Antigone
The play "Antigone" by Sophocles and rewritten by Jean Anouilh is a classic Greek tragedy in every respect but one. That area deals with the question, who is the tragic hero? First we should properly define what makes up a tragic hero. A tragic hero is a character, usually of high birth, who is neither totally good nor totally evil. Also some weakness or error in judgement brings about their downfall. The character that best fits this description is Creon.
The first ingredient to becoming a tragic hero, being of high birth, is easily filled by Creon. He is the son of Menoeceus. He is also the brother in law of Oedipus. Finally, he becomes king of Thebes. The next prerequisite is to be neither totally good nor totally evil. Creon meets this requirement perfectly. He isn't completely good because he sent Antigone to death. But he isn't completely evil because he tries to save Antigone later when his anagnorisis takes place and he realizes that he was wrong. Also in Sophocles "Antigone", and even more apparent in Annuli's version, he spends a large amount of time trying to talk her out of burying her brother so he wouldn't have to kill her. The finial component of being a tragic hero, having their downfall brought about by some weakness or error in judgement, is easily recognized for Creon. He believes that mans laws are more important than the gods laws and this hubris. This hubris is his hamartia and it causes him to think that he must put Antigone to death because she refuses to follow his laws over the gods. Many people try to warn him and beg him to reconsider but he refuses to listen. When he speaks to his son Haemon about his laws he says "You traitor, attacking your father, accusing him." (Sophocles) And when Teiresias comes to warn him by saying "Realize that once more now you are poised on fortune's razor-edge" (Sophocles) he again refuses to listen. Antigone also try's to get him to reconsider but every time he...
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