Antigone Not the Tragic Hero of her Own Story

While arguments can made that Antigone is indeed the tragic hero of her story I believe that the King, Creon, is actually the tragic hero of this story. Tragic heroes are people with heroic qualities that have faults that combined along with fate lead to their ultimate destruction. Creon is a king with a vast land whose people are loyal to him. He has the throne all to himself now that Oedipus is gone and his sons have killed themselves. His circumstances look positive until Antigone comes along. While Creon was probably a very prideful and stubborn man before it is because of fate that this trait truly reveals itself.  When Antigone defies his orders and buries her brother she sets wakes up a sleeping bear within Creon.  It is here that he reveals his arrogance when he talks about how his voice is the only one that he listens too. It is because he locks Antigone up that a series of events unfolds which quickly escalates. Antigone kills herself, his son kills himself and his wife kills himself.  His stubbornness leads to the death of those he loves. He is a tragic hero because he has the ability to be a great leader and a great hero to his people but it is because of his flaws that he is unable to do and instead faces the consequences which lead to his downfall. Moreover, Creon understands by the end that it is his pride with the help of fate that leads to the demise of his happy life. Although many tragic heroes die, Creon’s fate is much worse because he must live with the loneliness caused by his tragic flaw.