Antigone Persuasive Response Essay

“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in

spite of overwhelming obstacles.” (Oswald). Creon is the tragic hero in Antigone because

he shows a great number of characteristics that a tragic hero in a Greek tragedy possess.

One of those characteristics is the fact that he is indeed one of the main characters of the

story. Secondly, and more importantly, many other characters, such as Haimon, Antigone,

and Eurydice die because of him and what his actions led others to do. Lastly, he may have

not died, like most tragic heroes tend to do in Greek tragedies, but we can assume that he

had the idea of killing himself by the end of the story. These are the main characteristics

Creon has as the tragic hero in Antigone.

Creon is one of the main characters of Sophocles´ classic play Antigone, along with

Antigone. Creon is Antigone´s uncle, as well as he is the king of Thebes. He is a good king;

he looked over his city and made his decisions on what he believed was better for it. For

example, when he decided that Polyneices was a traitor and that he should be punished for

it, as Antigone explains “…They say that Creon has sworn, no one shall bury him, no one

mourn for him, but his body must lie in the fields, a sweet treasure for carrion birds to find

as they search for food.” (p.693; 19-22)