pment, the formation of variety of virtues are formed by social educational institutions, variety of virtues might be formed in a separate societal unit or a society in whole. Therefore, virtue and virtuous motives and character might vary on a societal and personal level, making virtue not absolute, but rather a relative concept. p> Sophocles brilliantly highlights this notion of relative virtue in the character of Antigone and the further portrayal of a clash of virtues resulting in her conflict with Creon. First of all, the formation of her virtues was accompanied by a series of quite dramatic events - Antigone witnessed the tragic fall of her father, who married his mother, and therefore Antigone and Ismene had to live with a stamp of being both daughters of their half-brother and granddaughters of their mother. These circumstances aligned Antigone's internal ideals, assigning overriding values ​​to extreme religious piety and inviolacy of laws prescribed by gods. This reliance on religion, fortified by her own personal family tragedy with time translated in the virtues of her character, where striving for an eternal afterlife with the dead became of greater value for Antigone then her present life: "I have longer to please the dead then please the living here ... in the kingdom down below I'll lie forever "(Fagles 63). Here, her value system is based upon her life after and thus "pleasing dead" becomes her dominant virtue. p> Although religious educations supported by factual examples from family experience were primary agents that shaped Antigone's virtues, they were not the only influence. She also has numerous social roles, which also contributed to the development of her moral character and the shaping of her virtues. In the society described by Sophocles, she is the noble daughter of King Oedipus, a loving sister of Ismene and a fiancé of Haemon, a Greek and therefore she is under obligations of patriotism. She is a citizen of Thebes as well, and therefore she must conform to the laws of the land set by the King. Despite all of these factors that helped shape Antigone's character, the greatest impact on the formation of her virtues is the fact that she is a woman, and therefore she has to be submissive to the rule of men. This concept, instilled by the norms and traditions of ancient Greek society, is best expressed by Ismene: "Remember we are women, we're not born to contend with men ... then too, we're underlings, ruled by much stronger hands "(Sophocles 62). p> The consideration of these values ​​and their role in the formation of virtue of Antigone went to Creon's calculations about his decision on the incident. Above all, Creon from his position of the highest royalty, has to be the ultimate embodiment of social arrangements: he has to defend societal norms, promote rules and show ability to enforce laws. As a man he has to defend the common notion of superiority of males over females, and as a father he has to demonstrate a will to teach and instruct his children. These moral obligations and societal traditions form the basis of Creon's character, and also create a foundation for his virtues, where he always should strive to defend society and its traditions. p> Therefore, because of the different origins of virtues and differences of the personal virtues themselves, there is a misalignment between Antigone's notion of ideals and Creon's personal standards. The rule of consistency as an important component to the existence of virtue makes both characters to act as their virtues dictate them, remain truthful to their values, and force making ethical decisions in sync with their moral codes. Therefore, when Antigone faces Creon, she refuses to even accept king's laws as legitimate: "Nor did I think your edict had such force that you, a mere mortal, could override the gods, the great unwritten, unshakable traditions ... these laws - I was not about to break them "(Sophocles 82). Here Antigone is displays strong commitment to achieve the ideal reputation of honoring the laws of gods and paying proper attention to the dead, refusing to be subjected to laws made by mortal, even if the mortal is a king. Since her virtue dictates her to choose actions which will bring satisfaction in the afterlife in addition to her belief that she should honor the sacred laws before the common laws, and in her understanding if the conflict emerge between these rules, the sacred laws always override man-made. Creon's prohibition of burial is not seen by Antigone's system of values ​​as a legitimate law since it contradicts the holy tradition, but rather a blasphemous practice, and therefore her life-goal becomes to preserve the sacred law. Her system of believes does not differentiate the dead - her interpretation of the sacred law is in accordance to her value system - everybody deserves honor in death, especially if this person ...
