k.inda
human being who is Oil the same lime organically (used with the
natural world: she whom "the growth o( rock, Iike imenscly wind.
ing ivy, subdued" (11,6-'7). Arnigone's Niobe belongs both 10
humanily. with iu feelings and sorrows. and to inanimate nature;
and she symbolically unites the two realms. 'Thus the snow and rain
are not hostile missiles to be warded 01(. as in the lint staairnon
(356 II.), bUI are •• her own rears which she feels running down the
rock.y riuge. of wh.1 is now her Iace:
Still. at she walles. the rain
and Inow companions her.
Pouring down hom her mourning e:yes comes the water that
lOiI'" the: stone (th6-311. WyckoU·s HOlm,}.).
Yet Niobe too. like Antigone, aullered [rom excessive love and)
pride: but in her, as in Anugoue. lonefiuess and sorrow are trans-
muted to a higher p1anc.
,...... It is signiiicant then that the Iimiiarions in Creon's attitude.
arc borne in upon him not on~y in the area ol his persona] relations,
but also in hanguat;e which mala another connection between
human relations and the natural world and pointe toward a view
resembling rhe Niobe-image (Ihough less prolound), • view in
which man does not doruinate nature. but learus [rom it sym·
pathetically. Hence in urging his rather to ··yielu." Hacmoll ch~ca
as examples o[ "yielding" trees that bend in the winter ll00J r;uher
th.n .training Slillly .g.in.. il (7 I i II.). and he prelaces hi ••dvice
wllh a alatement about human "wisuom" (supJlUs, 710). which
echoes Ihe pr.ise: o( "wisdom" in Ihe ode (3fi5).
- To yield i> exaclly whal Creon finds m031 dilficull, .nd Ihere i.
perha(;-a furthcr irony in his statement after the cncoul-~ter with
Tdrcsi;u. "To yield u. terrible {demon}. but to resist and suik.e my
more: fully the' grcatnos of Dian. BUl Lhia grcalO6J il measured
of not "yielding" i, well exemplified in the .ingle, concentrated line
whh which Anttgone CUll through Creon'. long nut of 473'4!J6:
"Do you w.nl .nYlhing more than my c'plure and death?" (497).
The scene with l laemon which 1011ow. and firat eXl'lidlly in-
troduces the "ylch.ling" R10liI brings out more hilly the limitation.
" 01 Creon'. IIrenglh. 'Though Creon spoke for hi. IOn',~ (eelinE;' in
the previous scene (sec 569 II.), he nevertheless lean 10 encounter in
(HOleman the lame emotional temper and apirit of rcaistanre which
he found in hi> betrothed, Be indicates hi. lean in opening the
interview whh the quesrion, u • • • Arc you here: ragitll{ at your
Iarher , .. ?", Ihus aPl'lyinf( 10 l luemou the same verb Ih.1 he
wed of the two women earlier (I)'SJoln6n, G~:i: ICe lyuoJau, 4!lx;
the word iudf is not common and. occurs only in these two placet
in the play and, indeed, only twice: more, in the: extant plays). Ihs
verb U expressive nOJ ouly oE the way in which Creon rc~anls
those who 'oppose him. but abo ol the areas where he Ieets himscll
most eXIJ<M.<:c.l and most uncertain. lie is obviously reassured at
. Heemon'a "Father, 1 am youn;' the fint words which his son. wisely,
chooses 10 uuer (635): and he eXl're5lcs hi> relief in the expansive
.peech which follows (639-680), full ol bi, lavorile counuouplacee
about rule and authority.
.... In another w.y 100 the scene 'Ugl;CSll Lhal Creon'. posilion is
perh.po not 10 unshake.bly firm a. millhl 'ppe.r. h· reveals Ihat
.,creon in [act rdies heavily on the lupport of others, whether hll
IOn or Lhe choru•. He ciolnnot brook. disagreemeut. He cannot. lik.e
Antigone, Aland alone:. And those who disagree he will coerce Into
agTttment~,2 At the lame time he. lacu the calm definitencss o(
Antigone, and it actually (aT less re:uoll .. lJie than the "raging"
womanly naturc-s he insulu. Inueed. nOlhin~ perhaps better iIIu,..
tr.les Lhe in.ll.bilily o( his ,ul'l'OIedly "nllion.I" and cOlUi..enl
 Suphl.J&ICJ' PrlJuc u/ MlJn lJIIJ the CUII/licIJ oJ tile Anugcue 15 Ch"'/~J Paul Sl:gul

vicw. rhan hi. rreauneru of Haemon here. Reconciliaunn and
praise in the fir>1 pari of the scene arc 101l0wcLi 1101 ollly IJy sharp
iUiulu in the second, but even lly the crud threat (0 h..l':"c ~nllg ..
