Antigone's Hamartia

Antigone’s hamartia is her loyalty and willingness to break the law. As a result of this, she breaks Creon’s law by burying her brother Polynices. By that, she shows greater loyalty to her brother and the gods’ law than Creon’s law. When the Sentry catches her in the act, he takes her to see Creon. She says, “ That order did not come from God. Justice, that dwells with the gods below, knows no such law. I did not think your edicts strong enough to overrule the unwritten unalterable laws of God and heaven, you being only a man” (Sophocles 138) which infers that she does not follow the laws of Man because she does not believe they are strong enough. Oedipus' and Creon's hamartia is way worse. They are both hubristic unlike Antigone. Because of this, Oedipus murders his father and marries his mother then he refuses to admit any guilt. Creon refuses to follow advice of chorus, refuses to show mercy to Antigone, and he refuses to follow the law of the gods. Creon says that, "A king whose lips are sealed by fear, unwilling to seek advice, is damned" (Sophocles 131). He goes against his word when Haemon tries to help him and he refuses to take any advice because of Haemon's age. Also, Creon's values are wrong because he believes that a king is only responsible to himself and every state belongs to its ruler (Sophocles 146).