Greek tragedy was a popular and influential form of drama performed in theaters across ancient Greece from the late 6th century BCE. They were sad and dramatic plays that instill morals and lessons to the audience. The famous playwrights at the time were Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Scholars believe earlier tragedies were written by playwrights to worship Dionysus, who is known as the god of theater. The later tragedies were performed to revive ancient myths, to provide entertainment, to offer moral instruction, to provide a study of man and nature, and to help explain man’s fate and the role of the god’s in a man’s life to the audience. Since the tragedies were tragic, there was always a character called the tragic hero. Generally, all tragedies have a tragic hero, this character usually has a tragic flaw that leads to her/ his downfall. These tragic heroes are similar throughout different playwright’s works however Sophocles, who wrote Antigone, added to the definition of a tragic hero. Since Creon displays the qualities of a Greek Sophoclean tragic hero , he represents this role in the play Antigone.…show more content… There are three basic characteristics of a Greek tragic hero. First, a tragic hero must be an upper class individual whose hamartia causes his downfall. His hubris causes him to believe that customary laws or limitations do not apply to him. Second, a tragic hero also holds on to a belief until his mistakes are realized, which is anagnorisis. He attempts to right the wrong, but it is too late. Third, the audience releases catharsis at the end of the catastrophe, and they feel pity for the tragic hero because he could be good. All these characteristics define a Greek Sophoclean tragic hero. Creon qualifies to these qualities, which makes him the ideal tragic hero in