Antigone: A Tragic Hero

“ Mistakes made by a foolish mind, cruel mistakes that bring on death.” (1406 to 1407.) In this quote, King Creon of Thebes is acknowledging that he has made tragic mistakes, because he wanted to the laws of his state, that he put in place, instead of preserving the safety of his family, which consequently lead to suffering for many. In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, the character Creon makes decisions based on what he feels is right, and refuses to pay attention to other’s advice. His stubbornness and selfishness prove fatal, and as a consequence of his moral deficiency, he kills an innocent woman, and loses his son in the aftermath. In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, Creon’s deadly stubbornness and selfishness in ignoring the pleas and

Of the one hundred and twenty plays and tales Sophocles had written during his time, only seven have survived to today and Antigone a tale of the constant turmoil of the royal family of Thebes is one of those few ancient tales. Creon, the new king of the city of Thebes, strives for justice and absolute loyalty to the crown, however, after he discovered that an unidentified citizen had defied one of his recently announced laws, he inflicted his fury on himself and those around him. Creon is the tragic figure that functions as an instrument of the suffering of others and contributes to the tragic vision of the story, Antigone by Sophocles, as a whole by threatening his subjects and family with death, ignoring the thoughts of his elders and peers, and bringing the feeling of death to himself and also death itself to those around him.

“Whatever I touch has come to nothing.” Creon shouted this when he met his downfall. Antigone is about a princess named Antigone who buried her brother for moral beliefs. This was illegal at the time in the city of Thebes because the first thing that Creon did as king was make the law that no one can bury Polyneices and she was sentenced to death for this. Creon, king of Thebes, filled the prophecy and met his downfall with everyone he cared about had died and lead him to emotional death. A tragic hero is a person of noble birth with heroic or potentially heroic qualities. This person is fated by the Gods or by some supernatural force to doom and destruction, or at least to great suffering. Birth into nobility, responsibility for their own fate, and endowed with a tragic flaw, most strongly identify Creon as the tragic hero of Sophocles 's Antigone.

As both Creon and Antigone are royalty, Creon is the king of Thebes which is of higher stature than Antigone, this is a trait of a tragic hero. Creon shows his ignorance by dishonoring the gods and refusing to bury Polyneices. He forgets or ignores that Eteocles and Polyneices shared the throne, and to “attack” Thebes was the only way for Polyneices to obtain his kingship back from his brother. Creon is also ignorant to the fact that Polyneices is his nephew and should be buried alongside his brother and the rest of his family. As Antigone defies Creon's word and buries Polyneices, he is oblivious to the fact that she is to be wed to his

In Sophocles “Antigone”, Creon is known to be the tragic hero of the story. Sophocles shows that Creon is a tragic hero by all his attributes that appeared all through the story. Creon is a character that is anything but difficult to identify with in various ways. To start with, he contains numerous flaws within the story which in result causes numerous issues. Creon won't listen to anybody. He is tenacious and his pride is so extraordinary, he can not force himself to recognize that he could ever off-base. This is found in the choice he made of getting to be hubris. Hubris is a Greek expression for rudeness and has alluded to the feelings in Greek grievous saints and disregards the divine beings and consequently welcome catastrophe. Catastrophe is all that Creon achieved as the book advanced into the climax.

Sometimes we are not responsible human beings. Sometimes decision are made that we regret - decisions we wish to revert and ones we wish were never made. Who is the tragic hero in “Antigone”? Every character makes some very questionable and admittedly remorseful decisions in this Greek play that has led them to downfall. But who, out of all the possible candidates, is the main tragic hero, and what are the characteristics that make them one? Creon is the tragic hero in the Greek play “Antigone” because of his characteristics and the flaws that he creates as the story progresses.

Some people think that elders are always wise and true, but not in this case, “It is not right if I am wrong. But if I am young, and right, what does my age matter?” (Antigone. III, 96-99). The play Antigone, written by Sophocles, tells the story of how a girl named Antigone who buries her dead brother Polyneices breaking a law, causing a huge controversy between Creon, the ruler of Thebes, and Antigone. Creon believes she should die and sentences Antigone to death, but Creon is convinced it is wrong to do that, but before he can redeem his punishment for Antigone, she hangs herself. This causing a rippling effect of Haemon, Creon's son, and the Queen killing themselves. This all happened because of the tragic hero Creon, causing him to be the blame of the whole story, losing everything he had. Sophocles uses the tragic hero archetype in order to demonstrate the theme that what seems right is not always the best way to handle something.