OIlC put 10 L1calh ill her ..brldegrooru's" very prc,clltc (7lio.(j,,). I~
these sudden Jihihs of muod LIcon undermines lh~ "rauouul
bo,uci ol his action on whit:h rests, in part, hi::. authority" llul ~_bo
h the ruler the man or COJl:.ISU:1I1 policy. lndkalc:i an II1Lfca:nng
c.' . '
qUOllitication of the image of lUan in lh~ hr:il ~ta)III1UU ~$ 1 te
Tca:aouing udug. the aruticer wlu.~e ulldhgcucc rs sbuwu 111 the
cillO he creates ..nd rules,
Anuther qualilicatlon or this ode comes to center Ol! AI,HI~()IlC'.
'The ode included lhe ''''lching 0" binJa .u one or urau e 1r n~lIIph5.
FrOID uie l.H:ginning of the pli,y. however, the bin.l" baueuing ~u
the exposed corl)Jc are lhe ,ini~tcr rernindcra of C~t:'UIl'S aUII.&o,ruy
(>cc, e.g., "9 If.), and hence also of hi. subordinauou ul religiOUS
u:.age to political decree, Yet it i. these lJinh which cany, 10
l't=lral4U the- w... rnings ..bout Creon'. viohltion or Ihat to ,wlnd&
Ufelf'). He fail> where Aruigone, hi. prisoner, succeeds: and her
success, in death, has eltccts which CTCOIU: a drasuc change In the
attilude of the master-hunter, Creon.
The guard" iimile not only underhucs the sex of AIUil;0lle, IJUI
aJ.w prepares lor Creon's tar cruller use 01 the: jlUa~cry 01 ",ulIual
conqoClt aher AlIligonc', >pccch (1H II,), and uiere 100 Creon CUII-
nt'~u conquest of n.. rure with domiuauon or male Over female (lloCC:
I
..81.85,5"5). The puallet••harpen the ditlereucc lJc,wcell Ihc guard',
phy and uie mOUlcr'. unfediu6 liCVC1"iIY.
. V l'hw il La exactly lhe womOinly element in AIIIIgouc which Creon
cannot group. He must reduce her "tct (0 IClllts analogous 10 hi:i
own in order 10 understand it, and Ihls he: docs must clcartj- in rhe
language in which he voices his. suspicion, about Isruene (though
he me"" hi> worda to apply '0 Anligollc as wcll):
~"I' d OV,uOf rplwOtJl DP~O'OQ'& /CAOTf.VS
,,;no ~'l4;" 6p8Ws U. O'4OTftJ Tt.X~J.lt.'l".IJI.

human control docs not pertain. 'The birds too an: Ihc:, :iU~Jlt:l t. u{
an "art" (tt:chne, 9uU). prophecy. which. in ih Mywp:.IIhcIJ( 1.':'I,:"I11?
10 the: voices of mature: ~t.UllJ:; "'part (rom lilt: more :i}":)tc:mOluc :.11 Is
of contrul and device (><:e /0 machunocn teciuuu, ~ti5·(j(j) Ihal ruun
hal "taught hilll><:Ir." ., . .,
It is .ignific~rll. then, Ihiu the Ruard, ,In (!cKnhmj!; ~,"ligun.t:' a
cilpture. com para her to a bird ItiIllCUlIllj{ .ItS yom"M': .• : : SI,le
rai..,. the .harp cry of lamcnt of a mOlhcr·LnrLl III In."er gfll~f, a,~
when, in the CIIIIJIY nest. it licei the bed itriPI:,c:d of, us.•neSt ,wg:i
. ) A,," a little later the guard .pcalul of hUIIIIIII; AlIlIgolle
(""3 "5 . u , , I' f
Vet Ihoogh he thUll COllncc.. hi, aCIIOII wllh IIC IIl1al;cry 0
(433)• , I 1. If I1
durnlnalion in the preceding OOC:, he hali abo .. lawn UlU5C, capa .. c
of a L1illcrcm attitude in Ihe bird'lilllile, Olle llIarked by. plly fo~ the
hunleU crc,~uure. Al the: I_lilt lime. however. Alui.,;u.m: II the VU:lJIU
.• . Il,e one idclldficLl' ",ith a pan of thc IlIlJJul;alClI lIalural
a~U I'" .
world (and, aa nOled earlicr, ahe il hefJelf 10 dcepcn '"' luCIIII-
fication in hcr Niobe·.imilc, B"3 If.). Thc gu~rd, thoUl;h, a,warc and
a lh c lic JliIl allowl himw:1f to be forced 11I10 Ihe I"lSlllOll of d,e
If mp ' ......., IJ
"hunlcr," the conuoller. Like hmene, he haJI gouu UUtl,I,IICU" ~t
bcu the force to carry them through (ace CJp. 4~U'40' not U II
my nature to count aU ower winK' aa ICIlI impoflalll Ulan my
The mind of IhoJC: anfuUy devuiug (lcr!momcnon) nouung honest
in the dark ia WOtU co be 'Olught lJdurc,hoauu III iu dUCVhllJlcu [Incr-
oUy, " ... a ,hid," klup<UJj. (1~"~1)
The word "thief" wed DC Auugone's deed immediately da~)ilie"
it in Creon', mind with the calculating UC)ICC: for "gain" (}unJos).
