In the story of Antigone, Oedipus has already died, his two sons. Polyneices and Eteocles, left to contend for the throne of Thebes. In their contention for the throne, the two brothers slay one another, leaving Creon once again to be the acting regent of Thebes. With this power, Creon declares that Polyneices must be left to rot on the battlefield, the highest disgrace to any Greek. Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, is left torn between state of family, and in the end, chooses family over state. Disregarding Creon’s edict with grave danger to herself, Antigone ventures to bury the body of Polyneices, and thus begins her adventure.
Antigone is truly a tragic hero, marked by her station as son of Oedipus, and her proud and perhaps arrogant characteristics which will lead to her eventual, inevitable, tragic ending. At the start of her tale, Antigone is the daughter of royalty, but more then that, a daughter of a horrible tragedy: through an unwitting horror story, her father, Oedipus, was also her brother, as Oedipus was married to his mother before she killed herself upon discovering the truth. Before his death, Oedipus had blinded himself, adding to the tragedy. However, Antigone’s own tragedy was still unfolding.
Through her proud and unrelenting character, Antigone is determined to give her brother a rightful burial, despite Creon’s edict. At first Antigone seeks the help of her sister, Ismene, but when she realizes the fear and submissive attitude Ismene possesses, Antigone disregards it as even an option, another example of perhaps Antigone’s tragic flaw, her own arrogance. As the tale continues, Antigone does indeed bury her brother, but is caught by Creon. In doing so however, she wins the support of the people of Thebes with her selfless actions for the sake of her family.
Creon, despite the counsel of several people, including his own son, feels that regardless of the people’s opinion, Antigone must be executed for her “traitorous actions”. This is self evident in an exchange between Creon and his son Haemon, who was in love with Antigone and slated to marry her: (Creon): “So this creature is no criminal, eh? ” (Haemon): “The whole of Thebes says “no. ” (Creon): “And I must let the mob dictate my policy? ” (Haemon): “See now who is speaking like a boy! ” (Creon): “Do I rule this state, or someone else? ” (Haemon): “A one man state is no state at all. Thus the plot thickens, and the tragedy begins to develop as Antigone’s actions have achieved her the respect of the common man, but is unquestionably soon to bring her downfall. Eventually, after Creon meets with the prophet Tiresias, Creon realizes his mistake; realizes how he will suffer if he incorrectly passes judgment upon Antigone. However, for him, it is too late. When he goes to free Antigone, Antigone has already killed herself, and as a direct result, Haemon, Creon’s own son, also killed himself in anguish at Antigone’s death.
Thus, the tragedy is played out, with Antigone the obvious tragic hero, caught up in a torrent of events beyond her own control, but her actions toward them and her tragic flaw of arrogance proving to be the cause of her reversal of fortune; her downfall. Ismene returned, ready to stand with Antigone with whatever fate she may have faced against Creon. However, Antigone, with her fatal arrogance, disregarded Ismene due to her earlier reluctance, another example of Antigone’s tragic flaw. Antigone’s downfall has great significance to the outside world, another mark of the tragic hero.
As a symbol of the people, her death was a fatal mistake by Creon; not only did it lead to death of his son, Haemon, it led to the very probably eventual destruction of Creon himself. We learn much through Antigone’s tale. Again, with stunning decisiveness, the horrors resulting from the sins of hubris are lain out, showing us the need of maintaining balance and a calm manner in our own actions, despite the situation. Antigone’s downfall was caused by her own perhaps brash actions, but we feel pity for her because we are aware of her situation, of her torn loyalties, and her apparent lack of other options.
Her downfall destroys Creon, a mass sinner of hubris, but this itself makes Antigone’s downfall no less tragic. Creon exemplified hubris at every turn; he was in excess of nearly everything. He was unwilling to budge even slightly until the prophet himself told him if he didn’t, he would die, and even then, it was too late. Antigone also showed signs of hubris. Her excessive independence and arrogance were very evident when Ismene returned to stand by Antigone’s side, but was rejected by Antigone.
Thus, despite the great tragedy and sorrow of Antigone’s tale, we will in a sense learn from her mistakes, see the possibility of ourselves to suffer as she did if balance and a calm manner are not maintained, and we will indeed be wiser from knowing her story. The story of Antigone was a classic Greek tragedy: a continuation of the immense tragedy that had already befallen the house of Oedipus. Moreover, Antigone herself was a definite tragic hero, fitting every requirement and marked by every characteristic of a tragic hero.
Despite her failings and downfall, justice of the human spirit shines through in the end, marking the story as a true tragedy: Creon is defeated by his own actions, and Antigone’s own tragic death marks the beginning of that defeat. Quoting directly from the notes on classical tragedy, “Tragedy has a satisfying, redemptive ending because the events in tragedy are arranged so well that we would not have the play end any other way; we accept the conclusion. ” Antigone does indeed satisfy that requirement as a tragic play.
