The Tragic Hero In Sophocles Antigone

Antigone believed that the actions she took were done for the right reason, because they adhere to the law of the Gods. In opposition to that, Creon believes that the actions he had taken were in fact the right ones, because he believed that Polyneices was a traitor to the land, and that anyone who should give him a proper burial would suffer the penalty of death. So, the actions that were taken by both of them individually were the right ones, in their own minds at least.<br><br>Antigone, in her plan to give her brother Polyneices a proper burial, kept in mind the consequences that she would suffer for having followed through with the plan. This doesn't necessarily mean that Antigone does not obey the human law that is set up by King Creon, it just means that this particular rule conflicted with the law of the Gods, something that Antigone believes highly in obeying, especially when it deals with her family. Antigone disregards the Olympian Justice that governs the land and also presides over the set laws that make civilized life attainable (Segal "Antigone" 172).<br><br>Antigone goes up against human law, by burying her brother Polyneices, knowing well that she will have to sacrifice her own life. She does this only because it is morally and ethically right, and this is why she stakes her life based upon her strong beliefs (Segal

What is a tragic hero? A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgement error that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction. In the Greek tragedy Antigone by Sophocles, a king named Creon places a law that makes it illegal to bury Polyneices who is Antigone’s brother. But not being buried in Greek culture is a big deal because it means you don't make it to the afterlife, so then Antigone buries her brother so he can be at peace. The tragedy is about how Antigone and Creon each react to each other's actions, it becomes a battle of law and morality. In the tragedy, there are two possible tragic heroes, Antigone or Creon. I believe that Creon is the tragic hero because his tragic flaw led to the downfall of himself and his loved ones.

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

Poetics, where he defines what makes a tragic hero. Aristotle suggests that a tragic hero is a

When people think of the word hero, they usually think perfect, accomplished, and many other positive traits. But when it comes to describing the tragic hero, those words become the exact opposite of what is being described. In Antigone, Antigone, Oedipus’ daughter, goes against the laws of the new king, Creon, in order to bury her brother and obey the laws of the gods. Creon then proceeds to punish Antigone for going against his law, which displeases the gods and ends to his own tragic downfall by his entire family killing themselves. In the Antigone, written by Sophocles, Creon best fits the Aristotelian model for the tragic hero. This is shown throughout the story as Creon’s characteristics, actions, and realizations come into play.

Antigone chose to give her brother Polyneices a proper burial even though it was against the king’s law. She tried talking her sister Ismene to join her on her quest because Polyneices was both of their brothers, but Ismene did not want to disobey Kreon’s order (Blondell 19-24). This left Antigone to handle this on her own, which takes a lot of courage and dedication to what she believes in. Antigone went on with her plan to bury Polyneices and his body was eventually found by a guard (Blondell 30). When the guard brought the news to Kreon he was furious and the Chorus had suggested it was a Gods doing, which led me to believe that they did not think anyone one else was willing to risk it all by not listening to their kings orders (Blondell 32). A good lesson to learn from Antigone is that even if you break the law you have to admit your doing especially when you know what you did was morally right and what you stand for as an individual. When Antigone was accused of breaking the law and burying Polyneices she did not even hesitate saying, “I don’t deny it; I admit the deed was mine.” (Blondell 38). She even goes on to tell King Kreon that his choice to not allow the burial of Polyneices is morally wrong and how he is disobeying the God Zeus who is offended by improper treatment of a corpse (Blondell 38). Though Antigone knows the consequence for disobeying the king, she continues to fight for her brother’s honor and makes sure to point out the king’s foolish decision. Even in her last words she questions what kind of men can make suffer and then gives her respects to the town, gods, and rulers.

The story of Antigone begins with the death of Oedipus. His sons Polyneices and Eteocles battled against each other for control of the city Thebes, which resulted in the death of both of them. Creon, brother of Iocasta and uncle of Oedipus, becomes the king. He declared an honorable burial for Eteocles, who fought for Thebes, and no burial for Polyneices since he fought against Thebes. Antigone tells Ismene, her sister of Polyneices’s fate, and that he deserves to be buried regardless if Ismene joins her. Antigone does bury her brother, going against her sister’s warning about Creon killing whoever touches Polyneices body. A Sentry tells Creon hat someone has done some burial cremations Polyneices, and Creon tells him to find the person who is responsible. A Sentry sees Antigone spreading dust over Polyneices’s body, allowing his body to take its place in Hades, and brings her to Creon. When Ismene found out Antigone was caught by Creon, she asks to share in Antigone’s guilt, but Antigone doesn’t allow her. Creon’s son Haimon tries to reason with his father saying he should be fair and restraint. Creon ignores his son and sends Antigone to the tomb. Teiresias, a blind prophet, also tries to warn Creon of the god’s anger towards him and that an unpleasant fate will happen. Again Creon ignores the warning and insults Teiresias. When Teiresias left, Creon tried to think of a time when he was wrong and he couldn’t. So Creon decided he would