onc of hia {.vorale concepu. The yc:rb "anlulJy dcYi::iillg" conl~in:s
the root tcchnc, "deyice," "craIt:' wtlidl, as 'alreauy l101eu. hJ;UfO
prominently in the ode on man. Uut ;u lite lec/me: of the odc: 011
wan U AJuwcred (jn p'UI) oy Tc:jrc:.si~- god-directed Icc/we of
prophecy. £0 Ihe reduction of Antigone'!' ll1011Ye~ 10 a narrowly
conceived Hthid·Hie" c.. kui....iun I~ .uu,wercu, ... 1:)0 oy Iile goJs, III
Creon', cry when he hc..n his iUU'1i yoke d~c to lhe cutI: "Am J
deceived, thief·liLe, by the goLl," (liI.om k/cl'lomal, '" IH).
Thua the themal of lhe Ilirdl, tcc/me, male dominauon over
female, are all link.cd ;u p;utu ol a $Iugic: complex, llle muhiplc
aapc:cllI 01. control and authorilY; and .IU (his complex, which in·
volvca Antigone'" de;uh and lhe prophelJc birtb oC Tein:sJ:.Is, It is
perhaps luggeslcd lhat lhe world of nature, lO 5£1y nOlhilll{ of lhe
worJd of WilO, it neither JO hcJple$.3 lIor /liO eaoliHy conuuJJaolc: as
We Ii...t ,t..imon might lead Olle 10 ,oppo,c.
AntJgone, aa a WOJuan ;lnu "hurHeo" vlulm, ",uo 1~elre;i.u as

"-----;::=='-
 · "~ .." ,
Soi'hod~I' PTau~ of Man and Ih~ Cuu/IJCU of fh~ Antigone 77
interpreter of the .igm (rom the gods and as a helpless. blind old
man. arc cloetely related 10 one another In their au itudc of aym·
pathetic relation with this naturat world (and the comparison 01
Antigone to a Icre:.amiug bird heips reinforce this "S3od:.atlon). lloth
h..ve a special reverence lor the divine which deeply allta~ol1ile1
Creon, U-oth uclung to an order 01 bt"inl{ or a stage ot life of which
Creon is contt:lllptuuu~; and yet both ill the end arc vindicated at
Creon '. ex pc rut'.
In pUlling Antigone to death Creon has indeed gained his ob-.....
jeer, solidified his authority. crusued the reh acrorv element th.ilt
opposed-s-and this was the only c1CIIlCIIL. so iar, thai opposed. He
expected men [see 2"B. "Who of men (u1IClron) dared to do this
deed"] anti g;tin-,eek.il1g calculauun. and finds instead a girl who
&cd.s her only "gain" in death (.Itil IL) and looks to the gOlls, not
to men, Rebellion there i:s. as he feared, but rcbc lliou ;;sl{ail1st a
prolounder and more: deep-seared asp·eet of hlmself and his rule
than he yet IUSPCC15_ It is with the vindication of these "rebel-
lious" areas, the womanly, the: divine. the non-rational, that the
latter hall 01 the play is largely concerned; and it is perhaps Ihi.
reason which in pout accounts lor the increaaing prominence oC
Eros and Dionysoe, the mythical embodiments of the least rational
or "controllable" elements in human experience, in the ode! of
the second hall 01 the play.
'The answer to Creon. then. is two-fold. In the penon of Andg--
one is revealed Creon's reduction not only of womanly nature. but
of human nature: in general. In his reply to AntiJ;one:'s speec:h on
the divine laws Creon use. not only the language of technical
control (lire and metallurgy. 474"7(;) and animal subjugarlou (the
uming or horses, 477'7ti). bur also implicitly compares Anugone
10 a alave (douiol, 479), The progresaion of the thought i. hiJ;hly
significant. [or it reveals the link. between man's proud conquest of
nature anu Creon's delJa..sement of man. Ant!&.<.JIlc·s ability to rcsisl
the weight oi argument ;lod civic authority brou~ht against her is
judI a r~.ply. a vindic;ltion o[ the uncontJuerahle dignity and ....
wonh oC "the individual. She replies to the insult of slavery quite
Ipccifically. ;lnu her an,wer i, .the: love ;;lOd devotion of one indi..
vidual lo anotht'r under the sanctity o[ tic! thal are irl(.l~rendt'nt
01 the "artifIcial" a.speeu o( the .ocial order. It i. the irreducible
78 ~- Charles Paul SeGul
humanity 01 he~d. h:; refusal t~ let Polvneiccs become less V
th ..n wh a t she has (cit him to 1J.e. tll.. t rorlll~ the Lcrllcl of her
terse reply: "It wa.s 110 slave (duuluI) but a brother who died"
(5'7).
