Antigone is very proud, like her father Oedipus, who also happens to be a tragic hero. Pride ends up being their downfall. Antigone promises her brother, before he is killed, that she will give him a proper burial, “But I will bury him; and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy” (Sophocles. Prologue 55-56), but Creon decreed that anyone who buries him will be put to death. In ancient Greece leaving a body unburied will anger the gods. When Antigone goes to bury her brother it shows that she is self-sacrificing because she could be killed if she was caught. It also shows she is a loyal to the gods and her family.
Another reason why Antigone is the quintessential example of a tragic hero is because Antigone’s ambition. Her devotion and love towards Polynices have no limitations. Antigone believes she must create pain, misery and suffering in Creon’s life to bring him to her level and make him feel the pain she is dealing with. Her obligation to