Hubris
One of the many main ideas of the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, is the idea of hubris. The great struggle throughout the play of hubris is shown enormously through the characters Antigone and King Creon. The idea of hubris, and the necessity of it, is shown perfectly through the governing power of King Creon and the laws that Antigone chooses to live by, but King Creon eventually finds out himself how powerful hubris could by and is greatly punished by the gods. King Creon chooses to govern his people by what society would consider law. He ignores the rules of the gods and pays a heavy price. He himself thinks as a god and believes if the gods wanted him to bury Polynices they would take him away themselves. “Let the eagles carry his carcass up to the throne of Zeus; even that would not be sacrilege enough to frighten me from my determination” (154). Antigone fails to recognize her limits when she compares herself to royalty after she is sentenced to death. She is happy for what she did and is not afraid to die for it, however, by doing this, she should not maker herself out to be a god. She compares herself to the daughter of Tantalus, the son of Zeus, who died for her beliefs. “The daughter of Tantalus, a Phrygian maid, was doomed to a piteous death on the rock of Sipylus, which embraced and imprisoned her, merciless as the ivy; rain and snow beat down upon her, mingled with her tears, as she wasted and died. Such was her story, and such is the sleep that I go to” (148-149). Both characters soon learn that the lack of hubris in both of their lives will soon come to realization. Antigone is obviously murdered by Creon, but for this, Creon is punished severely. Not only did Creon convict Antigone to a death sentence, but also her sister, Ismene. Because of this, King Creon would soon lose two loved ones himself. The gods take away his son, Haemon, and then when his wife, Eurydice, finds out about the death of her son, she herself commits suicide....