Looking at Death through Antigone's Eyes- Obey the Gods or the King
             In Sophocles' play, Antigone, the main character Antigone is faced with a horrible tragedy; her two brothers have just died fighting each other and now one of her brothers, Polyneices, is not given proper burial rights by the king, Creon. In Greek times, when a man dies there is a great deal of respect and praise given, and a proper burial is always necessary to support the path to the afterlife. When Antigone hears about this lack of respect for her brother, we see her side come out. She disobeys the king and secretly buries her brother, breaking the laws of the polis. Why did she break the city's laws? In examining death through Antigone's eyes, it becomes apparent as to why she broke the laws set by Creon to leave Polyneices unburied. This examination will prove that obeying the laws of man is secondary to obeying the laws of the gods, and that Antigone is very passionate in her views about death.
             In order to explain Antigone's feelings about death, let us first go over what the whole play, Antigone, is about. The story takes place in Thebes, and Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta (who are not actually in the play). One of Antigone's brothers, Polyneices, left Thebes and went to Argos, because when Oedipus died the two brothers, Polyneices and Eteocles, were too young to rule so they alternated years of ruling. At Argos, Polyneices gathered an army to attack Thebes so that he could become the only ruler of Thebes. During his attack, he gets involved in a fight with his brother where they both kill each other. The new king after their deaths, Creon, does not want to give Polyneices a proper burial because of his treachery against the polis, which Creon believes is the most important thing of all. Creon is a very stern, authoritative ruler who tries to exercise his power as often as he can. So, these la...