The Tragic Hero Of Sophocles ' Sophocles

“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

Sophocles was born near Athens, in the small town of Colonus, around 495 BC. His ninety-year life span coincided with the rise and fall of the Athenian Golden age. The son of Sophillus, a wealthy armor maker, Sophocles was provided with the best traditional aristocratic education available in Athens (Page 3). Very little is known about Sophocles as a youth, although one public record suggests his participation in “The Chorus of Youths,” chosen to celebrate the Athenian naval victory at Salamis, in 480 BC (Terrell 1). Much speculation exists around the life of Sophocles as a young man, but no definite record of his achievements can be found before 468 BC, the year he defeated Aeschylus in a dramatic competition.

Hero. Hero comes from the greek word heros meaning “A person who faces adversity, or demonstrates courage, in the face of danger.” Growing up we have always read stories about heroes coming to save the day; for instance, Captain America. Being that our whole lives we were mostly exposed to heroism, have you ever asked yourself what is the opposite of a hero? A villain is the opposite of a hero, but their is another opposite form of a hero; a tragic hero. A Tragic hero is “A literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction” (“Tragic hero as defined by Aristotle”). For instance, in the play written by Sophocles Antigone, the tragic hero is Creon. Creon who is Antigone’s

Aristotle once said, “A man does not become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall.” Aristotle believed that a tragic hero was one who was noble by nature yet endowed with a tragic flaw or hamartia. This hero is oftentimes more dignified than us average people, but his/her* personality and character traits make their stories relatable. Over the course of his life, different virtues are revealed, but they eventually exhibit an imperfection which leads to his inevitable downfall. In Sophocles 's tragic play of Antigone, Oedipus’s sons, Polynices and Eteocles have killed each other in combat. Although Eteocles was buried in honor as a hero, Creon denied Polynices a proper burial because he was considered a traitor. Antigone, Polynices’s sister, defies the king’s demands despite the deadly consequences. While Creon lived to emulate state peace by maintaining law and order, Antigone died in honor of her religion and familial obligations. However, both characters possessed the tragic flaw of stubbornness, or sticking firm to their virtues and beliefs despite the advice of others, with an added sense of pride, and that’s what led to their ultimate sorrowful tragic end.

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.

Tragic heroes have littered greek theatre since the beginning, One hero sticks out the most though. Creon, from Antigone, serves as a prime example of Greek Tragedy. The man was responsible for the death of both his wife and son. His pride and stubbornness led to his own downfall. People would call this his Hamartia, or his shortcoming or downfall. What he did in the story showed us what really caused all of this.

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.

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.

The true tragic hero of the play Antigone, by Sophocles, has been a question many people have been asking. Creon, the king of Thebes, gives one of Antigone’s brothers, Eteocles, a proper burial, but leaves her other brother’s, Polyneices, body to be eaten by birds and wild dogs. Because of this decision, he ends up losing his entire family because of his pride, or hubris. Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus, does not want her brother’s body to be shamed in such a way, and creates a plan to secretly bury the body against Creon’s orders. She tries to persuade her sister, Ismene, into helping her with the plan, but she refuses to disobey Creon’s law.

“This part of “Antigone” is basically just “The Little Red Hen” taking place in Thebes. Ismene didn’t help commit the crime so she gets no honor. She didn’t help bake the bread so she cannot eat the bread.” I said to my teacher after she had called on me. She looked at me with confusion and surprise. It was quite clear that she didn’t expect the student who never speaks to compare one of Sophocles’ plays to a children’s story.

What is a tragic hero? A tragic hero is someone who was well respected, but their tragic flaw led to their fall. In Sophocles’ Antigone, it could be argued that either Creon or Antigone is the tragic hero. I argue Creon is the tragic hero in this play. Antigone has the main character as Antigone the daughter of the famous Oedipus, who married his mother and killed his father. At the beginning of the play Oedipus has died and Antigone’s power hungry brothers have killed each other, Polynices being made as a traitor and left unburied, worthless. Antigone’s sister, Ismene, is her only sibling left, though she is one to follow the rules. Antigone plans to bury her brother even though Creon has forbid it, this is where the conflict begins.

An Aristotelian tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgment that ultimately leads to his or her own destruction. An example of a true Aristotelian tragic hero is Creon from Sophocles’ play, Antigone. Creon is the tragic hero because he goes through the five stages of a tragic hero which leads to his destruction. His tragic flaw is him being afraid to admit that he has made a mistake. He is too proud of his power and his ability to make laws which leads to his son and wife committing suicide. The similar approach, in Woman at Point Zero, Cooke’s remarks about Firdaus being a tragic hero is true. Firdaus demonstrates to be a tragic hero through the five characteristics for the tragic hero.

Greeks believed that everybody had their own fate that was valuable and should be accepted as the way it is. Hence, if fate was something undesired, it should be indisputable since it was something given by the maximum power in the world, which where the gods of Greece. In Greece, fate was so relevant that there were oracles where their main reason of existence was to reveal prophecies claimed by the Gods. To illustrate, the play describes a scene where Teseiras, the oracle, states “a blind man, who has his eye now… to the children with whom he lives, now he will be brother and father” (Oedipus, scene 1, line 240). The oracle’s prophecies were so accurate during that time that people felt scared about the future events, and they look for crazy and fast solutions, such as the use of free will to resolve harmful prophecies. On the other hands, the contemporary era does not believe much in prophecies and fate. Therefore, people tend to believe that they should live their life at the maximum level. There are some ways to know the future of the events by asking necromancers or clairvoyants about the coming events. Nonetheless, the statements these people might give, could not be as accurate as expected since they might be saying whatever comes to their mind only to receive money in exchange. The ancient Greek method used to know future events is quite different to the actual method since contemporaries stopped

Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero is someone of great importance or royalty. The hero must go through something terrible such as a relative’s death. We must feel what this character is feeling throughout the story. Aristotle also said that a tragic hero scan be defeated by a tragic flaw, such as hubris or human pride. In Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone, both Creon and Antigone are tragic heroes.

Tragic hero could be said to be someone that has had a tragic flaw that leads to the hero's death and also helps the reader to sympathize with the character. Oedipus is a classic example of a tragic hero who had many flaws on the surface, such as the lack of self-knowledge, curiosity and pride, and the wisdom gained at the end.