Creon Is The Tragic Hero In SophoclesAntigone
Since a tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her
own destruction, then Creon is the tragic hero in the play Antigone. In the play Antigone , Sophocles
at first portrays Creon as a just leader. He has good, rational reasons for his laws and punishments. By
the end of the play Creon s hubris, or excessive pride, has taken over him, which leads to his demise
This started by two brothers leading opposite sides in Thebes civil war died fighting each other for the
throne. Which were Polyneices and Eteocles. Creon, the new ruler of Thebes, has decided that
Eteocles will be honored and his body will be sanctified by holy rites, and will be buried, and
Polyneices will be in public shame and will left unburied. Antigone (Eteocles /Polyneices sister) wants
to bury Polyneices body. But, Creon has stated if anybody was to due so he would have them killed.
First off, his strong sense of leadership which catches up with him in the end causing destruction.
Creon orders the guards to take Antigone away not caring for his son s feelings, since she is his
fiancée. Creon feels the law should stand despite the fact that Antigone was his niece or how moral her
act was. Bring her [Antigone] out! Let her die before his eyes... (Scene 3, 130). This quotes shows that
Creon took his position as king seriously to the point where in he was willing to sacrifice the feelings
of his own son. He was willing to be the cause of son s destruction just to prove that he is the king and
always right. I will go... I buried her, I will set her free (scene 5, 102,104). Not only does this quote
show leadership but also stubbornness he was risking his relationship with his son to prove that he was
the leader of Thebes. Creon says another quote which shows his loyalty to his kingdom, I call to God
to witness that if I saw my country headed for ruin, I should not be afraid to speak out plainly,
(Sophocles, scene 1,24 26). Creon s tragic flaw, is he was hubris, which is another reason that causes
his downfall. Creon will not listen to anyone. He is stubborn and his pride is so great, he can not bring
himself to acknowledge that he could ever wrong. When Creon is talking to Teiresias, he
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