Creon as the Tragic Hero of Sophocles' Antigone

Creon as the Tragic Hero of Sophocles' Antigone

Who is the true tragic hero in Sophocles' Antigone? This question has been the subject of a great debate for numerous years. Equal arguments exist that portray Antigone as the tragic heroine in the play and Creon as the tragic hero. Aristotle, in his study of Greek drama entitled Poetics, provided the framework that determines the tragic hero of a work. Though Antigone definitely possesses the characteristics and qualities that are mentioned, Creon comes across as the true tragic hero of Antigone.

The tragic hero must be a person occupying a high position whose character embodies nobility and virtue. Creon, King of Thebes, definitely occupies a position of noble authority. Since he values his country, he holds in contempt all of those against it. He would not "deem the country's foe a friend to myself" (206). He is considered a good leader (691). Though Antigone also occupies a high position, it is unlikely that Sophocles would choose a woman as the tragic hero of his work. In the time frame that Antigone was written, women were treated as inferior beings.

The protagonist was viewed as the character that experienced the change that takes place. According to the definition provided in the "Literary Terms and Techniques" on the Web-Ct website, the protagonist is "the main character or `hero' of a dramatic or narrative work." Creon was definitely one of the main characters of the work; he's also the one that experienced all of the change. Though Antigone lost her life, she did so at her own hands. If she had not been so hasty in acting, she would have been released when Creon realized the error of his ways; but she chose t...

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... were much more harsh than his original edict. He is punished to the extent of living his life alone and hated by his own people. He survives to be a living warning to others regarding the sin of pride. The sympathy that is now felt for Creon clinches the fact that he is the true tragic hero of Antigone.

Works Cited

"Literary Terms and Techniques". 10 March 2003.

http://webct.sjrcc.edu/web-ct/courses/ENC2321/literaryterms.htm

Sophocles. Antigone. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 8th ed. Ed. Jerome Beaty, et al. New York: Norton, 2002. 2012.

Sophocles. Antigone. Internet Classics Archive. Daniel C. Stevenson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1998. http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/antigone.sum.html

"The Greek Theater." 10 March 2003.

http://webct.sjrcc.edu/web-ct/courses/ENC2321/greektheatrereading.htm