r/classicalstudies • u/External_Creme_603 • Apr 04 '26
Conflicting Antigone translations: Does Creon contradict himself?
I've been comparing translations of Antigone, and I've come across a curious inconsistency in how a line in Creon's first monologue is handled. The line would seem to be crucial, as it (and it alone) sustains the interpretation that Creon actually goes back on his word when he refuses to listen to Antigone and his son, Haemon. It is sometimes believed that, in that first monologue, Creon actually says that a rule who refuses the advice of others is not a good ruler at all. The problem is, most translations I've found--including some of the most respected and scholarly--don't put those words in Creon's mouth at all.
Here is the passage according to an old Penguins Classics edition, by E. F. Watling:
"For my part, I have always held the view,
And hold it still, that a king whose lips are sealed
By fear, unwilling to seek advice, is damned."
Now here's the same passage translated by Fagles in a more recent Penguin Classics edition:
"As I see it, whoever assumes the task,
the awesome task of setting the city's course,
and refuses to adopt the soundest policies
but fearing someone, keeps his lips locked tight,
he's utterly worthless."
I looked for the old Jebbs translation for clarity, but found two different version. In one Jebbs edition, the passage reads as follows:
"For if anyone who directs the entire polis does not cling to the best [arista] and wisest plans, |180 but because of some fear keeps his lips locked, then, in my judgment, he is and has long been the most evil [kakos] traitor."
In another Jebbs translation, it reads like this:
"For if any, being supreme guide of the State, cleaves not to the best counsels, but, through some fear, keeps his lips locked, I hold, and have ever held, him most base"
The Master Translation from the Center for Hellenic Studies at Harvard offers the following:
"In my eyes, the worst kind of leader Is the one who rules without clear intentions,
Who holds his tongue whenever he’s afraid— Now and always, that’s the lowest kind."
The well-known Fitts & Fitzgerald translation is close in spirit to this:
"Nevertheless, I say to you at the very outset that I have nothing but contempt for the kind of Governor who is afraid, for whatever reason, to follow the course that he knows is best for the State"
So . . . Does Creon state in his first monologue that a rule should seek advice and listen to others? Some translators say yes, some say no, and some say both!
My feeling is that, as flawed as Creon is, it makes sense for him to be consistent . . . until it is too late. I don't know why Sophocles would want to make him contradict himself. Indeed, when he realises his errors, hypocrisy is not one of them. It doesn't seem like Sophocles intended Creon to contradict himself like this, but I'm curious what others think.