# Why does Creon kidnap Antigone and Ismene?

> Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles

## Answer

Creon kidnaps Antigone and Ismene when Oedipus will not return to Thebes willingly. Physical force is meant to compel the old king — seize what he loves so he will follow or so Thebes can control the oracle’s prize. The act violates guest-friendship and Colonus’s sanctuary; Theseus intervenes with Athenian force and restores the sisters.

The abduction shows Theban politics at its worst in this play: Creon is not the measured regent of Oedipus Rex but an enforcer of state interest. Hospitality and exile themes collide — Athens protects suppliants; Thebes treats kin as hostages. For essays, compare Creon’s strategy here to his later rigidity in Antigone; Sophocles traces a family of rulers who confuse possession with justice.

## Evidence

- [oedipus-at-colonus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oedipus_at_colonus_se/chapters/oedipus-at-colonus.md): Creon’s men seize the sisters; Theseus rescues them.

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