Essay topic 3 essay

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Michael Rossi
English 10 Honors/ Mr. George
October 26, 2008
Essay Topic 3: “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Describe the downfall of Creon in “Antigone” in relation to how we see him in “Oedipus.” What sparks this change? What do you see as the turning point for Creon’s downfall? Describe the different ways Sophocles shows the corrupting force of power.

Blind Tyranny

Creon has changed drastically from “Oedipus the king” to “Antigone,”. Creon was once the voice of reason and represented most of what today’s modern audience would concur with. In Antigone, his once bright insight has been dulled. Creon was once loyal to the will of the God’s. He scolded Oedipus for being so stubborn and dense. He witnessed the sacrilege and impiety that brought about Oedipus’s downfall. Creon is at even greater fault than Oedipus. This is true because Creon failed to learn from Oedipus’s mistakes; even though he preached against it, and was warned by Tiresias. Because of this he has become a contradiction in himself and has failed to learn from the former king’s errors.
As Creon’s becomes king he devalues the opinion and guidance offered to him by others. Being a king means you rule over others, why would it be logical that someone could possess superior knowledge? If that were so, would the more intelligent person not be king? This is Creon’s “dead end” sign on his road to bettering himself as a ruler and excelling. His arrogance is displayed for the first time when he states, “I am the kind of man who can’t and never could/ abide the tongue-tied ruler who through fear/ backs away from advice



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(198). Creon shuns virtually divine advice from Tiresias before properly assessing the situation, “Old man,/ you pot away at me like all the rest.” (237) This is foolish because Oedipus’s life began to fall apart when he shunned Tiresias’s advice: advice that Creon supported: “If you really think a stubborn mind is something to be proud of, / then you’re not thinking straight. “ (30) Also, if Creon considered Tiresias’s warning with a more level mind then perhaps he could have preserved his loved one’s lives.
The reason his wife Eurydice died is because she believed that her son had died, and this made her commit suicide, “My son’s voice strikes my ears./ Hurry, Hurry, servants , to the tomb,/…Haemon, bridegroom, broken,/ cursed the father who had robbed him.” (246) His wife would most likely not have committed suicide if Haemon had not gotten into a conflict with his father. Haemon would probably not have argued with his father if Creon had listened to Tiresias’s advice and released Antigone more promptly. These possibly different outcomes would not have been probable because Creon rejects all reason other than his own. He rejects the ideas of his own people, and he even rejects the will of the God’s.
Creon’s downfall is a contribution of many factors; however, one mistake that he and Oedipus both make during their rule is their inability to cede to the Gods’ will. When Oedipus disobeys the God’s unfavorable fate was bestowed upon him. Creon knew that he was not listening to the Gods. He displayed this when he yells at Tiresais that he will not listen,” Not even if Zeus’s eagles come, and fly away/ with carrion morsels to their master’s throne.” (237) Creon was a fool for thinking that anything different would befall him. Creon did reject the Gods in

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that statement. Perhaps, not as harshly as Jocasta had by saying there is no such thing as fate; but nevertheless he took his God’s name in vain and chose not to listen to them until it was too late.
One thing that Creon does do more quickly than Oedipus is realize his flaws. The first time Creon exhibits this is when he acknowledges the possibility that he did in fact, lead to his family members death, “…Murdered son, father murdering./Son, My son, cut down dead!/ New life that’s disappeared/ And by no youthful foolishness/But by my folly.“ (248) Even though Creon does realize this and tries to rectify the situation by attempting to release Antigone, but she had already hung herself.
In the end Creon lost his voice of reason and was consumed by the darkness that he fought against. Absolute power corrupts absolutely because it puts whoever is on top on such a high pedestal that they believe they are a God. In doing so, you lose everything that makes you superior. If you are the only teacher, and you have no students, when you declare yourself the greatest teacher in the world then you are a teacher of nothing. If you are a king and have no subjects, then in the words of Haemon, “A one man state is no state at all.” (224)