Creon A Hero In Antigone

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A “Sophoclean hero” is a headstrong character that is willing to face the worse to attain his goal. This particular hero is always in need for peace even if it means breaking the laws and relies on principles. Antigone fought all the way for the pride and respect of her brother. She proved that she was capable of anything, even death. Creon is not a heroic character despite his excess on many aspects. Antigone is one of the most famous characters Sophocles created for the strength she brought in a time that was unjust. She wanted too burry her dead brother but his uncle, Creon; king of Thebes at that time forbad it. Antigone desired nothing else than justice. She was not capable of accepting the fact that laws did not depend on her. At her…show more content…
Finally on the one hand Antigone could be described by the Greek word “mythos” that means fantasy, she lives in her own world and believes in “phusis”, everything that is natural (including of course burying her dead brother); On the other hand, Creon lives for the “logos”, the reason, what is right. He does not want to do anything outside the law because he is the one to install and impose the laws. Creon could remind us of a Sophoclean hero; nevertheless it is not as blatant as Antigone. He is also a very headstrong character, the fact that he is ready to kill his own niece proves his yearn and thirst for the applications of laws. The difference between both of them is that they aspire to two very different aspects of life; She wants respect and he wants power, we see that those two principles do not always agree with each other. We obviously see that both are ready to face the extreme. But Creon could not be considered as a Sophoclean hero because all he does is respect what he has to do, the written laws. He could have made an exception, especially for his niece but he did not. Antigone was overpowered by unwritten laws, which are what makes her a Sophoclean hero. If Antigone were a real woman nowadays she would not only be a Sophoclean hero, but a Real hero.
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