Creon In Sophocles Antigone

By the time he realized that he was challenging the Gods, he was no longer able to renege his past decisions. Creon was no longer strong and strict, but instead was a physical representation of a breakdown. His family and wife were being strangled by Creon’s dictatorship and he never noticed until it was too late. If anyone was to exhibit leadership it surely was not

“According to Aristotle, the function of tragedy is to arouse pity and fear in audience so that we may be purged or cleansed, of these unsettling emotions.” (“What is” 739) This “purging” is clearly effective in Sophocles’ Antigone which is about a young woman’s will to do what is right by the Gods. Also, according to Aristotle, “a tragedy can arouse twin emotions of pity and fear only if it presents a certain type of hero or heroine who is neither completely good nor completely bad” (“What is” 739). He or she must also be “highly renowned and prosperous,” have a tragic flaw, learn a lesson, and suffer greatly (“What is” 739). Therefore, in Antigone by Sophocles, Creon is the tragic hero because he is a king who has the tragic flaw of

Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher, defines a tragic figure as one who represents goodness, superiority, a tragic flaw, and a realization of their tragic flaw and inevitability. A tragic figure is normally someone of royalty, or importance, and also experiences a great devastation. A big flaw of a tragic hero is usually their pride. The figure will experience an ironic plot twist, where they realize things are not what they expected, and then are to face the reality of their fate. In, The Theban Plays, by Sophocles (translated by E. F. Watling), the characters Creon and Antigone represent tragic figures. In the play “Antigone,” Sophocles depicts the character Creon as a tragic hero. Creon portrays many characteristics of a tragic figure. His tragic story begins when makes the decision of becoming a hubris. A hubris is one who ignores the gods, and follows their own path. When Creon does this, his decisions greatly affect the fate of his loved ones; his son, wife and Antigone. Along with Creon, Antigone portrays a tragic hero in as well. Antigone’s tragic fate comes from her loyalty to her family and the gods. She chooses to stick to her own beliefs, rather than having obedience towards the king, and this was the cause of her downfall.

Every Greek tragedy must have a tragic hero. In Sophocle’s play, Antigone, the most tragic hero is Creon. He is an essentially good man of high position who takes pride in his role as king. He possesses the tragic flaws of excessive pride and an oversized ego. This causes the tragic reversal that leads to his emotional ruin and eventual remorse and repentance.

Secondly, Aristotle suggests that to be a tragic hero, one must not be perfect although his character is pre-eminently great. This is certainly true of Creon’s case. For example, in the above paragraph, we proved that Creon is essentially good because he chose to punish Polyneices. However, his choice of punishment—not burying Polyneices—does not rank as high on the moral spectrum. In fact, Antigone believes that Creon "dishonors" Polyneices by not burying him, by not "honoring what the gods have honored" (line 89). By going against his people’s centuries of beliefs, Creon’s character finds its imperfection.

There has always been a great debate over who is the true tragic hero in Sophocles' Antigone. Many scholars would stake claim to Antigone possessing all the necessary characteristics of a true tragic hero, but many others would argue that Creon holds many qualities as well. It is hard to discount Antigone as a tragic hero, because in fact, the play bears her name, but from careful reading, Creon meets Aristotle's criteria exactly and fits perfectly into the role. In order to determine whether or not Creon is the true tragic hero, one must answer the question: 'What is a Tragic Hero?' In Aristotle's Poetics, he discusses the basic criteria regarding a tragic hero. Aristotle

In Antigone , a tragedy by Sophocles it is debated that Creon or Antigone is the true tragic hero. Creon is the true tragic hero because of his complicated and unpredictable downfall, his position as a prideful king to a destitute man, and his unyielding arrogance.

Creon is the king of Thebes in Sophocles' Greek tragedy Antigone. His tragic flaw was arrogance. He arrogantly decreed that no one was to bury his son-in-law, and that his body would rot dishonorably; however, this was against the laws of the Zeus and the other gods. Deciding that his decree was more important that that of the gods, he expected all the people to obey him. Unfortunately for Creon, his daughter-in-law Antigone attempted to bury her brother, the dead man. His son Haemon was betrothed to Antigone, and attempted to reason with Creon that the entire city loved what Antigone did. But against his son's advice, Creon arrogantly condemned Antigone to death in a cave. A blind prophet came and recited all the bad omens that had happened,

Antigone is a tragic play written by Sophocles in about 441b.c. The play is a continuation of the curse put upon the household of Oedipus Rex. Sophocles actually wrote this play before he wrote Oedipus, but it follows Oedipus in chronological order. The story of Antigone begins after the departure of Oedipus, the king of Thebes, into self-exile. Oedipus’ two sons, Eteocles and Polyneices, were left to rule over Thebes. An argument over rights to power forces Polynices to leave Thebes. Some time passes and Polynices returns with the army from Argos and attempts to overthrow his brother. The two brothers fight and kill one another and the war ends. Creon, the uncle of the two

While reading the Greek play "Antigone", written by the playwright Sophocles, one sees that a few of the characters can be related back to the reader/watcher of the play. For instance, many people can identify with the protagonist Antigone through her incomparable dedication in following the laws of beings of greater power. Others might identify with the wise Tiresias, whose wisdom and advice is given and taught across the land. However, for a fifteen-year-old boy such as I, I identify the most with the antagonist of the play, King Creon.The way that Creon manages his problems, very reminiscent to the way that many deal with the situations that they face in their lives; how he lets his anger and pride completely fuel every action that he takes

“Whoever thinks that he alone has speech, or possesses speech or mind above others, when unfolded such men are seen to be empty”. The play “ Antigone” was about how Creon a king who supports polis, a society where the country is more important than family, dealt with a girl who buried her brother when her brother was a traitor of the city and were banned from burials. The girl’s action strongly offended Creon’s faith and Creon wanted to punish her. Creon ignored the chorus, the seer and his son’s advices and buried Antigone in a tomb. Creon’s son which is the future husband of the girl killed himself because his father said he will kill Antigone in front of him. Creon’s wife died after her son died due to grief. At last, Creon finally realized what he did and became crazy. Creon’s

wife, and his will to live, but is doomed to live on in his pain. Antigone

In literature, a tragedy is defined as a drama where the main character in the end suffers extreme sorrow because of their mistakes or poor judgment. The characters that are fated to suffer the extreme sorrow, the tragedy, are (called) tragic characters. These tragic characters, however, must follow Aristotle’s principles which include:

Creon, unlike Antigone, shows all of the characteristics of a Greek tragic hero. He is an ordinary person, with way to much power. This is one situation as to why the sole ruler form of government was soon diminished. Creon’s actions derived from his human flaws or his fear of loosing his place as king. Creon also ends up facing suffering because due to his prideful attitude, it caused the death of three loved ones, his son, niece, and wife. Even though a tragic hero is nothing like a hero we would hear being describe today, they both teach important lessons. A hero teaches the reader right decisions and the correct course, while a tragic hero

In the play Antigone, Creon starts off as the loyal king of Thebes. He is loyal to the gods and loyal to the welfare of Thebes. However, over the course of the play, Creon degenerates into a tyrant. His degeneration is showing his character development. Creon’s pride about the human law also develops throughout the play, creating conflict with the divine law. When Antigone rebels against his law, he becomes stubborn, and makes myopic decisions and grows into his hamartia. Besides his hamartia, Creon’s position as the king makes him a power hungry man. His power madness degenerates him into becoming a ruthless and vindictive man, even to his family. However, over the course of the play, Creon begins to see that because of the laws of men, he was being blinded of what’s