Creon The Tragic Hero

A tragic hero is defined in most cases as a literary character of great stature whose moral defect leads to tragedy but some self-awareness brings the character to make the right decision (World Literatures). That is why although Antigone portrays many characteristics of a tragic hero, the real tragic hero of this play is Creon. A tragic hero in the Greek world is very different from our perceptive of a hero in the modern world. When today’s society thinks of a hero they think of superpowers and modern heroes such as Spiderman, Superman, and ect... A tragic hero is an 'above average ' person, who still has very human flaws and therefore performs very “un-heroic” actions. The hero part takes place in the realization of the wrongs they have done and the attempt to strive for the betterment of themselves because of it. The Tragic Hero often takes a little more than he can handle, and this always leads to their ultimate suffering, which in this time era was most often death. In the Greek play Antigone, by Sophocles, Antigone is often mistaken to be the tragic hero. After all, the play is named after her. However, after reading through the entire play, this is not the case. The genuine tragic hero is Creon, as his power, actions, and flaws are what set the tragedy into a downward spiral. What Antigone lacks is remorse for her actions. A huge part of being a tragic hero is knowing the wrong-doing and showing remorse for the act weather it be criminal or on an immoral level.

Creon is a king, a very wealthy and powerful human, but he still is a human with flaws nonetheless. His people follow him loyally; this loyalty is shown when they follow his order about Polyneices ' burial. When the Choragos, who represents the people, speaks for them and says "If that is your will, Creon son of Menoikus, you have the right to enforce it: we are yours"(Literature for Composition. Scene 1. Page 444. Line 37). This power that Creon holds with the people plays an important role in