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Creon
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Some people would say that Creon was kind of hard to get along with. Most famously, this king of Thebes had a big ol' showdown with his niece Antigone, the daughter of his sister Jocasta and her husband Oedipus. When Antigone defied Creon's decree that no one could bury her rebel brother, Polyneices, Creon had the girl buried alive in a tomb. (A little harsh, yeah?) This bad decision set off a chain of events that caused the death of not only Antigone, but also Creon's son, Haemon, and wife, Eurydice. Don't go thinking that Creon was some kind of ruthless, power-hungry tyrant, though. He only took the throne as a last resort. In fact, earlier in his career, he abdicated the throne twice—to Oedipus and to Oedipus' sons. Hmmm, maybe he had the right idea early on. It could be that Creon just wasn't cut out for politics.
Basic Information
Name Creon
Nickname Old sour puss
Sex Male
Current city Elysium
Work & Education
Occupation King of Thebes
Education The Zeus School of Kingliness
Beliefs
Political views The law above all
Family & Friends (& Enemies)
Parents Lycaethus or Menoeceus (Dad)
My dad's wife (Mom)Siblings Jocasta
Children Haemon
Menoeceus (Named after his granddad)Friends Oedipus (well, until that whole controversy)
Enemies Antigone (I told her not to touch that body, didn't I?)
Theseus (He was very rude to me at Colonus and, according to some people, he even killed me in a war.)Relationships
Relationship status Married to Eurydice (not Orpheus' Eurydice, a different one.)
Interested in I'm just too exhausted to be interested in anybody or anything.
Favorites
TV Shows The West Wing
Anderson Cooper 360
Law and Order
Judge Joe BrownQuotations "'There must be some way out of here,'
said the joker to the thief.
'There's too much confusion.
I can't get no relief.'"
– from "All Along the Watchtower" by Bob Dylan
"There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it."
– Oscar Wilde
"I have lived eighty years of life and know nothing for it, but to be resigned and tell myself that flies are born to be eaten by spiders and man to be devoured by sorrow."
– Voltaire
"There is no such thing as public opinion. There is only published opinion."
– Winston Churchill
"When angry, count to four. When very angry, swear."
– Mark TwainBooks All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe
The Fall by Albert Camus
Henry V by William Shakespeare
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
Oedipus the King by Sophocles
On the Road by Jack Kerouac (Sometimes I wish my life were more like this.)
War and Peace by Leo TolstoyMusic All Along the Watchtower by Bob Dylan
Bad as Me by Tom Waits
Lonesome by Dr. Dog
Philander by Glen Hansard
Poison and Wine by The Civil Wars
The Wind by Zac Brown Band
All Along the Watchtower by Bob Dylan
Everything by Chopin (It's my thinking/being sad music.)Movies The Dictator
There Will Be Blood (So true... so, so true.)
The American President
Ted (It's just a dude thing.)
Henry V
Oz: The Great and Powerful
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (I was idealistic once, too.)
The King's Speech
Pet Sematary (See Antigone, sometimes it's a terrible idea to bury the dead.)Activities & Interests
Likes C-SPAN
Bran Muffins
Cuff links
Rubber duckies (Just because.)Interests Government
LawGroups Kings of Thebes
Anderson Cooper Fan Club
The International Society for Bran Muffins
Theban Party
Fans of Creon (only member)
Spotter's Guide
You know, not a lot of people come around here asking for Creon. He's been pretty unpopular ever since he walled up his niece Antigone in a tomb. Well, really he wasn't too popular before that either. Everybody always thought of him as kind of a sneaky, bureaucratic politician. Still, he's totally worth talking to. He's seen some pretty crazy stuff, after all: the Sphinx attack, the plague, the Oedipus scandal, the civil war—chances are this guy has some stories to tell. If you want to set up a meeting with him, you'll have to call his office down in Elysium, the city of the blessed dead.
Sex: Male
Age: Middle-aged/old
Build: Not so buff
Complexion: Pale
Hair Color: Brown
Facial Hair: Beard
Scars/marks/tattoos: None
Jewelry and accessories: Crown of Thebes
Clothing: Royal robes
Armor: Not much of a warrior, but sometimes necessary
Type of Weapon: Power of the stateTypical Companions:
Oedipus (Well, before the scandal broke)
Known Hangouts:
Thebes
Sightings
Dec 20, 2019
Antigone by Sophocles
When Creon declares that anyone who buries Polyneices' body will be killed, Antigone buries her brother anyway. Creon is still a little ticked off about how he's portrayed in this play.
Dec 20, 2019
Oedipus the King by Sophocles
Oedipus accuses Creon of treason in this tragedy before the O-man finds out the horrible truth.
Dec 20, 2019 - Dec 20, 2019
The Phoenician Women by Euripides
In this tragedy, the seer Tiresias tells Creon that he has to sacrifice his son, Menoeceus, in order to save Thebes. (Creon is more than a little unhappy about this.)
Dec 20, 2019
Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles
Creon kidnaps Antigone and Ismene in this tragedy to try to win Oedipus' corpse for Thebes.
Dec 20, 2019 - Dec 20, 0099
Fabulae by Hygenius
This collection of myths includes an alternative version of Antigone's story, where she lives long enough to have a son by Haemon, until Creon finds out and causes tragedy all over again. This guy never learns.
Dec 20, 2019 - Dec 20, 0099
Oedipus by Seneca
The big deal Roman playwright puts his spin on the Sophocles original. It doesn't get any happier, that's for sure.
Dec 20, 2019
Antigone by Jean Anouilh
This modern version of Sophocles' play was performed in Nazi-occupied Paris as a thinly-veiled protest against France's invaders.
Dec 20, 1977
The Island by Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona
This play was a protest against South African apartheid, and it tells the story of two African men who rehearse Sophocles' Antigone while imprisoned for fighting for the rights of their people.
Dec 20, 2019
Oedipus el Rey by Luis Alfaro
This modern Chicano riff on Oedipus the King is set in a L.A. barrio and comes complete with a Chicano Creon.
Dec 20, 2019
These Seven Sicknesses by Sean Graney
Creon hits Antigone in the head with a hammer in this modernized marathon of all of Sophocles' extant plays. (Can we say harsh?)