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Shianne Santiago

Keystone English Teachers

English II

Feb. 18, 2020

Antigone – Scene III

As their conversation in Scene III breaks down, Haimon makes clear his opinion of Creon. What

does Haimon think of his father and why does he think this?

Haimon is the last son to Creon, the king of Thebes. He is very loyal to his father and

bears a great love for him. However, this fidelity and adoration from his father does not hinder

him from seeing the flaws in his father’s way of being. His feelings are expressed all throughout

the third scene of the play, “Antigone.” At first, he attempts to tell his father in a delicate manner

what his thoughts are regarding the situation with Antigone, as well as the peoples’ thoughts

about it. Haimon advises his father tenderly, “Your wisdom and reasoning is great, but others can

reason, too, and sometimes it helps us to consult the wisdom of others. You cannot know

everything that people say and do, and your temper does terrify everyone. People will only tell

you what you want to hear,” (Sophocles, Scene III). Haimon states that he believes his father to

be wise and logical, but quite temperamental and strikes fear into the hearts of the citizens of

Thebes. This perception Haimon has about his father is a result of the his very own actions.

According to Haimon, the reason as to why he believes that his father is prone to fits of fury

because he refuses listen to other people and be contradicted. Hence the line, “You cannot know

everything that people say and do, and your temper does terrify everyone.” Creon’s fury prevents

people from acting and voicing their opinions. They are afraid of provoking his rage, and thus
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will not inform Creon of any of their thoughts and refuse to act. This makes Creon a

temperamental person, which justifies Haimon’s perception of Creon as an ill-tempered being.

Furthermore, as Creon begins to become infuriated by Haimon’s suggestion, he begins to lash

out at his son. He berates him and questions his motives. This causes Haimon to increasingly

become upset, which eventually causes him to blatantly tell his father the complete and true view

he has of him. This was detailed in the interaction between Haimon and Creon in the third scene

of the play, “Antigone,” like so, “HAIMON: No city should take orders from one man.

CREON: But the state and the king are the same! To defy the leader is to defy the state! …

HAIMON: Your rights to not allow you to trample on what the gods have told us is right …

CREON: Are you threatening me openly? … HAIMON: … you will never see me again. Go on

and rave like a lunatic,” (Sophocles). Haimon made it clear that he believes his father to be a

prideful man who is refusing to listen to the reason of others. He explained that his father is only

one man, and because of this, he must listen to the thoughts of other people in order to rule over

a city. He stressed that a man who heeds to only his reason cannot reign, and thus the city should

not obey him. Unsurprisingly, Creon was unwilling to listen and claimed that he is the state, for

he is the king, and that his subjects must listen to him because resisting his orders would be the

same as resisting the state. This reaction from Creon is what leads Haimon to think such a thing

about his father, for he displayed the exact type of behavior that would be expected from an

arrogant being. Furthermore, in this very interaction, the rest of Haimon’s perspective of his

father is revealed. Creon asserts that he is well within his rights as king to act the way he is

acting. Haimon counters his father’s statement, noting that putting his rights above everyone

else’s would infringe on the rights of the people and go against the laws of the gods. In other

words, the prince told his father that he is not above the gods and his actions are an abuse of
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power, for they are violating his citizens’ rights. This offends Creon deeply and results in him

questioning his son and his allegiance, for he asks him if he is going against him. Creon’s

response, yet again, makes Haimon believe that his beliefs about his father are correct. Creon, by

being resentful of his son’s confrontation over a sensible matter and refusing to admit he is

abusing his power, confirms that he is a haughty and corrupted man. Last but not least, Haimon

believes that his father is an irrationally foolish man. At the end of their discussion, Haimon

storms off furiously, but before he leaves, he tells his father that this is the last time he will ever

see him and to continue on babbling like on, like a “lunatic.” This is in response to his father’s

cruel order to have Antigone executed in front of Haimon, so that he may see his beloved bride-

to-be die in front of him. Haimon, at this declaration, becomes incandescent and insults his

father. This causes Haimon to express his pure, unfiltered thoughts about his father and reveals

to Creon that he finds him to be an unreasonable loon. Creon’s brash and wicked act of

threatening to kill Antigone before Haimon made it clear to the prince that his father truly was

mad, but with power, malice, and pride, which causes him to form such a dreadful opinion about

his father. It is unfortunate to see how Creon lost his son because of his own vile attitude and

actions.
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Works Cited

Sophocles. “Scene III.” Antigone, 441AD.