The other part of the reply to Creon comes from the subdued
realm ol nat ur e, wherein rhe gods are most manilest. -"hiS answer
too is necessarv for the wuoteucss o( the phty. lor Creon hat vio-
lated not only personal reluucue. UUI somcrhiug III the reluuon uf V
man to the woriJ... sense u( the salu.:tity III thll1g:s, III uarurc as III
DIan. 'These realms. the divine and the human, the natural anti the
divine worlds. Iuse in the rapid rnovcrueut of events which pre-
cipitate Creon's disaster. Fint 'Tetreaics' birds. 'Tbeu the: terr-ible
encounter between Creon and his 5011. "The ialll{u;l~e used 111 thi,
latter scene creates an even more dec isive and more biller inver-
lion of the man-nature. luunau-unimul theme, 'There is here an
ironic alternation of lameness anti wildness. but £Carrully pre-
serued at the heighl of the pedpety in Creon's own :100. l lucruou's
voice. Creon cries out. "lawns 011 me" (tlOlI'U. 1211): anti the
verb recalls the terms for animal.like servility U-oth in the ode on
man (see .540. 35Q-5:t) anti in the exchanges between Creon awl
Antigone (177-78. 5u9), Iuuuecliatclv after. however, llacmon is
like a wild, untamed animal, with "wild (agTl'oiJ) eves," spilling:. and
finally turning on himself in his savagery (I x~ 1-~G). Like an animal
(00 he hal lost man's proud achievement or speech (see ~5"). and
IC..FIDS not 10 understand his father's words (see 121JO).
V Creon's brutalization of hi. human relatlUlu,hips has thua re-
bounded upon him and with it the "tameness" and obedience he
demands (rom his own environment. Creon pays throug-h his son
(or a reduction of man which he has previously inff ictcd 011 turn.
lie had totally rejected, or refused to ICe. any possible love be-
l.ween Haemol1 and Anti!{one and thus rejected too the h"m.m
individuality or hi. ISOIl. In the wonu. "There are: olher fields for
him to plow" (569). he urinh'" the most IntlrllOUe o[ human rela-
tioru. with i15 traditional BanClitles. down to the level of a uruti:sh
act and mala a conne(tion too with lhe altitude In the otIe on
man (note: the emphasis 011 pluwing al the cno of the first strophe.
!J37 IL). '-hls del{ratlation oi the marria~e tic cOlltinues in Clcon',
cruel taunt to Haemon that An,igone will die "in the p'eseuce 01
 Sophocles' PruIse oJ Allin und llle Coniticts u/ rhe AHllgOliC 79
her 'bridegroom' (7uU-U 1) <sUU In Auugone's 10111:;. en:,ull1g- lament
II
th.u she U "wc:l1L1iul:)" Acherou (tho) am..l thal her turnb Is her
"bridal chamber" (tl!ll). The paueru i, Iulhllcd in l lueuum's
"utarriage..• in death, to Aurigoue (U'lo Il.] wuh the cOII::.c(lueIlL
desu ucriou o[ Creon's maHiabc and tile son it pruUun:d.
...... lli~n thus c.:omL~ to learn lIu: t.Ulbcll'lclln::a or his au irudcs and.
;u':liulI) 011 Ievels, whi«..h IUI~hL be laheled iuwr'n .. 1 utul ex...
IWO
tcrual, the;: 114:1")01lal realm .uu.l lhe: OUbldc wudJ.'1IHcll1ally.
(Iuuugh hi::i l:tullcriligs in his own mu:.L t:»clltial rcluuuus, those
wlll«-h tXIlh define alld cxplcn what .. mall b. he le.n us Ihal one
yCocs nut devalue tht: human realm without lIuing hunu to hi:. own
humauuy. J\nLil:)one. wilh her "'U:'01ULC valuariun of human lies,
would then cXlJre~ the 1ulle:'l development o[ Lhi:l humallily and
iu her NiolH:~inlaHe rJ)C::s to ahumL god-like )LaLUl'e.1:.,c:uu. having
demeaned the lanctity o( these tlL-S. i:l lett wiLhout any. and hence
:M:arcc1y human, a nonc:ntiLy••1$ he sap, at the end, ooe)('lslill~ no
more than ... nobody," 01'. as WyL'Koll lranslala. 001 who fun
nothing more than nOlhing now" (1!S2!t).
(Exlernally, ,lhr~ugh.lho iurervenuon 01 the divine powers in the \
person o[ TCUC'Slas, Creon learns by coercion thal there are areas
ol existence th.. t ·cannot or should nut he ~ulJjeClC:lI to courrot and
authority. nut thb compulsion (rom the rcalm o( the gmhl and.
the n:.&tur;&l world is. at alice brought home to him in terms of his
own {ate, -.nd he il touched uy the uroatJer revc:nah cunnc:t:lct.l
with the lJinls throu~h the: animal-imaB'"cry of his sou's aucl11plt:J.
parricide and dcath. ThuJ the two re_InUl. iUlcrnal and external,
human worlu anu nalural world aro in>Cl'arauly linkeu, anu 1{jII"
phay, in iu greaUI~ aflu complc:xily, ia ..n t:xpn:~ion ot this unity.
