Upon first glance, law in Thebes comes from two difference sources: one unwritten, established by the gods, the other explicit, proclaimed by the new Theban king Kreon. The former has existed for quite a while, governing the everyday lives of Theban people. Burying one’s kinsmen after they have fallen, for example, is one of the “laws the gods expect us to honor” (94). Obedience to this set of laws is obedience to the heavenly and the underworld, for the failure to do so would bring forth the wrath and hatred from the underworld. When Ismene, Antigone’s sister, refused to help her bury their brother, in fear of Kreon’s punishment, Antigone warned her that “the dead—and they’ll hate [Ismene]/ far longer” (112-113) for her unwillingness to honor the ancient code. The latter, spoken rules by Kreon, are instantly solidified into law for the Thebans. These proclamations, which are dictated by a mortal, hold just as much weight as the set of code established by the gods. Due to Kreon’s stubbornness, his laws are just as non-negotiable, and Thebans, scared for their lives, “bite their tongues” (550) to please and appease to their fearsome new king. The specific example of his rules in the Antigone is the forbiddance of burial of Antigone’s brother, Polyneikes, who Kreon has deemed a traitor to Thebes. As the Antigone unfolded, it was clear that the former set of rules, governed by the gods, reigned supreme over Kreon’s. Kreon realized the flaws in his proclamations, albeit too late to prevent the tragic consequences from happening. He rushed to sanitize and give a proper burial for Polyneikes and to free Antigone, demonstrating that perhaps there should only be one set of laws to rule Thebes.
I believe, however, that there has always only been one set of rules at work in the Antigone. Kreon’s proclamations, which appeared to be out of his will and his moral code, is merely an interpretation of the law that gods established. Through Kreon’s conversation with the elder, it is clear that he only saw himself as an extension of Zeus, acting on the god’s will and delivering judgement through the god’s code. He declared the forbiddance of burial of Polyneikes because Polyneikes was someone who “returned from exile utterly determined/ burn down his own city, incinerate/ the gods we worship, revel in kinsmen’s blood,/ everyone left alive” (232-235). He was simply acting on the will of the gods, who would never befriend the “country’s enemy” (219).
Kreon, then, attempted to interpret the god’s rules and manifest them in mortal politics? He does stand by his decree, stubborn to the point of blindness, as though he sees himself as a hand of the gods.
I agree that the rules converge. Kreon’s imperfect interpretation distorted the unwritten laws of the gods, which at first seems to separate it. However, we might even say Kreon’s law is not a rule of any real consequence, since the gods are the only ones who have a say in the end.