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Christina Buck
Professor Baker
UHON 1010
7 December 2016
The Importance of the Gods
Antigone is a tragic play written by Sophocles, an accomplished Greek poet, around 441
B.C.E., depicting the endeavor of the heroine, Antigone, to follow the gods laws by burying her
deceased brother, Polynices. During this play, Creon, the king of Thebes, transitions from denial
to acceptance of the importance of the gods decrees. At first, Creon demonstrates his denial of
the gods decrees by placing his own commands at a higher importance. After Tiresias, a
renowned prophet, warns him that he will be punished for prohibiting Polynices burial, Creon
accepts the importance of the gods decrees. The Aeneid is an epic poem written by Virgil, a
Roman poet, nearly 500 years after Antigone was written. The Aeneid follows a man, Aeneas, on
his journey to found a new home in Italy after his previous home of Troy is sacked by the Greeks
in the Trojan war. In book four The Tragic queen of Carthage in The Aeneid, Aeneas marries
the queen of Carthage, Dido, and later must leave her to follow the gods command that he
journey to Italy. While The Aeneids plot is quite different than that of Antigone, there is a similar
transition of Aeneas from denial to acceptance of the importance of the gods decrees. At first,
Aeneas denies the importance of the gods decrees by staying in Carthage and marrying Dido.
After the god Mercury rebukes him for staying in Carthage and commands him to continue his
journey to Italy, Aeneas accepts the importance of the gods decrees. This similarity between

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these two works shows the influence of Antigone and its idea of divine law being of upmost
importance in Virgils writing of The Aeneid.
In the beginning of Antigone, Creon denies the importance of the gods decrees by
placing his own decrees at a higher importance. Creon illustrates his belief that his commands
are more important than the gods commands when he states, But that man / the city places in
authority, his orders / must be obeyed, large and small, / right and wrong (Sophocles 748-50). In
other words, Creon claims that his people should uphold his decrees even if they are wrong
according to their religious beliefs. Later, in an argument with Tiresias about Creon disobeying
religious tradition by not allowing Antigone to bury Polynices, Creon states, Youll never bury
that body in the grave, / not even if Zeuss eagles rip the corpse / and wing their rotten pickings
off to the throne of god! (Sophocles 1151-3). Creon is saying that he would not allow Polynices
burial even if Zeus, the main Greek god, believes he should be buried. With this statement, Creon
displays his belief that his orders are more important than the gods commands.
After the prophet Tiresias warns Creon that the gods will punish him for prohibiting
Polynices burial, Creon accepts the importance of the gods decrees. After Creon sentences
Antigone to death for going against his orders to not bury Polynices, Tiresias warns Creon that
he will be punished for not allowing Antigone to exercise her sacred right to bury her brother.
When Creon realizes that he is going to be punished, he tries to correct his actions by releasing
Antigone: I and my better judgement / have come round to this I shackled her, / Ill set her
free myself (Sophocles 1234-36). Creon no longer believes that his own orders are of upmost
importance; instead, he decides to try and follow religious tradition by reversing his previous
actions. Going back on his previous decision to execute Antigone shows that Creon has begun to
accept the importance of the gods decrees.

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Similar to Creon, at the beginning of book four in The Aeneid, Aeneas shows a denial of
the importance of the gods decrees by marrying Dido and staying in Carthage rather than
completing his journey to Italy. Earlier in The Aeneid, the main Roman god, Jupiter, promises
Aeneas a new kingdom and commands him to go and settle the land in Italy. Aeneas, however,
falls in love with Queen Dido, and he decides to stay in Carthage rather than follow Jupiters
order. The following statement is made in the narration of Aeneas decision to stay in Carthage:
Even now they warm / the winter, long as it lasts, with obscene desire, / oblivious to their
kingdoms, abject thralls of lust (Virgil 242-4). In other words, Aeneas put more importance in
his own desire to stay with Dido than in Jupiters command that he journey to Italy. This is very
similar to Creon in the beginning of Antigone. At first, Creon also denies the importance of the
gods commands by placing more importance in his own desire, which is to be the highest
authority in Thebes. Both Creon and Aeneas are portrayed in the beginning of their respective
works as in denial of the importance of the gods decrees.
Also similar to Creon, Aeneas accepts the importance of the gods decrees after he is
rebuked for staying in Carthage and commanded to finish his journey to Italy by the god
Mercury. In Antigone, the gods do not appear in the play themselves, instead, their orders are
relayed by Tiresias; however, in The Aeneid, the gods do have a physical presence. When Jupiter
sees that Aeneas has disobeyed his orders to travel to Italy, he sends Mercury to chastise Aeneas.
Mercury questions Aeneas, Wasting time in Libya [Carthage] what hope misleads you so? / If
such a glorious destiny cannot fire your spirit / at least remember Ascanius rising into his
prime (Virgil 338-41). With these words, Mercury shows Aeneas that he and his son,
Ascanius, have been given a glorious destiny by Jupiter and that the gods are displeased by
Aeneas denial of their gift. In response to Mercurys angry words, Aeneas decides to continue

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his journey to Italy and later exclaims, We follow you, blessed god, whoever you are / glad at
heart we obey your commands once more (Virgil 720-1). Aeneas proclamation shows that he
has accepted the importance of the gods commands and will now obey them. Aeneas transition
is very similar to Creons in Antigone. Creon also accepts the importance of following the gods
commands after he is rebuked for his denial of them by Tiresias. Despite the differences of the
works, both Creon and Aeneas accept the importance of the gods decrees after they have been
chastised by another character.
The similarity in the transition from denial to acceptance of the importance of the gods
decrees in both Antigone and The Aeneid shows Sophocles influence on Virgils work. Virgils
writing was obviously influenced by his Greek literary predecessors. In regards to Virgils
literary influences, most scholars agree that Virgil was well acquainted with Greek works by
Sophocles. No one can say for sure if Virgil read Antigone specifically; however, it is very likely
that he read and was inspired by the play Antigone. With this knowledge, the two works can be
seen as a commentary on one another. Antigone was written to highlight the Greeks dilemma
between whether it is more important to uphold human or divine law. In this play, Sophocles
illustrates the opinion that divine law is more important, and he furthers this idea by showing that
those who do not follow the gods commands will be punished. For example, Creon is punished
through the suicides of his wife and son for his hesitance to uphold religious tradition and reverse
his previous order for Antigone to be executed. The purpose of The Aeneid, however, is to give
Rome a mythical and heroic story of its founding. Because he developed his writing style by
studying Greek literature, Virgil used many elements and ideas from Greek works such as the
dilemma between human and divine law illustrated in Antigone. Virgil, however, furthers this
idea and uses it in The Aeneid in a way that promotes Rome. Instead of being punished for his

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disobedience to the gods like Creon, Aeneas quickly resumes his god given task to travel to Italy,
showing his willingness to submit to the gods. Aeneas decision to follow the gods commands so
readily bolsters the heroic quality of Aeneas, exemplifying him as a god-fearing man who is not
overly stubborn. In this way, The Aeneid uses the idea of the importance of divine law from
Antigone and furthers the idea in a way that promotes the heroic and mythical origins of Rome.

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Works Cited
Sophocles. Antigone. Sophocles: The Three Theban Plays. Translated by Robert Fagles, Penguin
Classics, 1994. Print.
Virgil. The Aeneid. Translated by Robert Fagles, Penguin Classics, 2006. Print.