The cou(ouuc..Iing o( 'OIlI\clle" .-sud wihlnc:JS in Hac:mun', ueath
it connected with an' even more (unuameutal rc:ven",l in the pby
allu with another qualificalion 01 Croon'. viewl of civililalion.
Thia appears in Iho Iheme of .hcllor. In Ihe .econd lCeno with
lhe gu..rd which (ollowa [he ode On man and is an obvioul pen·
dam 10 lhe finl lCene in Ihis .ymmolrically .lruclUreu play, lhe
guaru dwell. On hi. and hi. companion.' oXl'osuro 10 lho .temellta
as lhey walch Ihe l>o<Jy: lho for,e 01 lhe winu•• lhe hoal, Ihe opell
air, Ihe barron hill. (~,o 11.). Tho faci lhal lhe"" uelail. ,ume '0
won aher U,e ode ia .ignificaOl, (or U,ero .heller (;OUl alorm anu Ihe
60·
open air WaJ, promint:ntly enumeratedu amour0 c'·vl'I,·,C d .
mAil I
adJicvcwcnu;
• .. O.OOl.4J•
..~.... 1.0000pua u:ol olJoop/Jpa ¢.iryu.. fJlAq, •••
(St;,uccr:dt ia hill-.)
And till the "i.11I ,h;at deuecu the: ~fTOWI oC SIlOW
the Ipc::olll of wuuer ... UI (:l5o-!J!J. U;,alu. Flu.) .,J,uJ,· FiuI:;culd)
A lhcral tr:.&n:.latiun makes the COIlUCCIIUU a lillie snore expticn:
He h;,u tOiuglu hllllM:1I to Ike lhe mi~ilc:i of Inuu
01 the upcn .. If (c,u,wllrclU,) l.holl w..&Lc h olHl lot.1glUg
and we ..rrows 01 storm,
Tho .lOrID described by the guaru fill. "tho open air" (alther,
_i 15• .f u ). and the IIllal;;c of arrows or 1I11~,:)ilc:i was u,:)c.t.1 111 Creun's
~rcvto~ ilngry il~tervlcw wuh the gllOiuJ (:.l.P. k.ccpil4; the rcarl-
lllg 01 the .M),i. With JclJtJ) and hi to be used a~;'lIn by hun, a leu in
a~~<:r. a~~lI1u 1't:lrc~ia~ (IU~3-~H). ell-on. him:.cll is Ic)puu:.ilJlc:: fur
a .tonu of sorts, for the: guard l.>cglns his )C(:OllJ SU:Ilc: wuh Creon
by docribing. hu. linat Interview III terms ot "I he srorru of your
thrc04u. to which 1 was )uujctt" (3~)I). before gUlllg Oil to rhe rea!
atorm In -i 17 IT. COOliJined with the animal auJ hUlllHlg: lIuagc::s lU
4 15. II. and ~55 (.oe a1.>ove) lhe eQmra'l W~lh lito 0<1c .. illl"re",ve.
'1 h.at iliac themes of ihdtc::r ano exposure have also lhe iJroadcr
implicaciolu of communal lite In gCllcral appear:> lrolU Hacmou 'a
CfQII.6--Cx.aminillion o( Crcon:
Creon. 11 nOI the pOUI conaidcred ;u bdoflHing to lhe ruler?
llUfROlt. You would c1I.crcite .. gU04.J rule JiIOhe. uver .. ot:.cnct!
(.,cmuI) lall~ (7'9'-Iu).
And aomolhing of lhi. ,uglle.dun i! aCleu QuI whon. ,ub,equootly,
Creon maka AOliKonO "ue>Crled," "i,ulaled" (aemus, tltl7, yly),
and hor cavo II in. a wild anu "doerleu" (eremus, 715) place.
Thua Croon, for all hb prai.>o of "law," h3:1 (aileu 10 !>ra.p 'Ome of
the eucntial qualitiel of dvili.t:adon t~k.en In iu Lr04u..ler, more
humane lCnlC: and he appean as rc::versing. as It Wt:I'C. lhe procc:,u
of civHizalion Iud! in exposing man to Ihe dC'sol~liun and vl<r
loac.e oI Lbe world Ue h... ,ul'p"'euly cOIHluereu.
 ~==~-'~--
Sophucle,' Proof: 0/ Man arid tile (;uufllCh uJ llu Auttgune
birds. In the corpse, as in the 5101111 uud in Antigune', cave. we
CUe reminded of the reality ol the still untamed will1nos which
lies outside human civif izaucn. Like rhe plague: in the Oedipus
81
"rhis "regressive" tendency Is present in the Iumlamental suua..
lion 01 the 1'101 '!>ell. the exposure 01 a mau'. booy 10 uug. and
Rex, the 'lIouldcriug corpse. quic.:i..ly but elll·t:lively described (see,
e.g. :lE9·~o. tU!) L. "'10) mal.CS us uucomlurtably aware of someuung
dblurbing. ollenaive, nauseating.
