Power, Hubris, And Hamartia Sophocles Antigone

Rafael Tafur Mrs. Morillo English IV Honors October 31, 2015 Power, Hubris, and Hamartia in Sophocles s Antigone Lord Acton, a well-known British historian, writer, and politician, resonated the repercussions of power and dominance by stating that All power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely† (Moreell, Power Corrupts). This is just one of the themes covered in Sophocles s Antigone. Within this dramatic play, Sophocles questions the conventions of hubris, hamartia, and power. They all play a role in the narrative where Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, vows to pay respects to her dead brother, Polyneices, as he laid dead in the battlefield outside Thebes. At the same time, the ruler of Thebes, Creon, issues an edict against the burial of Polyneices s body since he was the man responsible for trying to invade and destroy Thebes. In Creon s mind, he sees Polyneices as a traitor and deserves no respect from anyone in Thebes. For Antigone, a question arises on whether she must follow the law or provide rest and comfort to her l ate brother in a dignified manner? Within the play Antigone, Sophocles expresses that hubris and the hunger for power and control can lead anyone to their ends, without regard to original motive. Sophocles uses Antigone and Creon serve as examples of the interaction of the themes of hubris, hamartia, and power. To start, the foundations of law and power are questioned whenShow MoreRelatedHow Power Can Be Corrupted Through Hubris And Invokes The Limits Of Power Of A Ruler1512 Words   |  7 Pages Sophocles shows how power can be corrupted through hubris and invokes the limits of power of a ruler. Also, Sophocles exposes how the presence of dominance can Antigone continues to argue with Creon over the justification of her harsh sentence. Within the heated debate, Antigone says to Creon that â€Å"Not a man here would say the opposite, were his tongue not locked in fear. 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