In the Greek Tragedy Antigone, the playwright Sophocles uses Creons egotism as an authority figure to characterize him as prideful, which leads him to become a tragic hero

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Sean D. Brame        Anglo-American School of Moscow

In the Greek Tragedy Antigone, the playwright Sophocles uses Creon’s egotism as an authority figure to characterize him as prideful, which leads him to become a tragic hero, ultimately portraying that pride and hubris are catastrophic faults of man. Creon is the king of Thebes and passes a decree to leave the enemy Polynices unburied, which is a crime against the natural law of the world. Creon’s internal conflict stems from this, as he abuses his power and does not accept his mistakes, which leads to the eventual downfall of his whole family.

As king of Thebes, Creon believes he has the ultimate authority, and his own ambition and egotism leads to believe that his power is equal to those of the gods, and that whatever decree he passes is just. Creon only wants more power, and his decree to leave Polynices unburied defies the natural law set by the gods. Despite this, Creon believes he is in the right, and even goes so far as to believe that the gods agree with him, as he believes that “it’s intolerable – say the gods could have the slightest concern for that corpse?” He is arrogant in his beliefs and his own decisions as king. He believes that the gods could not have a concern for the corpse, portraying that he is so over confident with his own power that the gods would turn a blind eye to it. According to Tiresias, Creon like “the whole race of tyrants lust for filthy gain”. Tiresias says so in response to Creon accusing him of wanting money and selfish gain, but Tiresias informs him that the truth is that Creon is the one that seeks gain. The filthy gain that Creon lusts is power and ultimate authority. He passes these decrees because he only wants more power and to get what he wants, even if he himself doesn’t realize it. His own ego causes him to try to be more than a king, and to tamper with the natural laws set by the gods, as he believes it is his right.

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Creon believes that as king of Thebes, he has ultimate control and authority over the city and its people, and can pass any law or decree he wishes. He is ruling the city for himself selfishly, instead of the people, as his son Haemon accuses. Despite the claim that the city belongs to the people, Creon believes that “the city is the king’s”. His own claim to the ownership of the city justifies his acts of passing and enforcing unpopular decrees that are not of the interest of the people. Creon has his own personal dislike of Polynices, for betraying Thebes and ...

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