Creon learns that, as Haimon had argued before leaving in a rage, there are severe consequences for believing a state can be run by one single person rather than listening to the reason of others just as wise. According to the definition of tragedy, there must

A Greek tragedy would not be complete without an evil or immoral character. In Antigone, Creon was not only the tragic hero, but he was also the most immoral character. Creon’s excessive pride results in his downfall, and it negatively influences many of the

She is a good and admirable character because of her decision to bury her brother, Polynices, against Creon’s rule. Antigone, showing her attitude towards doing the right thing, informs Creon, “I was born to join in love, not hate—that is my nature” (Sophocles, Antigone 86). Creon’s statement of exiling her to die does not trouble her. Antigone’s personal error was not denying Creon’s assertions. She declares, “[d]ie I must, I’ve known it all my life” to show Creon that she does not care if she dies because she is dying for something she strongly believes in (Sophocles, Antigone 82). This decision was “[a] simple mistake […] that eventually [led] to the final catastrophe” (Simpson). After Creon bans her, she hangs herself. Antigone’s persecution, banishment, and death all cause a catharsis of pity and fear from the audience. Although she follows most of the requirements of a tragic hero set by Aristotle, she is missing “a moment of clairvoyant insight or understanding in the mind of the tragic hero as [s]he suddenly comprehends the web of fate that [s]he has entangled [her]self in” (Simpson). Throughout the story, Antigone never backs down to Creon. She fights for what she believes in, knowing the consequences, and does not suddenly come to an understanding that her decision of burying her brother led to her downfall and ultimate death. Creon not only meets the requirements of a tragic hero that Antigone does, but he also suddenly understood that his decisions were the reason for his

The play, Antigone, is a tragedy written by the Greek poet Sophocles. A common theme among tragedies is that they have a tragic hero, and Antigone is no different. The tragic hero of this poem is Creon, the King of Thebes. Creon is faced with the difficult task of punishing his niece, Antigone. She has broken one of his laws stating that no one is to give proper burial rites to Polyneices, Antigone’s brother, because he tried to overthrow Creon. Against the warning of others, Creon goes on with his plan to essentially sentence Antigone to her death. Creon continually ignores what others counsel him to do because he believes that just because he is king, everything he does is right. It is this thinking that ultimately leads to the death of not only Antigone, but also Creon’s son and wife as well. All tragic heroes suffer from a tragic flaw that leads to their downfall. Creon suffers from two tragic flaws, pride and stubbornness. Both of these flaws lead Creon down a path of destruction that he is unable to return from.

His power as a king allows him to make his own laws, and even give sentence to those who can defy him. Because of his law, Creon has so much arrogance that when Teiresias informs Creon of his doom-laden prophecy,

The play, Antigone is an Ancient Greek play mostly about myth written by Sophocles. There are two main characters in this play which are Antigone and Creon. Antigone is a girl who tries to bury her brother, Polyneices who died during the war and she chooses family instead of the government. Creon, is Antigone’s uncle, and also a King of Thebes who didn’t allow the people to bury Polyneices. He doesn’t like people who disobeys the rules of the government.They both are tragic characters because Antigone kills herself and Creon asks for his death to the gods.It can be argued that the tragic hero is Creon because of his excessive pride and his intense suffering at the end of the play.

The character Antigone is the protagonist in Antigone, the second play out of the Oedipus Rex trilogy. Out of the trilogy she is apart of she is the most tragic figure, though other claims say that Creon is a more tragic figure. A tragic figure in Greek plays, according to Aristotle, is a fictional character in a story or play that has an error in judgment, known as hamartia. This error of judgment causes his or her own misery, known as peripeteia. In Greek plays, such as the one Antigone premiers in, this person is must be of nobility. A tragic figure also has a tragic flaw that incorporates into the story or play. This tragic flaw can be shown through arrogance, stubbornness, love, or any quality that usually causes conflict, this is known as hubris. A tragic figure also must be portrayed as relatable to the

In Sophocles’ Antigone, Antigone and Creon both have qualities of a tragic hero according to Aristotle’s definition. Aristotle believes a tragic hero is a decent human, but falls due to a weakness in one’s character. In the plot, Antigone decides to bury her brother, which defies the laws of Creon, the dictator of Thebes. Antigone believes she must hold her family values and the gods’ beliefs with utmost respect. Antigone refuses to deny her crime, so she is sentenced to be death by Creon. Antigone is the tragic hero because she inspires pity and fear when her devotion to the gods and her morals lead to her downfall.