In Sophocles’ play Antigone we are faced with a simple conflict between Creon, king of Thebes, and his niece, Antigone. Although the conflict is clear and easy to understand on its surface, beneath the surface onlookers often become jaded as to which character, Creon or Antigone, Sophocles intended to portray this tragic play through. As the play begins, Antigone is alone in her beliefs. The chorus sides with Creon and most likely the audience as …showed first 75 words of 849 total…

…showed last 75 words of 849 total…power above the will of the gods. Through these actions he brings about his own downfall. As a punishment he must live with the sorrow he directly inflicted upon himself, through his stubbornness and conceit. Antigone, meanwhile, has died a martyr, refusing to ever yield her position. She stood by the house of Oedipus, and more importantly, she adhered to the highest form of the law, that of the gods, as a true hero would.