Arieyona Coverdell
Linda Hardie
Ch 201.1006
02 October 2017
Corruption: Individual Power in Mesopotamia
Letting any one person have complete power over anything is the start to a recipe for disaster. The theme of individual power is often recurring in the works from middle ages and ancient times. Leading off of this point, having only one person in power makes the possibility of corruption higher. If a ruler becomes corrupt, he could possibly destroy himself unintentionally. And after the king falls, so do his people. With one person in power, they can decide rashly and without warning– this could be a huge portal to wars and other serious conflicts. Individual power is a touchy subject due to the fact that one person can let things go over their head, they may not see the whole picture in regards to issues within his own people, and it is simpler for one person to consider the benefits and possibilities for just himself rather than the people as a whole.
In Antigone, Creon was a king to many people. This, however, was standard that one man be in charge of a large group and have rule over large portions of land. Creon’s downfall of being the only ruler to a massive kingdom was that he let it get to his head. Creon let the fact that he was king get in way of his priorities, which most would likely say are his family. When the war was over and both of Creon’s nephews showed up dead, he showed no remorse to the one that had gone against his people. However, the nephew that died honoring his country, was given a proper and even more honorable burial than usual. The fact that Creon left his other nephew to get eaten by the vultures in the middle of a battle field, amongst many other men as well, is just baffling. It is unlikely that he would have treated his own family that way if he was not king. Creon created the rule that no one man fighting against the country deserved, let alone were even allowed, to get a proper burial. His own pride from being king forced him to enforce this rule around the clock, even when it was his own family being heavily impacted as well. The rule alone is enough to show how much power could influence a man.
This could be related back to ethics. In Antigone, even Creon’s niece Antigone knew that it was wrong to not to allow anyone bury their own flesh and blood that had been left on the field. She tried to speak with Creon about it but he just shut her down saying “No, he must be left unburied, his corpse carrion for the birds and dogs to tear,an obscenity for the citizens to behold,” (Sophocles, Antigone 228-230). Due to Creon continuously shutting her down and denying her request to bury her own brother, Antigone went to the battlefield and put a fist full of dirt over his chest. Similar to how one would receive in a proper burial. Antigone was not in power, so her mind was not yet corrupt. She tried to explain to her uncle how harsh and soulless his ways were becoming, but he did not listen. He was in over his head with pride and could not understand just how unethical he was acting. It is likely that the people saw Creon slowly being corrupted by power after enacting this law.
In regards to the people, the kings and rulers often lost sight of what was in their best interest. One could reference back to Antigone when one of their own was refused a proper burial alongside his brother due to tyranny, or one could refer to Oedipus the King. Focused around King Oedipus, the example of disregarding the people for the best interest of the king is a strong recurring theme in the play. Oedipus relied primarily on others to do work for him; for example, he sent his own brother Creon to find a way to end a plague that was becoming of his people. He is the king and it is his duty to find out what he needs to do in order to protect his people. However, Oedipus was thinking of himself and the issues he was having personally. That is what he decided he should put first. Considering his priorities, it is ironic that Oedipus said, “Speak out, speak to us all. I grieve for these, my people, far more than I fear for my own life,” (Sophocles, Oedipus the King 104-106). Oedipus clearly puts himself before his people, and this is shown by his actions of sending Creon to find the cure, forgetting about his people when he had slept with his mother and killed his father, and when he allowed himself to be banished from his own kingdom.
Oedipus was eventually corrupted to the point of no return. Individual power got to his head and he let it get the best of him. At one point, he allowed himself to be overcome with morality since he found out he did actually sleep with his mother and kill his father. At this point, Oedipus was clearly aware that it was wrong and wanted justice for it immediately. However, he just allowed himself to be exiled instead of killed like Creon suggested when he said, “Banish the man, or pay back blood with blood,” (Sophocles, Oedipus the King 114). This was the “easy way” out for Oedipus and he also lost all of the respect his people had for him. This goes to show that, no matter how long in power, one can become insane. Being the only person in power leads to corruption.
In The Odyssey, Poseidon took a strong hatred to Odysseus. Poseidon was upset because Odysseus had blinded his son. This was upsetting especially because the humans were constantly making sacrifices to the gods, not offending them. All of the gods practiced complete power over the mortals. This recurring theme of individual power within the gods led to some conflicts throughout. Athena was a strong individual leader in The Odyssey. If it were not for her and her powers, Odysseus would not have been able to complete his journey. Athena even pairs with Zeus to grant Odysseus freedom and safety at multiple points in the poem. These acts coming from a goddess such as Athena show that there is not always corruption in individual power. Athena and the other gods have individual power over different jurisdictions. Athena saw it as her duty to protect a mortal because other gods seemed against him. Individual power, if not appointed, can be seen as a heroic act of courage. Athena is seen as a hero because of this.
The gods usually care more about their internal conflicts rather than the mortals. But when Zeus stops the fire at Odysseus, it was clear that the individual gods had more specific priorities. Other than Athena, Zeus also did multiple things to help Odysseus make it on his journey. This is a huge improvement from previous examples of power when the individuals would become corrupted over time. The gods proved that individual power could be more than a dreaded way of rule. Zeus and Athena both broke the status quo when they decided their individual issues were irrelevant, and decided to help a mortal.
Individual power is not always a completely negative way to rule. It can lead to good and bad depending on who is on top. Most let the power get to their heads by only caring about the good for themselves and not their people. In the cases of Zeus and Athena, one may see that not all instances of individual power corrupt the individuals. However, in the cases of Odysseus and Creon one can see how quickly a king can spiral to his doom by letting his worst get the best of him. Individual power is also a great way to find out the morals of an individual and shape them as a being. Power has its consequences, there are always positives and negatives to having any one individual on the throne.