How Does Creon Show Hubris In Antigone

Hubris is a major part of many Ancient Greek tragedies. Hubris can be found in the myth of Daedalus and Icarus, the tragedy of Oedipus Rex, and of course, Antigone, just to name a few (Gill). Aristotle first discussed hubris in his work, Rhetoric, where he said “Young men and the rich are hubristic because they think they are better than other people.”(Cudjoe, Grant, Otchere). Antigone could be considered simply as a battle of opposing hubris’. Both Antigone herself and Creon show great hubris throughout the play, but they show this excessive sense of pride for different reasons, and in different ways. It is the different reasons but similar principles and consequences of their hubris that show that displaying hubris can be heroic and brave;

but it can and often times does result in tragedy.
Creon is without a doubt the most powerful and influential character in the whole play.

In fact, everything that happens in the play comes as a result of his first decision as the new King of Thebes. This, of course, is when Creon announces that Eteocles will receive a full military burial, while his brother Polyneices will not receive any burial. Both Creon’s and Antigone’s hubris stems from that moment. Creon’s hubris comes simply from the fact that he is the king. He goes by the principle that a king cannot waver in his decisions and cannot look weak in front of his people. He explains that principle to his son, Haimon, who is also Antigone’s lover, when Haimon confronted him about putting Antigone to death. Creon says “Do you want me to show myself weak before the people?... If I permit my own family to rebel, how shall I earn the world’s obedience?” (1259). We are able to see where Creon is coming from with that principle. But as his son tries to convince him to change his mind about Antigone, Creon’s hubris is really brought to light. Creon says he will not heed the advice that Haimon is giving him because he will not accept advice from someone younger than him (1260). That statement reveals his main flaw stemming from his hubris: not accepting that he might be wrong and taking advice or opinions from

anyone.
Then we have Antigone.

Antigone also had a big impact on the play. Her display of hubris was a direct result of Creon’s decision to give one of her brothers a burial with full honors and to give the other no burial at all. Antigone followed the principle of Greek Mythology that said the dead must be buried or their souls will not make it to the afterlife. Antigone made it known very quickly that she is willing to die for burying her brother, stating “I am not afraid of the danger; if it means death, it will not be the worst of deaths – death without honor.”(1248). Antigone felt that her will to die for what she believed was right was honorable, so if she had to die to give her brother a burial, she would. Antigone’s hubris affected others around her just like Creon’s did. Her sister, Ismene, was not on board to help Antigone bury their brother when Antigone told her of her plans. But after seeing that Antigone was being sentenced to death, she decides to admit guilt to Creon, even though she didn’t have anything to do with

it.
Hubris often causes death in those who show it. The hubris in Antigone, however, caused the death of not only those who showed it, but also those around them. It started with Antigone hanging herself, and that caused a domino effect throughout the other main characters. Haimon had his own sense of hubris that also brought him to his demise. He told his father that he would never see him again after he refused to set Antigone free. He stayed true to his word and after discovering Antigone’s body; he lunges at Creon with a sword, misses, and then turns the sword on himself. Then, Eurydice kills herself after finding out about Haimon and Antigone. This all happened after Creon made the decision to set Antigone free, doing what his hubris wouldn’t allow him to do earlier in the play. After realizing that everyone he loved killed themselves because of him, his pride was nothing more than “thought of dust.”(1273).
Antigone is a play that does a fine job at letting the reader identify with both Antigone and Creon, the two main opposing forces in the play. The reader is able to easily identify the principles which their hubris was based on. Creon is a king who cannot be weak or wavering in his decisions and Antigone is following Greek Mythology principles. By identifying their reasons and principles, the reader can see where both Antigone and Creon are coming from. Their different reasons show that pride and standing up for what you believe in are good qualities, but also ends up