1. Sometimes he is the mariner, steering the ship of state through storm-tossed seas.

2. Scene 1: Creon, the uncle of Antigone, has claimed the throne on account of Eteocles’ death.Scene 1 begins with Creon’s statement of political philosophy, that he does not expect complete loyalty from his subjects until he has been tested in office.His speech contains an extended metaphor calling Thebes a ship of state and that a king and his citizens must put the state above all.