Creon's Tragic Hero In Sophocles Antigone

The Hero, Tragically

Many people enjoy reading about Greek plays. Greek plays are not only interesting stories but also teachings from Ancient Greece. A vital component of these plays is the tragic hero. A tragic hero is a character who is worthy of admiration but has a tragic flaw that eventually leads to his or her downfall. The character later recognizes the flaw and reflects on it. In Antigone, written by Sophocles, the tragic hero of the play was not Antigone, but Creon; Creon was a leader who earned respect, but his tragic flaw pulled him down by causing him to make a biased decision that destroyed his entire life and the people around him.

Creon was a king who had achieved great things that earned him the trust and respect of his people,

Creon still does not realize that he has made a bad decision because of his stubbornness, and he sentences Antigone to a chamber where she will starve to death. If all of this was not enough, his own son, Haimon, whose fiancee was Antigone, got into an argument with his father, reprimanding Creon for his rash decision, chastising him for his terrible reasoning, and scolding him for his selfishness. Creon tells Haemon that a son should live “hating his father’s enemies, honoring his father’s friends” (217). Haemon becomes enraged after listening to his father, and crudely tells him that he has terrible reasoning, that his father did not know everything. Haemon mentions that the people of Creon’s city were whispering about how wrongfully Antigone has died, questioning what shameful actions she has done to deserve it. Creon’s tragic flaw gets the better of him and he explodes into a fit. Creon is more disturbed at the fact that his son disagrees with him and that his son tells Creon that Creon was wrong. The conflict ends with Haimon foreshadowing his own death and also

Many people think Antigone is the tragic hero; with her courage, she is able to rebel against Creon’s ridiculous decision and receive respect and admiration from fellow citizens of Thebes for doing so. Antigone also has a tragic flaw of too much bravery, leading to her death. One may easily think that Antigone is the tragic hero of the play, but she lacks a vital component of a tragic hero. Antigone does not realize or acknowledge that her tragic flaw has lead to her downfall. Not only does she refuse to repent on her flaw, she blames others for her downfall. Antigone claims that “The blasphemy of my birth has followed me”(226). She blames her father and brother, Oedipus, for giving birth to her and placing her in the situation she is in; he was the one who was the reason behind the war, which was the reason for Antigone’s brave decision. Antigone is proud of her actions and criticizes her mother and father for engaging in inappropriate activity that caused the entire conflict. Not for even one moment does she think over her actions and realize that her bravery is foolish in some ways and that her stubborn fearlessness is the reason for her downfall. The Choragos tells her, “You have made your choice, Your death is the doing of your own conscious hand.” (227). However, Antigone responds by asserting that