considered guilty of causingAntigone's suicide because he refused her honorable request to bury Polynices, a request which accords with Greek tradition.

Second, Creon violated his Confucian duty as elder brother by burying Antigone alive in a cave, driving her to despair. Even if he disagreed with her defiance of him in her ritual burial of Polynices, he was obligated to protect her.

Creon could be considered not guilty, however, because he put the needs of his society ahead of his personal needs in treating Antigone harshly. He imprisoned her for the larger social good.

Second, the burden was on Antigone, under Confucian rules, to be obedient to Creon, who was not only her older brother but her ruler, and a man. She was responsible for her own suicide, not Creon. All three facts—age, status, and gender—made him the rightful decision-maker in this difficult matter. He also has accepted in retrospect that he made a mistake.

What makes the decision about guilt especially difficult is that the gods were angry at Creon for not respecting tradition in not burying Polynices. I believe Confucius, however, for the greater social good, would rule that Creon was not responsible for his sister's death because, first, Creon believed he was acting in the best interests of his society as a whole (upholding social harmony), and second, because he accepted, as a wise leader should, that he made a mistake. This is a difficult case to decide—however, while Antigone disobeyed her brother and ruler to uphold tradition (very important to Confucius), tradition also taught that she should be obedient to her brother's authority, not individualistic. (I would personally rule otherwise, but I am a product of Western culture, unlike Confucius.)