%0 Journal Article
%T Natural Law Thought and Political Philosophy Criticism in the Ancient Greek Tragedy <i>Antigone</i>
%A Yuanhang Chen
%J Open Access Library Journal
%V 13
%N 6
%P 1-8
%@ 2333-9721
%D 2026
%I Open Access Library
%R 10.4236/oalib.1115565
%X This paper focuses on Sophocles¡¯ tragedy Antigone, providing an in-depth analysis of the natural law thought and political philosophy criticism embedded in its core conflict. The study points out that Antigone¡¯s act of defying Creon¡¯s edict to bury her brother Polynieces, based on ¡°sacred duty¡± and ¡°eternal heavenly laws,¡± constitutes the harbinger of ancient Greek ¡°natural law¡± thought. Its core lies in the supra-positive norms established by blood ethics and sacred traditions. The intense confrontation between Antigone and Creon in the play is interpreted as a classic paradigmatic conflict between the Natural Law School (appealing to divine laws and fundamental ethics) and Legal Positivism (emphasizing the supremacy of the ruler¡¯s decrees). The article further reveals that the root of Creon¡¯s tragedy lies in the alienation of power¡ªplacing his personal will above divine will, tradition, and family ethics, ultimately leading to the disintegration of the city-state¡¯s order. The study also reviews the academic controversy regarding whether Antigone¡¯s actions truly belong to the category of ¡°natural law,¡± and emphasizes that the core value of the play lies in its eternal questioning of the legitimacy of ruling authority and its powerful warning against autocratic politics, making it a timeless field for jurisprudential thought experiments.
%K Sophocles
%K Antigone
%K Natural Law
%U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=152110