Kreon Tragic Hero Essay

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Sophocles play, Antigone deals with the concept of a character being the tragic hero. Aristotle defines a tragic hero as someone who is neither completely virtuous nor villainous, not preeminently good and just, whose misfortune is brought about by error of judgment or frailty, and who is highly renowned and prosperous so his fall from good fortune is great enough to arouse the audience’s emotions. According to Aristotle’s definition Kreon, the king, is defined as the tragic hero of this play. Kreon, the King of Thebes, changes throughout the course of the play, he goes from seemingly villainous to appearing as if he has had an epiphany. In the beginning of the play Kreon’s nephews have died and he decides to obey state law over religious…show more content…
Kreon shows his character when he does not even have compassion for his own family. Antigone is his niece and her brothers are his nephews which is ironic because family is one of the most important things in life. When Haimon, Kreon’s own son falls in love with Antigone, Kreon is the person who ultimately destroys their relationship. A tragic hero is one who is not good; a good man would not deliberately destroy their own child’s relationship and family. A man who is bad does not feel remorse for his actions; this applies to Kreon because throughout his life he shows no emotion or signs of regret until he is ultimately left alone. As stated by Miller, “First, Kreon’s fate after the suicide, the death of his wife, and his pathetic exit indicate his downfall and the negative consequences of his actions” (174). Kreon’s selfish acts led to his sad new life of being alone. He did not have to go to extremes just to prove a point that he is the ultimate ruler. Kreon shows complete and utter disregard to Antigone he does not even take the time of day to listen to what she has to say. Kreon acts as a character with hubris, letting all of his power get to his
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