Reading the Greek tragedy Antigone
by Sophocles, I came to realize how family bonds and ones lust for power
intertwines. As I read through the play I took notes on how Antigone was the
tragic hero of the play, until I realized I was looking at this play the wrong
way. The play contain two different sets of heroes, I didn’t notice the other
character’s story because the two characters were in a conflict. The other
tragic hero in this play is Creon. Sophocles stated, “The greatest grief’s are
those we cause ourselves”, this was made more clear after learning what Creon
was doing and looking at the play from his perspective. Creon became king after
the war over the city-state by the two brothers Etecles and Polynices; upon the
death of both brothers, Creon only recognizes Etecles as the honorable brother
for his efforts to protect the city-state. While giving Etecles a proper burial
Creon leaves Polynices unburied to the dogs of the street. The dilemma of the
play emerged when the protagonist, Creon’s headstrong niece decides to give her
brother a proper burial, thus giving Creon no choice but to uphold the law of
the city and his edict. From there the play goes through the basic structure of
what a Greek tragedy consists of.
Since
this is a Greek tragedy it has to have a tragic hero, someone of noble stature.
A person with good morals, but certain imperfections which contribute to his demise,
usually an act of injustice. His arrogance takes over and shows the audience
the excessive pride, which blinds him from the situations actual importance.
Leading to a punishment that exceeds the severity of the crime that was
committed, these turn of events leads the protagonist to learn from his
mistakes and comes to his senses right before death plays its part. This leaves
the tragic hero as an example to look at and to learn from. Those are the characteristics
demonstrated by the tragic heroes as explained by Aristotle. All of these
characteristics emerge from Creon throughout the tragic play. According to the
Greek tragedy the play has the pull of the audience’s emotions and most of all
teaches them a lesson or tries to send a message to the reader. These messages
mostly focus on topics like love, loss, pride, or abuse of power; all of these
morals presented are clearly displayed in the tragic play Antigone.
Unexpectedly
becoming king was something Creon was not expecting. When he became king, he
made sure to show the people what kind of ruler he would be by laying only one
of the brothers to rest. Although both of the brothers were royalty, Creon
expressed his supremacy and power by this controversial act. The first clue
that told me that Creon is a tragic hero in the play is that his edict came into
play when he enforced the death penalty upon the headstrong young women that
was actually his niece. As the play
continues and Creon becomes more stubborn and refuses to listen to others
advice, a display of extreme pride that can be see also as arrogance emerges.
Was Creon arrogant? Yes, he was the new king, he had to show his power and
pride so other nations along with his people notice that he was not a push
over. Creon realizes his mistake when Teiresias comes to him, but Teiresias
doesn’t come to convince him to change his mind. When Creon listens to
Teiresias’s words, it was too late for him to do anything; once he arrives to
Antigone’s prison she already hung herself. His son falls and stabs himself
when trying to kill his father and later Creon’s wife was found dead.
The
downfall of Creon started when he began insulting people and losing respect for
the gods. His first insult was with Hades by dishonoring death, then
disrespecting Aphrodite by breaking up the marriage of Haemon and Antigone. The
next insult was to Earth by imprisoning Antigone alive and the last case was
disrespecting Zeus by saying, “Let the eagles carry his carcass up to the
throne of Zeus”. Refusing to listen to
Antigone’s cries and his son’s reasoning and mercy, lead to the gods taking the
life of his son and wife. One life was taken as a result for him taking Antigone’s
life and the other was for the dishonor he dealt to Polynices by leaving him
laying without a proper burial. Typically in all Greek plays whenever the gods
have to show their power and wrath it means that they were greatly embarrassed
and dishonored, they show their power by taking everything that truly is
important to the offender.
During
the whole story Creon has the chance to put aside his edict and show his loving
softer side to Antigone but time after time he is lead to the tragic side. This
is what ultimately shows me that he is the main tragic hero, also because
Antigone’s faith is always known. Like most Greek tragic plays Antigone tries
to pull every emotion possible out of its audience, keeping you at the edge of
your seat hoping Antigone lives. At the end it is Creon that is left with
nothing but dead family member and a city-state to rule. Not the ending he was
hoping to have but life goes on leaving him to live with the choices he made.
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