What Is Creon Tragic Hero

The play Antigone, by Sophocles, sometimes appears to have two tragic heroes: two characters that make decisions that lead to a tragic conclusion. However utilizing the ideas presented in Aristotle’s Theory of Tragedy, is is clear that the true tragic hero of this Greek play is Creon. Although the story deals with the demise of Antigone in her quest to honor both her brother and the gods, the true misfortune of this tragedy is that of Creon who through excessive pride, ultimately loses all that is dear to him and learns to regret his actions and decisions.
Aristotle's theory identifies that each character has an essential quality or nature that is revealed in the plot. The true tragic hero also must have a moral purpose which is clear to the audience by possessing four main qualities. The characters should act appropriately for their gender and station in life, characters must be good in some way, have believable personalities and act consistently throughout the play. Aristotle proclaimed that the best tragedy involved basically good man who changes from happiness to misery because of some great error. The antagonist Creon is a …show more content…
Creon recognizes his flaws and in doing so reaches an elevated state of understanding. Creon’s realization of his mistakes however came far too late, after the damage had already been done, which is another reason why he is a tragic hero. “My own blind heart has brought me from darkness to final darkness. Here you see the father murdering, the murdered son...It is right that is should be. I alone am guilty. I know it and I say it.” (Sc. 5 Line 87-122). This realization is an understanding of his flaws and serves the purpose of arousing both pity and fear to the audience in an attempt to accomplish a relief of these