Examples Of Hubris In Antigone

After Antigone is brought forth and accepts the punishment of her burying her brother, Creon sends her away. At this time, Ismene steps up to defend Antigone and tries to get creon to realize that Antigone is his son’s future bride. Creon answers by saying, “There are other field just as fertile” (26). In this quote, he displays that he cares for neither Antigone, nor his son, Haemon. . He explains that there are other women around that could be just as a promising wife as Antigone. He exemplifies the theme of pride here, by putting that everyone gets replaced and that he does not put his son’s life first. Power, a theme that is primarily exemplified by Creon, appears multiple times throughout his dialogue. While discussing Antigone’s punishment with Haemon, Creon says, “This city will tell me how I ought to rule it?” (40). In this quote, Creon represents the theme of power. He is trying to show Haemon that HE is the king of Thebes and that no one will tell him how to rule, especially the citizens. In relation to present time, there are countless politicians that share the same characteristics as Creon, someone who takes their power for granted and will use it to take advantage of everyone.

In the first paragraph of the play it reads, "My darling sister Ismene, we have had a fine inheritance from Oedipus. God has gone through the whole range of sufferings and piled them all on us, -grief upon grief, humiliation upon humiliation"(1042). This just shows how terrible fate has treated the family of Oedipus. Creon has a different fate, one that he brought upon himself but it is much more dour than anyone else's. Creon's fate was to lose all of all of his family and the rest of his life knowing it was his entire fault because of his selfish actions and his stubborn ways. In the end of the play Creon says, "Nobody else to share the blame. Just me . . . I killed you. I killed you my dear"(1078-1079).

In sophocles play Antigone Creon’s flaw is his pride. In the quote “ Now I am no man, but she is a man, if power lies with impunity.” Creon feels that if he isn't hard on Antigone, then he isn't a man. He doesn’t want to look weak to his subjects which hurts his pride, so he decides to kill Antigone instead of being nicer. You see Creon's pridefulness again when he goes to the prophet. Creon contradicts the prophet insisting that they are wrong and he is right. This pride leads to everyone he loves dying. Other characters even tell Creon that he is being arrogant and that he’s not always right. Haimon tells Creon “ I beg you not to be unchangeable. Do not believe that you alone can be right.” Creon believes that he is even above the gods at

“Tell me briefly—not in some lengthy speech— were you aware there was a proclamation forbidding what you did?” (503-505). The actions, context of Antigone’s words, and also the ideas she proposed, very indepthly contrasted with Creon’s character. Thus resulting in there being a verbal confrontation between the two characters. The conflict between the two caused conflicting motivations such as stubbornness, disrespect, and anger to be projected with Creon’s character. Ultimately, these conflicting motivations develop Creon as a tragic hero by portraying that he knew, the decisions he made were of error, and the character interactions advance the plot by causing conflict throughout the play. Creon had also begun to change throughout the play,

Lastly, Creon was a tragic hero because he realized his flaws too late in time. Referring back to the prophecy of Tiresias, after the prophecy of Thebes was declared and Creon denying it, it soon came to pass. The chorus leader cries “My lord, my lord, such dreadful prophecies- and how he's gone..Since my hair changed colour from black to white, I know here in the city he's never uttered a false prophecy” (Antigone line 1220). Creon then replies to him by acknowledging his wrong and the effect of his wrong in the situation. “Aaii- mistakes made by a foolish mind, cruel mistakes that bring on

Soon after his decision of the fate of Antigone, Creon’s tragic flaw blooms the greatest. This Hubris focuses on the Creon’s relentless, uncompromising, and egotistical attitude. Many try to convince Creon to reconsider on his misguided decision, however, Creon does not yield. It is at this point when one realizes the Hubris of Antigone. Creon possesses a false sense of pride and/or confidence in his intelligence. He believes he cannot be wrong, therefore his uncompromising and egotistical attitude shines brightest. It portrays him as “superficial, pigheaded, self-important man.” (Porter) This is Hamartia, his relentless,

Everyone has flaws. Someone may get a little too angry and saw something they do not mean. Maybe someone's pride stops them from asking for help when they need it. Either way, no one is perfect; hubris always finds a way to ruin peoples lives. Sophocles’s two plays Oedipus the King, and Antigone are prime examples of how hubris can lead to ones ultimate downfall, which can be seen through the characters Antigone, Oedipus, and Creon.

“Your temper terrifies them” (Sophocles 222). In Sophocles’ tragedy “Antigone”, Creon, the obstinate king of Thebes, embodies the stereotypical monarch. Ancient Athens, where Sophocles called home, used plays to educate their audience and persuade them to think a certain way; thus, Sophocles wrote of the struggle between Creon, and his son, Haimon, from the perspective of a member if a democratic government. Sophocles sought to influence his audiences political beliefs by creating the character Creon, the King of Thebes’, whose power hunger and temper makes monarchies appear absurd; however, strengthening stereotypes as a political weapon did not cease in Ancient Greece. In the past century, American screenwriters have

Creon realizes that all of the blame for these deaths rests on him alone, and undergoes great suffering, just like other central figures in Greek tragedies. For example, in the play Medea, by Euripides, Medea suffers the loss of her family, friends, land, and children. Creon faces this same kind of suffering, and wishes for his life to end to stop his suffering. He poetically states in the play, "Come, thou most welcome Fate, Appear, O come; Bring my days' final date, Fill up their sum! Come quick, I pray; Let me not look upon another day!" (51). So with all this suffering, one might ask what the purpose of such a depressing play might be, or what lesson Sophocles attempts to teach us. This brings up the concept of morality. Creon did not get out of this sticky situation without getting something from it.

Sophocles’ play Antigone takes place in the city of thebes in Ancient Greece. The play shows the dangers of hubris. The definition of hubris is arrogant pride or too much self confidence. Pride is a quality that all people possess, but can use it as a strength or weakness. The play starts off with hubris shown in a good way but throughout, leads to large conflicts.

Hubris has been a destructive facet to humanity for as long as stories have been told. The

Due to his unwavering pride and refusal to see through the eyes of others, Creon falls from his position of immense power and wealth which in the end doesn’t matter because all his loved ones and family are now dead.

Creon grieved over the death of Heamon and thought that there could be no worse. The messenger then informed Creon that the agony did not end there, Eurydice had also killed herself. Creon cursed himself and anguished over the loss of his wife and son. In conclusion, Creon begged and prayed for his own life to be taken so that he would never have to see another

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.

John Lennon said, “Part of me suspects that I’m a loser, and the other part of me thinks I’m God Almighty.” Hubris, or excessive pride, was one of the biggest themes in Ancient Greek culture. It has what killed heroes, and destroyed villains in mythology and even real life. In the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, I share the battle that Creon has regarding a conflict of personal character, which leads to the deaths of others caused by his tremendously large ego.