Sophocles ' The Classic Greek Tragedy

Antigone then decides to go about the burial of their brother on her own. Scene 1 - In this scene, Creon is in a room with his men, sharing with them, his thoughts on as to why Eteocles will be buried, and Polynices will be left to rot. Creon says that Eteocles was defending his land, and Polynices was going against his people. Labeling Polynices as a traitor.

Antigone versus Creon In the play Antigone, the character Antigone serves as a foil character for Creon in an attempt to show Creon the wrong in his judgement. The play is based around the belief of right by burial which Creon so happens to be denying a certain man of that right, Polynices, one of Antigone's brothers. Antigone serves a foil for Creon through most of her actions throughout the play. She buries her brother not once but twice, she argues with Creon over the right by burial belief, and Creon has a chain reaction of loss that was caused by Antigone’s death.

Firstly, perhaps no character in the entire story of Antigone was more stubborn than King Creon. He absolutely refused to waver in his beliefs. In fact, it was Creon’s irrational decision to forbid the body of his nephew, Polyneices, to be properly buried that caused the very conflict of the story. But Creon’s dilemma came when the Greek gods informed him that he himself would be punished for his cruel punishments toward his own family.

Throughout the whole play, Creon has not kept himself from showing his unruly attitude towards all the characters about his decisions for the people. There were many occasions in

The opening events of the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, quickly establish the central conflict between Antigone and Creon. Creon has decreed that the traitor Polynices, who tried to burn down the temple of gods in Thebes, must not be given proper burial. Antigone is the only one who will speak against this decree and insists on the sacredness of family and a symbolic burial for her brother. Whereas Antigone sees no validity in a law that disregards the duty family members owe one another, Creon's point of view is exactly opposite. He has no use for anyone who places private ties above the common good, as he proclaims firmly to the Chorus and the audience as he revels in his victory over Polynices. He sees Polynices as an enemy to

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.

Antigone retaliates by saying that his law is not that of the Gods so it does not stand. He wants to have Antigone killed, but his son his her fiancé. He tries to explain to the king that the gods would have wanted Polyneices to be buried and that Antigone did the right thing that she should not be punished for it. Creon’s hubris however comes out yet again. He will not even listen to a word his son has to say; however now he does not want to kill her, but to send her away into a tomb, where the Gods can determine her fate.

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.

Until Creon follows the simple burial rites, numerous misfortunes, including the deaths of his loved ones, will occur as a result of his actions. One may think that Creon must challenge the Gods because Antigone challenges his laws; however, fear of the Gods and guilt motivate Antigone to defy Creon. Antigone’s defiance does not lead to the deaths of others because she defies an individual who did not follow the law, while Creon’s disobedience ends in violence.

Creon: The Tragic Hero “One cannot balance tragedy in the scales Unless one weighs it with the tragic heart.” - StephenVincent Bene T. In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, I think Creon is the tragic hero in this play because he has a lot of pride, he thinks he is in control of everyone because he is the king, and he doesn’t listen to people. His main focus was his pride.

Antigone also wants to get revenge on Creon by burying her brother because it is the complete opposite of what Creon ordered. As soon as Creon receives his power over the city of Thebes, he realizes that he is in a bit of a dilemma. He has conflicting values of pleasing people and keeping order in the state. At the beginning of the play, Creon is very much a dictator in Thebes and wants to establish authority immediately. Creon believes that Polynices has no right to be honored because he sent the city into turmoil. He has expressed his hatred of Polynices’ actions. Antigone wants to get revenge on Creon because he is going against what she believes the Gods want. She tells Creon, “Nor did I think that your pronouncements were so powerful that mere man

Unfortunately, Creon does not always make the correct decision because of personality traits that he possesses. When Creon sentences Antigone to death, he is wrong. This decision is based on Creon’s downfalls. He has hamartia and he judges wrong, and he also suffers from hubris. He is excessively prideful and believes that his choice is the only correct one. Creon also has an inaccurate view of his place in relation to the Gods. He believes he is in a position to know what They want and know what They feel is best. No mortal truly knows what the Gods want, but Creon believes he does because he cannot imagine that what he believes is wrong, even to the Gods. Antigone’s death is a bad decision that Creon makes based on his beliefs that the Gods view Polyneices as a traitor and would not want him honored in death.

Creon, just like Oedipus is extremely arrogant. Prior to the story, brothers of Antigone Eteocles and Polynices battled on opposite sides of a war and both died. Creon is on Eteocle’s side, and believes that Polynice was a traitor. Antigone brings back both brothers to partake in a proper burial; by divine law it is demanded that everyone should have a burial. Creon demands that Polynices shall not be buried, and anyone who buries him will be punished by death. By saying that, Creon believes that his rules are more important than God’s. Creon learns from a Sentry that Polynices is buried, so he makes a vow to execute Antigone. The whole town mourns over the idea, but Creon only cares about his opinion, and decides Ismene should be punished for helping out as well. Tiresias the prophet, breaks the news to Creon that if Polynices if left unburied, and if Antigone is executed, Creon will anger the gods resulting in death and loss of everything he loves. But, of course Creon claims that Teiresias is only seeking personal profits and is lying. Creon later finds out that he is wrong and orders the execution of himself. The prophet was right, Creon also lost everything/everyone he loved such as Haemon, Antigone, and Eurydice by suicide. Creon’s abuse of power results in the loss of many lives including his own. His power also changed his character; previous to being kind, Creon was completely fine with not being king, but once he gained control he took advantage of his power and wouldn't consult with

In the play “Antigone,” there were many tragic heroes. In my opinion Creon was one of those. Creon was a tragic hero that was trying to be noble, but losing his entire family was extreme; he was set to fail from the start.

Creon is characterized as an authoritarian tyrannical ruler. He created the law stating that nobody was to bury the body of Polynices because he betrayed the city of Thebes. Creon was right to make his law because Polynices was a turncoat and died on Theban soil. Although his law was harsh, he believed that he was in the right because a villain such as Polynices did not deserve a proper burial. Creon was especially enraged when Antigone disregarded his law because Polynices was her brother, “Oh but I hate it more / when a traitor, caught red-handed, / tries to glorify his crimes (Creon 552-554).”