Antigone Creon Tragic Hero

Greek tragedy was a popular and influential form of drama performed in theatres across ancient Greece. In the play Antigone, a tragedy by Sophocles, Creon is the perfect example of a tragic hero. He has a few traits that deem him fit for being a tragic hero. For instance, he has fatal flaws, excessive pride, and suffers emotionally. This proves that he is a greek tragic hero. First, Creon’s fatal flaw is his own ignorance. He has a sense of superiority as the ruler of Thebes. It prevents him from seeing what the right thing to do is and what really needs to be done. He thinks he is acting upon the best interest of the city in refusing the burial when he truly is just causing problems. In the play, Tiresias states "...that to err from the right path is common to mankind," (Sophocles, 1037) but Creon does not believe that he has made the wrong decision. Creon does not believe that Tiresias is telling him the truth. He is too proud as a king to admit that he may have made a mistake, and he does not want the city to think he makes mistakes.

He has Antigone and her sister arrested and sentenced to death for burying Polyneices. His arrogance will not even show his own niece mercy. He goes so far as to try hiding Antigone’s wrongdoings by making her give an excuse to her family. Antigone, Haemon, and Eurydice kill themselves leaving Creon with nothing but his pride. Also, when Creon contradicts Tiresias, who was believed to be one of the smartest men of his time, he insists that he himself is correct in his justification and Tiresias is incorrect. He says “No man alive is free/ From error” (Sophocles, 1023-1024). He is warning Creon of the mistake he is making, yet his pride stands in the