Creon And Antigone As Tragic Heroes In Sophocles Tragedy

“If my body is enslaved, still my mind is free”- Sophocles. Sophocles wrote Antigone which is a tragedy written sometime in 441 BCE. There were three Theban plays Antigone is the third in order of the events depicted in the plays, but it is the first that was written. In Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone, both Creon, and Antigone are tragic heroes. Sophocles made it so that Creon and Antigone can both be seen as good or bad characters.

Creon is the tragic hero because he tries to restore order in Thebes and is a good ruler but ends up alone due to his excessive pride. Creon fits Aristotle’s tragic hero traits as a significant person who is faced with difficult decisions. Creon is significant because he is king; this makes him both renowned and prosperous. Creon is not completely good nor completely bad, as all humans are. Aristotle has examples of what characteristics a tragic hero should have, there are four main ones. There is hamartia which is a tragic flaw that causes the downfall of a hero. Hubris is excessive pride and disrespect for the natural order of things. Creon’s hamartia and hubris are both because he will not listen to anyone. He is stubborn and his pride is so great, he can not bring himself to acknowledge that he could ever wrong. Then there is Peripeteia which is known as the reversal of fate that the hero experiences. Creon’s peripeteia was when his son killed himself and his wife killed herself. He lost everything but he both deserved it. The last characteristic is Anagnorisis, its a moment in time when a hero makes an important discovery in the story. Creon’s anagnorisis happened when he realized that everything that had happened was because of his stubborn will. He realized that he was the one instigated his son’s and wife’s death.

“You smile at me. Ah Creon, think me a fool, if you like; but it may well be that a fool convicts me of folly.”-Antigone said to Creon. Antigone is a tragic hero because she sticks to her beliefs in the Gods and family and dies because of her loyalty to them. In Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone, both Creon, and Antigone are tragic heroes. In the play, Creon and Antigone can be seen as good or bad characters. Both of them show traits of justice. Even though Antigone and Creon are fighting for different reasons, they both feel deeply and passionately that their reasons are justified. Creon feels his actions reveal his loyalty to Thebes. Antigone’s brother fought against Thebes, which makes Creon feel his punishment is just. Antigone wanted to save her brother, Polyneices, by giving him a soldier’s funeral with military honors.

Antigone as a foil to Creon said: “your edict, king, was strong, But all your strength is weakness itself against the immortal unrecorded laws of God.” Antigone is considered a foil to Creon because she encourages his stubbornness to continue. This enhances how selfish he is because he doesn’t let Antigone’s opinion matter, only his since he is the ruler and his village should listen to him, as well as her being a woman of no worth.