In the play Antigone by Sophocles, Creon makes a substantial mistake in his notion of which is more powerful: your loyalty towards a friend and your family or your loyalty towards your country. In the beginning of the play, Creon considers his country to be the most important factor in his life. However, because of the tragic events that occur after he kills Antigone, he realizes that he was wrong. Comitment towards a friend and your family has more power than devotion towards your state.
             When Creon first takes the throne, he declares his views on authority to some of his countrymen. He says, "whoever places a friend above the good of his own country, he is nothing" (p.96, 797). At this point, Creon considers the influence of the nation to be more powerful than the dedication one has concerning a friend or family member. He says someone who places a friend first is "nothing", someone who he will literally consider as non-existent. Creon kills Antigone because he believes that it's best to enforce the established laws that his kingdom imposes upon the public. Despite the fact that Antigone is his son's bride, and her death would wound him deeply, Creon places his nation first and sticks firmly to his policy. He kills Antigone.
             This action produces turmoil. The great significance that Creon had given to the state in his life proves to be a mistake. Because he kills Antigone, Creon is left without his son and his wife. He says, "I don't even exist-I'm no one. Nothing." (p.126, 1445). Before the deaths of Antigone, Haemon, and Eurydice, Creon refers to someone who places a friend above their state as being "nothing". However, now he is putting himself in the "nothing" category. Because he is essentially left with nothing in his life (no family), he realizes that he was wrong. It was Antigone, who put her obligations to her brother first bef...