Antigone & Fate

Antigone Essay In the story Antigone, the Greek perspective on fate and the will of the gods, and humanity's free will act as important roles. In this book, Creon learns about his future and what the gods have in store for him, and Creon must think about the path he chooses. He can choose his own actions because he has his own free will, but the gods will punish him if he does wrong. When Teiresius speaks to Creon about what his future holds, he explains that the actions he make influence what his fate will be. If Creon acted kindly and sympathetically towards Antigone, Haemon, and the citizens, his future would be rewarding. However, Creon acted disrespectfully and inconsiderately, so his fate is not a good one. Teiresius explains this to Creon when he says, "You cannot alter this. The gods themselves cannot undo it. It follows necessity of what you have done" (8-10). Creon cannot change his fate because he already committed harmful actions, and no matter what, those actions will not go away. What happened to Creon reveals the Greek idea of fate, and that the gods have the will to change your future; it all depends on the actions you make. The gods chose Creon's fate, and that is what lies ahead for him. The Greek view on humanity's free will and the will of the gods is that people can have their own will and do as they wish, but the will of the gods will decide the punishment of reward for those actions. This idea occurs when, after choosing to do wrong, "the avenging Furies, the hunters of hell that follow and destroy, are lying in wait for [him] and will have their pray, when the evil [he has] worked for others falls on [him]," (10-3). This quote exemplifies that when people do evil things to others, they will always be punished for it. Humanity's free will allowed Creon to act tyrannical, but the gods's will made him pay for all his wrong doings. Creon was allowed to act as he pleased, but it did not mean that his wrongdoings would go unpunished. We