Who Is Antigone The True Tragic Hero

610 Words2 Pages

Hilda Garcia-Gutierrez
July 27, 2017
English 1302
Professor Jacqueline Bradley

Antigone the True Tragic Hero
Sophocles’ Antigone tells of a tragic end of a family that was consumed by love of power which led to the death of the people who were supposed to be the leaders of the people. Antigone, without a doubt is the tragic hero in the play. Compared to her mother’s brother, Creon the King of Thebes, Antigone was the one who showed true heroism. The Hamartia in the life of Antigone was so devastating that it led her end her own life.
Antigone, first and foremost, is a true example of a person who values family above all else. Her death was inevitable as she went against the order of Creon. Her decision to bury her brother, Polyneices, and …show more content…

She believed that justice and the unwritten laws of the gods must prevail over the rule that man made. This is made evident in the line she uttered, “Zeus did not announce those laws to me and justice living with the gods below sent no such laws for men”(Sophocles, 450-452). She does not believe that anyone has the authority to create laws other than those that are from the gods, even the king could not stop her from believing and from doing whatever she decided to do. Going against Creon may not be the wisest thing to do. Being the king, his every word was followed by everyone. However, Antigone, exhibiting the true characteristic of a tragic hero disobeyed his rule. She had so much love for her brother that she could not bear to see him being dishonored even in his …show more content…

Had she not stood against him bravely and sacrificed, the people would have remained blinded by his rule. Creon was never a hero. According to Grogan, “he is more accustomed to controlling another’s experience rather than living his own”(3). He may just be keeping the kingdom together and fighting for it, but his ways were very authoritative to the point of being unreasonable. He did hear anyone and in the end suffered from his actions.
In conclusion, Antigone, compared to Creon is the tragic hero. Her strength of character and bravery led her to her tragic end but it was also through her heroic actions that the curse in her family came to an end. No such tragedy could have happened if the people were as brave as she was. It was her actions that led to the freedom of the

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