On the subject of honorable morality, Antigone possesses the moral high ground in accordance to the Greek expectations of the historical era when compared to the opposition of Creon. Owing to Sophocles’ tragedy known as Antigone, it offers the question of what type of law should be relevant when both divine law and common law clash in their interests. As such, it delves into a complex setting of a post-civil war Thebes, whereby throughout the entirety of the tragedy the audience learns of the fates of those involved, as both sides of the opposition face cruel fates. Yet, while the ending of the play is rather ambiguous about who was right, Antigone was indeed the clear victor according to the cultural upbringing and relevance of the

Antigone was written in 441 BC by the Greek playwright Sophocles. The play is set in the ancient city of Thebes. Women were not recognized of importance in ancient Athens, so in turn they were not allowed to attend the plays and any character that was a woman was to be played as a man, wearing a mask. Sophocles wrote many other great Greek tragedies including Odeipus the King. In the prequel to Antigone, Odeipus the King, Odeipus is born as a curse. His parents went to the oracle and received terrible news about their son, Odeipus. Odeipus would soon kill his father and lay with his mother. To prevent this, his parents dropped Odeipus off in the woods as a child but he still managed to survive. Years later he is walking on the outskirts of Thebes and he runs into his father, they have a thrown down and Oedipus kills his father, completing the first half of the prophecy the oracle foretold. Shortly after Thebes recognizes Oedipus as a worthy leader and is elected king. And with tradition he must marry the queen of Thebes, his mother, completing the second half of the prophecy. Odeipus later then finds out the truth that he in fact killed his father, the king of Thebes, and is married to his mother and has committed fornication. Oedipus gouges his eyes out stating “Don’t tell me what I’ve done is not the best. And from now on spare me your advice If I could see, I don’t know how my eyes could look at my own father when I come to Hades or could see my wretched mother.

In literature, a tragedy is a drama where the main character in the end suffers extreme sorrow because of their mistakes or poor judgment. If characters’ fates are to suffer the extreme sorrows, then these characters are tragic characters. These tragic characters, however, must follow Aristotle’s principles which include hamartia, hubris, peripeteia, anagnorisis, nemesis, and catharsis. If the character has all six of Aristotle’s principles, then the character can qualify as an Aristotelian tragic character. Two examples of Aristotelian tragic characters are from Sophocles’ Greek play Antigone from the trilogy dealing with Oedipus and his children (Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone). The two Aristotelian tragic characters are Creon, the king of Thebes in Antigone, and Antigone herself.

Antigone is an extremely courageous woman who sticks up for her beliefs. Throughout the whole story, she is fighting for her brother to have a proper burial. She is not afraid of breaking creon’s law. She is more concerned about religious law and the burial of her brother. Her sister Ismene is more worried about following the state law. She doesn’t fight for her brother to be buried. Therefore Antigone steps up on her own to defend her brothers' honor. Creon is very strongly held with his law for polyneices not to be buried. Antigone’s actions make creon infuriated. Antigone recognizes Creons frustration, but does not hesitate to bury her brother. She portrays her determination all throughout the play: “It’s not for him to keep me

Despite her focus on her obligation to family leading to her downfall, she is not the most tragic figure in the play. In Sophocles’ Antigone, Antigone chose her brother over her community’s unjust laws imposed by Kreon. Her reason for such a defiance is best summed up by her response to Ismene when she reveals her plan to break the law. “You be as you think best, but I shall bury him. I’ll lie there, dear to him, with my dear friend, when I’ve performed this crime of piety; for I must please those down below a longer time than those up here, since I shall lie there always” (71-76). It is clear from this conversation between the two that Antigone feels an obligation to her family and brother to give him the proper burial. She makes it clear that her brother was very dear to her and she loved him deeply. Her deep love for him made her capable of defying her community’s laws and face death. She would rather lie in death next to her brother than never see her brother given the proper customary burial that all in the community receive. This deep love is also shown to her sister as she is willing to deny that her sister knew anything about her plan in order to ensure her sister does not get harmed.

A tragedy is a relative term for great sadness, but in the times of the Greeks and the Romans, the word tragedy had a slightly different meaning. Aristotle defined a tragic hero as one who has a major character flaw and experiences a tragedy leading to that character’s downfall. The character must experience a loss in fortune and suffer beyond what they deserve. In the story Antigone was written by Sophocles, Creon can be defined as a tragic hero more so than Antigone.

Antigone speaks with her sister Ismene about her brothers’ untimely death. Eteocles and Polyneices killed each other in combat over the right to rule their City-State of Thebes. Eteocles, having ruled Thebes and defended it against his brother’s attack, was being awarded a proper burial with full rites by Thebes’ new ruler, Creon. Polyneices however, is to receive no such burial, and instead is to be left to rot on the battlefield. Creon has declared that anyone caught in the act of burying or performing rites for Polyneices is to be put to death.

To begin with, Antigone holds the beliefs that the Gods are higher than any other laws. She feels that the laws of the gods should be obeyed especially with family and being the hero. Antigone was a liberated and outspoken person who went for what she believed in. Thus, when Antigone heard about Polyneices not receiving a burial, Antigone was infuriated and wanted to do something about it. She told Ismene, but she did not have the same reaction. However, Antigone’s strong mind and the laws of the god remind Antigone that she must show respect and love towards her brother and must give him a proper burial, even if she had to rebel against the law of the men. When Ismene said, “We must remember, first, that we two are by nature women and not fit to fight with men” (Sophocles, 61). Antigone responded with, “you, though, if you think it best,