Creon

Jerry

Heather

Humanities

1/30/2015

Antigone and Creon

In the history of civilization one of the most critical advances has been the development of written and public laws. Nomos and logos are two kinds of it. Logos is that law that made by god Nomos is the law that made by people and city, it is logical and it is the root of the city. Logos and nomos can decide the direction of a country whether it is democratic or conservative. Also, logos and nomos are not only for our society or our country, but also for us. Because you want yourself to live better, you will choose the way you think is correct, but not others. You will walk through the way you choose, no matter how hard and dangerous it is. In Sophocles play, Creon and Antigone’s opinions are different, and they have different attitude toward laws. Antigone prefers logos but Creon prefers nomos. Although Antigone attempts to justify breaking the law, and the play seems to support her actions, in fact, Creon is most convincing in arguing the need to follow the law of the city.

 Creon is the leader of the city, so he needed to protect the right of city and citizens even if it means going against the personal interests. In the book, Creon’s nephews, Eteoclus and Polyneices, fight to each other and both dead. Polyneices turned against his city and Creon, the city’s king, punished the renegade of the city. Creon did the right thing, but Antigone said that this is incorrect thing and Creon broke the god’s law. As a king, Creon thinks that nomos is more important, and everyone should follow it no mattered it is just or unjust. When Antigone admits her crime, Creon says: “ I am the law, and I will uphold the law.”(63) Clearly, he is very arrogant. He ignored the god’s law, and as the chorus says: “ if a man climbs too high on the slopes of mount Olympus or in his own life-the gods strike him down.”(69). He also says: “ people must obey the ruler! People must obey all laws- large or small, just or unjust.”(72). Clearly, these are not the words of a wise king, a king who cares for his people. Instead, he thinks the country belongs to the ruler, and all should do is to obey the ruler, bur not the god. It predicts the fall of Creon.

In some ways, it also shows the reasons that why nomos is more important than logos, however some laws in nomos are unjust. First, the law that human makes now can be improved. For example, in China, they have a meeting called People Congress. This meeting is the polite way to improve the law and add some new law, but logos can’t change. Second, wrecking laws is dangerous. If citizens want to change some of the law in unmoral way, citizens may break the law first and have punishment. Third, nomos makes society to be peace. Nomos is made by humans’ leader and the leader knows human is greed and selfish, so he can make the law more comprehensive to control people’s action. These the reason that nomos are more important than logos. in today’s world, nomos is more important than logos, because we should pursue the truth, and use the single principle to rule our society, in order to make it better and better.