As the king, Kreon has power and authority in what he thinks is lawful. According to Kreon, “An man who keeps his home in order will be perceives as righteous by his city. But if anyone steps out of line, breaks our laws, thinks he can dictate to his king, he shouldn’t expect any praise from me” (734-9). He thinks that as king, his interpretation of what the kings tell him are the law of the land. Antigone directly tells tells Kreon that the Thebans do not agree with the laws of Kreon because “To please you they bite they bite their tongues” (550). Despite her honesty towards him, he thinks his word is the law of the land that the Thebans follow.
The actual law of the land is the word of the gods. The elder warns that this who follow the laws of the land “soar with his city” but those who do not will be “driven away from his nation disgraced” (405-411). The elder also says, “One law of yours [Zeus] rules our own land and future time, just as it rules the past: Nothing momentous man achieves will go unpunished” (671-5). In lines 490-2, Antigone tells Kreon, “I deny that your edicts- since you, a mere man, imposed them- have the force to trample on the dogs’ unwritten and infallible laws.” In these 2 lines, both Antigone and the elder acknowledge that the unwritten laws of the gods rule the land for an infinite amount of time, not those of Kreon, the mere man. Antigone once again announces her disregard towards the Kreon law when she says, “Tell me, gods, which of your laws did I break?” (1014)
One might think that Kreon is the highest authority because he consistently claims that his rules are the law of the land. On page 766, Kreon has an argument with his son Haimon who calls out his unsupported laws. Once again, he brings up the fact that the Thebans do not support his governing laws because he acts like a dictator and abuses his power. During their argument, Haiman also says, “What is it you protect by protecting the gods?” (822), indicating that when his father enforces these laws of his, it goes against the infallible ones of the gods.
