An ideal leader has 3 distinct characteristics: courage, honor and virtue. Courage is often demonstrated when faced with difficult leadership decisions. Honor is acquired by honoring the gods or by serving one's state. And virtue is acquired by looking out for the best interests of one's own state. The importance of these virtues is contrasted in Antigone and The Aenied. In Antigone, Creon shows the 3 components of a good leader when he takes power and objectively enforces the laws to maintain order. But as Antigone progresses and Creon's pride becomes greater, he loses sight of the three qualities that make a good leader. However, unlike Creon, Aeneas begins as the ideal leader using all 3 qualities and ends as an ideal leader, always demonstrating the same qualities: he is able to balance his personal desires with the needs of his citizens. Even when Creon's own family does it. does not honor the laws of Thebes, Creon always punishes them to show that the laws are meant to maintain order. When Creon discovers that Antigone is the one who buried Polyneices, Creon cannot make an exception for her. Although she is family, Creon goes beyond his family pretensions and places the good of the city before the good of his family. In doing so, Creon proves his dedication to the city, as even his family cannot stop Creon from doing what he believes is best for the city, which is to enforce the laws consistently and objectively. By bringing Antigone to justice for her actions, Creon shows that laws are not made to be broken. Creon is right to punish Antigone, because then the citizens will see that even his own family cannot break the law, no one can. With this in mind, Creon uses Antigone as an example for all the citizens of Thebes to see what happens middle of paper...... without confronting her, which portrays Aeneas as less courageous. Aeneas shows great courage on the battlefield and in front of his people, but he fails to confront Dido about her departure. Although this harms Aeneas, he still shows great courage as a leader. As we look at the 3 characteristics that make up a good leader, we see that Creon and Aeneas are not the same type of leaders. While Aeneas is able to remain calm and control a difficult situation, Creon loses his ability to separate his emotions from his dominance. While Creon is unable to rule his citizens successfully, Aeneas shows his virtue by fighting in the wars for Troy, and his greatest loyalty to his future kingdom is demonstrated when he renounces his romantic relationship with Dido for the promise of a future nation. War hero, beloved by women and future king, Aeneas seems to be everything Creon wants to be and more..