Who Is Creon A Tragic Hero

“To err from the right path is common to man.” (Sophocles) Generally speaking, a Greek tragic story is a term used to describe a character and their fall from greatness, where one who is intrinsically virtuous, ends up losing everything they have due to a fatal mistake. In Sophocles Antigone, the classic hero may be described as having the tragic Greek heroic personality, containing traits such as arête (excellence), hubris (excessive pride), ate (blind recklessness), and nemesis (disastrous retribution). Though most mythological heroes contain these qualities on the surface, in Sophocles’ Antigone, the author chose to develop his heroic personalities, rather than leaving them simply present. In doing so, Sophocles developed the character Creon,
Creon’s nemesis comes in the form of Antigone, his son, and his wife dying because of his actions. Creon’s son Haemon, who planned to marry Antigone, was distraught when she was sentenced to death and decided to commit suicide. After this, Creon’s wife and Haemon’s mother Eurydice, decided to commit suicide herself, leaving Creon alone without family. Thus, in Antigone, Creon’s nemesis is revealed through the deaths of his wife and son in a chain reaction started with the edict of death that Creon sentenced to Antigone. Through blood and tears (1403) Creon learns the effects of his tragic hero personality as he slowly watches his life crumble from beneath his feet, fueled by insecurity in his position as King, stemming from King Oedipus handing over the
Though both traditional and Sophoclean tragic heroes are similar, the Sophoclean heroes are distinguished by their rigid loyalty, which leads to a disastrous fate. Creon shows his rigidity in his ways when he refuses downright to back away from what he set as the law of his kingdom. In fact, he is so set in his ways that Creon refuses to even think of the repercussions of his decisions. His rigidity eventually results in both his wife Eurydice, and his son Haemon’s suicide, with his wife cursing him for having caused such tragedies to be brought upon his people. Though both the tragic and Sophoclean heroic personalities are similar, they also have their differences. For example, in the play of Antigone, it is simple to see how both the characters Antigone and Creon’s traits result in a direct conflict, often driving the plot. Creon’s hubris goes in direct conflict with Antigone’s courage, eventually leading both characters to a disastrous ending, but the play gives the reader the ability to distinguish between Antigone, a character who simply met a tragic end, and Creon, a man who was the truly tragic hero of