In the Greek. view. however. these physically ollensive elements
have a prolouuder relil;ious 11I;;nilit:al1cc. 'riley constitute, as Teire-
,i'ilI brings home. a "Ualma, a "polturiou,' an inlectious t .. int
which is the concrete manitcstauou of a violation ot some rellgtous
sanction. The: exposed corpse is both an outrage ol moral ,anctions
and a source 01 real "pollution:' a possible cause: ol plague, bli~ht.
barrenness, 01 the outbreak a~ainsl man ol all the unconrrollable
and myncriow lorces on which his survival depends, When the
rj~ht relation with these lorces I' broken. man's very existence is
threatened, on the level both 01 poliricalxoherence (see rudo 11.)
and personal happiness (as Creon is to learn).
.,......As leader ol the polu Creon mll~t be concerned with such
pollutions; yel it i. only superficiallj' that he KraSll$ the siJ;niH,
cance of a "pollution" coming from a Violation ol the divinely
establtsbed order ot lhin~. In his limltcll coucern (or the way In
which the city will "escape polhuion' (77ti). in the case or AntiJ;~
one's death and, more mal kedl)', in hi:s lIyln hi it: st ate ruerrt auout.
man's not being able to "pollute the /!;(MI'" (IO.I:i L) he ehowe his
lack 01 a sense 01 the larger sphere 01 which the poli s, and every
human creauon. may be a pan. Nt:;u the very cno, in a (inal
ullcrance about pollution. he conveys his newly·,:;ainc::d sense:: or
the: limitalions 01 human 3ction: "0 harbor 01 II:lt.lC:5, hurd to
purify. why. why do you UOlroy llIe" (12ij4 I.; sec aha 1'4')-
Tluu the corpse. in iu connections with the themes both of
.hc:he::r :and pollution. ~rves as an active link bctwe::C'n the two
alJXcu o[ Creon', "irreligious" attitude. his degratlation or OIan"'"
:lnd his disrcKard of the divine "30(110115. ·1'he two themes are
linked. o( [oun<.. in AntiKonC' lOO, ror hcr lHusal o( Pulynckt:s is
bolh a vlfldicalion o( the divine sanctions and :l more ~\Hhentic
aUU:IDC'nt o( the dignity 01 Ul:;111 than the: :.useniol1 o[ hurnan in~
I
8. Charl':J Paul Segal
dependence and control affirmed by Creon. A5 the presence or
the exposed al~tl a'.limal'lUrll booy males dear. the purely man.
centered magnlficallon ol human acluevemern ulay involve para.
doxicaUy. a debasement 01 man. •
i,
11. is not that tb e confidence of the lir't ataalmon is utterly
negated. :-he in,lage, of man's greatness persists throu~houl the
play. but It penilsu In the figure ol Antigone rather than Creon.
The qua lificarlon ol the: view of man implied In the otic only
woru toward a clearer definition or the wholeness of man. the
feminine with the masculine, the weakness and uncertnnuv ~hkh
arc: ~Iway. ~ere, even in his most splendid achievements, the
nOlhmgncsa In the (ace or which his greatness is asserted. 'This
gn:alneu. a.a Sophocles sees it, has not reached iu full measure
unless it has conrrO~tc.d its Own negation in death. 'This Antigone
alone does. Death LS merely brushed asule in the ode on man
U(h..(j2) and' used as a threat of punishment. another instru-
ment 01 control, by Creon.
V Vel here the Iates 01 the two protngonlsts, AlIliJ;one unshake-
ably firm and accepting death heroically, Creon crushed to "rioth-
jng~:u" (13 25), are at extreme polari·lics. 'Though the original
positions ol Itrong and weak are reversed. the two arc still scpa-
rated each Irom the other a. by an infillile gnlL In the Oedipus R"x
?r perhaps a decade later Sophocles' at;J;lcmei,t about the complex
Inl.erplay or human gre::atness anti human weakness will be more
rully unified into a l(oHle prolagul1ist. And at the cud of his life
he will again UJ.(: the figure of Oedipus as his prototype ot a Mill
more profound restatement of lhis complex relurion,
The forceful prelence: of dealh. whclhcr in the. exposel1 l1e:.ul
body or in Antigone::'s acceptance' of a living dealh. sharpc.:n~ the
problem of the nalure amI dignity o[ man.4Jcath can ue a tleK-
ral1alion or an affirrnadon of human value in the face of inllexiulc
nece::t.!.Itia.Sj(nligone'. clC'3lh aHirlUs I.hls value not olily Cor herself
but abo for the dishonored corpse. For her it is still a h~man li~Ulc.
