Man, the Chorus believes, moves toward either evil or good, depending on whether he loves his land and fears the gods above. If he follows the laws of the land and remains true to heaven, the Chorus maintains, then man will keep his high position in the state. But if he acts dishonorably by committing crimes against the state as well as against the gods, he will become an outcast, shunned by all.
Now the leader of the Chorus speaks. He notices a sign of evil, an ill-omen from the gods. He sees that Antigone, the “hapless child of hapless sire” has been arrested. He assumes that she has recklessly broken Creon’s law and has now been caught in the act.