He's to be left unwept, unburied, a lovely treasure for birds that scan the field and feast to their heart's content.
Antigone recognizes that Creon will not allow her to bury her brother Polynices, but he will give Eteocles a proper ceremony. Antigone is the only character willing to call out Creon and speak the truth. Antigone demonstrates her bravery by speaking against Creon and by doing this she gives her life for her fallen brother. Antigone, being an independent woman, upsets the role of Creon as a major patriarchal authority figure.
Creon is tyrannical in his rule of the city of Thebes and this blinds him from all other reasoning and beliefs. Creon's misogynistic beliefs are represented in many of his speeches to the chorus:.
"Anarchy-show me a greater crime in all the earth! She, she destroys cities, rips up houses, breaks the ranks of spearmen into headlong rout. But the ones who last it out, the great mass of them owe their lives to discipline. Therefore we must defend the men who live by law, never let some woman triumph over us. Better to fall from power, if fall we must, at the hands of a man-never be rated inferior to a woman, never." (751–761).
Creon is referring to Antigone when he refers to "Anarchy" and "she." He seeks to keep Antigone in her place and maintain the order of his kingdom. If Creon does not act upon this disobedience he will not be keeping the law absolute and he will not be honoring the city, "the men," or its citizens. He will by no means allow anyone to object to his authority. Creon does not want to let the Antigone's disobedience upset the society at the political, domestic, or the military level. Creon admits that it would be a harder defeat to deal with especially because Antigone is a woman. This way of thinking only angers Antigone more and provides her with more power, as I shall show.
In the first meeting between Antigone and Creon, Antigone antagonizes Creon to a great extent.