Ilill iruerarable [rom a human p-ersonality.KCrC'on. in maltrcatiul{
the cor!",e::. deY4illueJ also the image:: oi living man. It is inlcrcsLill~
to conSider Creon's aci. in the Ii~ht of the Ilt~iJ.;IHcncd empha:sis on
the human fonn in the mid fifth century. Sophodc, prcscnu a
play llul cenlen about the desceradoll oC a human fJody at the:
 Suphvclcs' PrG'JI: 01 Alan and lite Cou/llell oJ lhe Allllguue
very rime thaI his ccnremporaries wOlliul{ 011 the Palllu:Hun were:
di~overing and cltprc»ing the bc.auty awl uulJiJily of mau':a lJoUy a.a
it h"d never been expressed betore.
Again, therefore, Creon's act has implicatiuns which he him-
a.cl£ does not rc:,,1ile~l rc:ganlinl:1 deurh a:t uuurhcr IIl::tlrunu:11l uf
courrul, not as a necessary condiuou of CltblCIH.C: to be approached
wiLh compassiou and unUChlOUu..Iing, Creon dbvalucrs his :..ulljedJi
and uhimaltly hiwself. lie denies Ihal the stare ha. a pluce lor
de.. th In Ihis lauer, generic sense. Yet at the end he who had
impcriou:..ly ordered the maltreatment oI a botly euters hilll::tdC
c"Hying a corpse. and one th:d Ii "not ..norhers" but hi~ own
(1.1(57-60)- As • killg. he h;u dhmisaed or "used' death, ouly to
discover and experience it as a man. mortul and lied 10 monal
lx:ings/11c:nce Creon'••uue-cerucred view or man reveals us iu-
lIJc(luadc."3 in wiuc:ning areas 0Ui the play proceeds and l:i shown
to Involve the loss of the Iull hUluouaily nut only oC the BubJcct
cirircn, but of the ruler as well.
A political or histortcal iurerprctai ion of a work or the ma !{ni~
rude or the Autigon« is, of cOUJ:'C. iuudcquure; yel lhe Iustor irul
'Iue has some wider ranges or Iiignificauce. 'The play. at one level,
is .. lmo:lll cerraiuty a srarerneru about the nature and ic..leau of
Athenian democracy, It rejects the autocratic materiullsm ami
narrow ralJonali:Hn irnplicti in Crcon', outluok., whkh rC:::ilriCIa
motu'J nacure to a lunccional capadty. ret..hu:cs him to a mcmlu:r
of a polillcal unit ollly. What Antigone dcmamb, Oil the OIlier
hOlnd, i. lhat lhe :;lale take 11110 ic~cI( Ihe :.alU:tlty oC uloud Idd,~
lion:. the value oC aflcClJolJ anu t1ll01i0llal dc:::t, Ihe ulliquc l1 c :i S of
the i:ll.Jivit.Jual. '·he cOIH:c(Jdou iccms not unlik.c: thal pUl Cunh in
PCrlc1o' l:une:r..1 ~l)(:ec~a:
JI it true 111:'1 we lire c:tlled .. dcmorraq, for lhe: admlfllsfralion is in
thc: h.. nd, oC che many OIlId lIot of lhe Cew. Hut while the i.lw :u:CurCI
equ.. 1 jut-liu:: to .. 11 ."Iik.e in their )ldvalc ,U,hpUI;". ,Ihe d.dm uf c.:lLc:d.
Icncc II also recoKni;,;cd: ."lId when a cllucn II III OIuy w .. y dn,lIu·
guilhetl. he i. prdcrrcd 10 Ihe pul.Jlic.• ervk~, lIul ... ~ m..uer l)f
privilege. bUI ;u the rewilrcJ of weill. (I hUCYUlCje~, 1·.57·', If. Joweu.)
In Juch a ,laic an Anlig-one could exist-pcrhap5 in a rtlll~r ,,:,a y
than Pc:ricla inlc:uth-demaut..liul:; her rig,hLl awl lhereby z.haplllg
"
C/U.lrlCJ Paul Segal
the: &late ancr the ben elements in herself, ruak.ing it an expression
oI her own lull huuranuy,
II has often been suggested, as noted earlier, that Sophocles iu-
tended the play. at least in pan, as a quahticauon of the ruuonul
optimum of the: flLth·cenlury "eulighunent" as cxprcSlicJ 111 the
apq:uJ"lloru of Proragoras, Allaxag:ora..3. Democruus, Hippocrates,
Hippodarnus of Miletus, It may be too. as h as been mainuuned,
UI04t behind the picture of Creon 1ic~ some reference 10 the "proud
and austere" Perrcles hunself, "who wuh all hi' Ldid in humanity
wou so much 1Q.1 'human' rhan, for maumee, Suphoda:'
BUl the: i.s.oUC'I go Iar beyond the reference 10 specific men or
cliUI of men. 'They arc concerned wnh uetiluJ1l{ lhal in wh ich
DUO·. hum..m ily COllSI:iU. Man would like to bcl ieve. the play
J.CcULI to uy, Ihat he: has developed "wundcrfu!" resources lur
understanding and cOllullalHling: hu world. Yet Ulan thc::'ardlic..cr
or deviser is not enough. "rhu:s In t he course of rhe play aU rhc
apparent conlluC1U enumerated in rhc linl srasunou prove to have:
a double edge. The sea, controlled proudly in the ode (~~5 II.) and
for Creon, Irorn hjs lirst appeoarauce. lJoa:;tCully assocuned wu h
polinca! control (the slup of stare: see 16. if.. IH~o~o, erc.), return.
