is prisoner, because I honored those things in which honor truly belongs." She is directly humiliating Creon by calling his opinions and decisions weak and unjust. She also emphasizes "his prisoner," which tells us that Creon's decision to capture Antigone was his own, and was not backed up by the majority of the people. She feels that Creon is abusing his power as king and dealing with her task to a personal level.Creon's actions are guided by the ideal that states, "Man is the measure of all things." The chorus emphasizes this point. Creon believes that the good of man comes before the gods. Setting the example using Polynices' body left unburied is a symbol of Creon's belief. "No man who is his country's enemy shall call himself my friend." This quote shows that leaving the body unburied is done to show respect for Thebes. After all, how could the ruler of a city-state honor a man who attempted to invade and conquer his city? From that perspective, Creon's actions are completely just and supported by the ideals.Though most of Creon's reasonings match with the Greek ideals, the people questioned his action on this point. First, Antigone was "his prisoner", not necessarily the publics. In fact, the general population supported Antigone, though they were too scared to say anything. Haemon, the son of Creon, knew of this, and told Creon, "Has she not rather earned a crown of gold? Such is the secret talk of the town." This proves that Creon was exercising complete domination of political power, which is strictly forbidden in the new ideals. Also, not allowing Antigone perform her religious ceremony of burying her brother is interfering with religious affairs. This denies Antigone freedom of religion.The contradictions between the beliefs of Creon and Antigone are strong throughout the play. Both have well-structured arguments, but neither completely dominates the other. Some people still question who the real hero is in the play. Antigon...
