What is King Creon's decree in Antigone?

As king, Creon decrees that son of the former king, rebel Polynices, shall not be buried and shall rot in the open as an example to others that would think of taking action against the state. Anyone attempting to bury Polynices would be killed for actions amounting to a collaboration with the dead rebel. 

This decree is severe in many ways. Polynices' brother, Eteocles, had assumed the throne of Thebes according to the rule set down by Oedipus (former king of Thebes and father to Polynices, Eteocles and Antigone). Eteocles goes against the rule of Oedipus, however, when he refuses to step down from the throne at the appointed time so that Polynices could take his turn as ruler of Thebes. 

Polynices then had a legitimate reason to defy the rule of Eteocles (Polynices was supposed to be the one on the throne). Why is this important? 

When Creon identifies Polynices as a dishonorable man, he is doing so according to the strictest possible letter of the law. He is choosing to defend the integrity of the state by adopting a very unforgiving and narrow view of what actions might constitute rebellion or insurgency. He extends this rather extreme particularity of perspective when he says that anyone sympathizing publicly with Polynices will be killed. 

In the action of the play, Antigone does sympathize with her brother Polynices and so stands opposed to Creon's decree. 

Creon's reasons for upholding the letter of the law go beyond his concern for the integrity of the state. When he assumes the rule of Thebes, he becomes concerned for his own authority and wants to ensure that his commands, as king, should not be questioned. 

"Although he gives lip service to the necessity for order and for obedience to the law, he is a tyrant who has identified the welfare of the state with his own self-interest and self-will" (eNotes). 

The political concerns for his own power stand in stark contrast to Antigone's quite human and self-sacrificing concerns for honoring her dead brother with burial. Creon's worry is displayed early on as paranoia. He believes that there are "[s]tiff- necked anarchists, putting their heads together/scheming against [him] in alleys." Creon fumes at his sentry and later at Tiresias, expressing a belief that his power is being undermined.

The extremity of Creon's decree cannot be separated from his insecurity vis a vis his new position as king of Thebes. In acting against a very strict definition of rebellion, Creon is protecting his own authority and pro-actively defending himself against any challenges to his rule.

In Sophocles's Antigone, is Creon's decree just or unjust? Provide evidence.

Throughout the play, Creon is assailed from all sides for his stubborn insistence on leaving Polyneice's body unburied. And while none of the opposition he encounters constitutes incontrovertible evidence of the unjust nature of his edict, it does suggest quite strongly that Creon is very much in the wrong.

There is clearly a higher justice at work here, not just in the defiance of Antigone but also in the stern warnings of Tiresias, not to mention the criticism leveled at Creon by the Chorus and by his own son, Haemon. Everyone seems to recognize that law and justice are not necessarily synonymous—everyone except Creon, that is. He stubbornly insists, through his words and his deeds, that justice is nothing more than a strictly legal concept. And, as he is effectively the law in Thebes, Creon can't see how there could possibly be such a thing as an unjust law. However, we know he is wrong, thanks to the imprecations of Antigone, Tiresias, the Chorus, and Haemon, and also because of numerous examples from history and from our own experience.

In Sophocles's Antigone, is Creon's decree just or unjust? Provide evidence.

Sophocles argues through the character Tiresias, the soothsayer, that punishing the dead is foolish. In other words, Creon has made his decree forbidding Polynices' burial out of revenge because he sees Polynices as a traitor for battling his brother Eteocles for the crown, which led to the deaths of both brothers. Tiresias points out that avenging oneself on the dead is foolish. As he states it:

Obstinacy brings the charge of stupidity. Yield to the dead, don't kick a fallen man! What prowess does it take to kill one already dead? (1031-34)

In addition to Creon's decree being foolish as it seeks revenge on the dead, it is also argued that his decree is also blasphemous. Tiresias argues that the dead belong to the gods and that Creon will be punished for holding back Polynices' "unhappy, unburied, unholy corpse ... from the gods below" (1078-80). Even Antigone herself argues that the gods' laws are higher than Creon's laws and that he has no right to try and override them, as we see in her lines:

I would never think your pronouncements had such strength that, being mortal, they could override the unwritten, ever-lasting prescriptions of the gods. (462-465)

Hence, we see that Sophocles argues all throughout the play that Creon's law was indeed unjust, foolish, and irreverent. In addition, Creon is chastised for his stubbornness.

Was Creon's decree in Antigone unjust?

Creon's decree could be said to be unjust in that it seems rather vindictive of him not to allow Antigone to bury her brother's corpse. As well as going against the will of the gods, Creon's decree seems petty and spiteful. Surely everyone must have the right to bury their loved ones, irrespective of what they've done?

Creon wouldn't see it quite like that, of course. He'd say that as Polynices was a traitor, one of the so-called Seven Against Thebes, and he doesn't think he deserves a decent burial. The fate that Creon has decreed for his corpse is a traitor's fate; it's a long-standing tradition for the dead bodies of traitors to be left to rot like this.

But it's Antigone who has the last word. She believes in the existence of a higher law: a universal sense of what's right and wrong that transcends mere earthly law. As such, she feels entitled to defy Creon's decree, even if the whole world should consider his decision to be perfectly just.

What is the law enacted by Creon in Antigone?

In order to understand Creon's law in Sophocles' Antigone, we must first examine the events that occurred before the start of the play.

Oedipus was once the ruler of Thebes. Creon takes over as king until Oedipus' sons, Polynices and Eteocles, come of age.

When the sons are old enough to rule, Eteocles claims the throne for himself, despite the fact that his brother is older and should be first in line to be king. Eteocles names himself king and banishes his brother from Thebes.

In response to his brother's actions, Polynices raises an army and attacks his native city. A civil war ensues, and the two brothers kill each other in battle.

This is when Creon's law goes into effect. Creon decrees that Eteocles is to be buried properly and with full honors, because he died defending Thebes. Polynices, on the other hand, is now considered a traitor because he attacked Thebes. Creon states that Polynices is to be left unburied on the battlefield, where he will be exposed to the elements and animals. He also says that anyone who attempts to bury Polynices's body will be put to death.

Creon's law sets the plot of Antigone into motion.