in subsequent odes in connccnon with the helplessness uf irrational
aulfering (>ee 581 n, 953 If., ~(jli ILl, until Creon him.tlf speak. of Ill.
disa.uCf, ironically, as a "harbor" (utl.l). The animal:.; and lllnl,
deKri~ in the antiscrophe (1i'I:i~lx:(orne Iilc we:.::tenv;cr.i of (he
viohuw divine order ollhn,lgs.,,1 I, iU.lhe imagt:ry (O~HlCl'I.CU. wilh
H.:ac::mon·1 death. Ollm():,j;t the lIIuuct.h IIlSlrUmelib uC Crcon:s doum.
Speech and communication ('51) tJcg:cllerouc hun ranling ami in-
lull or the Uller, anhnOlI·like liilco(e of Ibemon al Ihe: eno . .shelter
and lhe fruits of mOll1'5 dty·cn:aling Icmpcr (:lce ~55·!)(j) arc dClIlCU
the corpac: and even the KUilnla who walch It. and arc: IJcg-au:'t1 abo
in Antigone'. desolate place: oC burial. Evt:n Ihe conquest of di,-
cue (363.6,,) rebounds on man in Ihe "c.livilic lIi)ca~" of Ihe )Iorm
('P:5) and, more: scriot.nly. in lhe p.olJualon whh which the dty "is
di£c;u.cd" a.a a rC"::iult oC Creon', "Ihought" ur "julcllig-ellc.e" ( 10 15).
h il only ueath, Ihal alone which man ('aUllul conlrol or "Hee,"
AI the ooe 'uys <.~(j I). which proves che fuHc::tt tuuc!lslOflC of man'5
grc;uncu and Ihe lruest meau:s (0 hi:! asst:uioll of hi' human.n y•
The JJnl'-gone is IliB bleak. anu uark. oy c.umparisuu to l.he iuLJllue
~,._-~.-- .. _-- ... "'-
 f ock,; rr.;~ 01 Man and the COllfllctJ oJ rill: Antigone: 8~

1In.lc of the Oedipus at CutOtlUJ where the hero discovers his

A"C'~It:l1 powers in his sdf.guiut'u movements at his call to death.
.,,-el in the Antigone 100 a sell-accepted deuth is the source 01 what
is beautiful and heroic in the play. Hut if Anugonc. wilh her heroic
acceptance of the unknown. of death, most fully vindiciltes the
dignity of man. Creon comes to act out the equally trag,ic prCKC"
of becoming fully human. Wilh Antigone's death there comes,
Ihrough the blinu"e.., and helplcssness 01 the seer, the rebirth of
Creon', humanity, uurit he too is plunged amid loss ami s.. Hering
iuro his own experience of the "uuwriuen Jaws" whit-h all men
must bee as mortal beinbP'J who sometime encounter the unknown
and unknowable. And in his encounter he passes hom hi, ('OIO~
munal position ilS head of slate to a loneliness and isolation perhapo
~re terrible th..n Anti~uJ1c'J.
Alitigollc'J view. rhen, (or all iu id~~ism, is more "reallst!c,"
in the- full tragic sense, than Creon's. (fo live humanly. in Suph-
ocles' te-rms, is to "now ftlily the condirious of man's existence:
and lhis means to accl:pt the ~ods who. in Ihdr limitless. 3J.;1·lrss
power (sec 004 11.) are those condiuous, the unbeudiug rea lilies
of the universe]
Sophocles never laY' lhat to accept the condirions is easy. Yet
he seems abo to assert that man not only mU~1 arn:pt the nnuH·
tions, but that he has, or finds, the slren~th to do 50. Even Creon,
though far Irom the broken bUI still illlpcrluus Oedipus at rhe
end of the TyrannUJ, UO<:l not kill himself, crushed as he i s, lie
sutlers and endure'S.
It is in his appreciation of human greatness that Sophocles is
the true contemporary of the IU:lIcsm:UI who apousorcd the new
Acropolis and Parthenon .... nd of the rh inker who said that "Man
iJ the measure or all things:' But he is a universal tragic poet in
hiJ deeply felt knowledge th a l man's human (jualities. in all Ih~ir
grealnesa. involve recognition of the unyielding factuality of "rlre
things Iha, arc," the gods, The first etaaimun is juslly deecrfbed
aJ a pralse of man; but exactly what in man Sophocles is praising
can be seen only in terms of the enure play. In another chorus
the elden .ing. "Norhing of magnitude comes into the liIe 01
mOriah wilhoUI .uHering and disaster" (613"~)'