Brother-in-law of Oedipus, Creon becomes king of Thebes when Oedipus's two sons die while battling each other for control of the city. Creon believes in the rule of law and the authority of the state above all else. Bending the rules leads to anarchy, in his opinion, and anarchy is worse than anything. Creon's stubborn refusal to honor Antigone's desire to bury her slain brother and to acknowledge the opinions of the Theban people, his son Haemon, and the seer Tiresias, leads to the deaths of his wife Eurydice, Haemon, and Antigone.