Why does Antigone bury her brother Polyneices despite Creon’s order?

In the play Antigone by the Greek dramatist Sophocles, Antigone defies King Creon’s decree because she is driven by her instincts of love, loyalty, and humanity toward her brother, Polyneices.1

After Polyneices is killed while attacking Thebes, Creon—who prioritizes state interests over family ties—forbids the burial of his corpse, labeling him a traitor. Antigone, however, views this command as an injustice and a violation of the religious mores and common human obligations owed to the dead. By choosing to bury her brother, she asserts the importance of personal and divine loyalties over the rigid, narrow civic duties imposed by the state, ultimately accepting the risk of capital punishment for her actions.21