Creon is a character who plays a major role in both Greek tragedies of Oedipus the King and Antigone. He is a powerful man in both texts as Creon is the brother of Oedipus's wife, which basically means that he has the same amount of status as King Oedipus does. In the myth of Oedipus the King, Creon conquered the throne of Thebes after the previous king Laius died. Creon appears again in another myth, this one being in Antigone which is the continuation of Oedipus the King. Although, the Thebes did not fall in Antigone, both Eteocles and Polynices died in the process of trying to become king which lead Creon to became the new ruler. Creon plays a very similar yet different role in both Greek tragedies, while he is in power, puts the throne …show more content…
His character in Antigone becomes absolutely cruel and oppressive. For example, he acts very arrogant and cold towards Antigone when he punishes her for wanting to honor and bury her remaining of family, her brother. Even with Antigone crying out to him by saying, “All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride” he still does not consider forgiving her because she has committed a crime in his eyes. In the literature of Antigone, Creon believes that he is always right and he does not bother to listen to the citizens opinions. Overall, Creon is especially different as the ruler of Thebes because with his power he becomes unperceptive, and completely mean towards people around him. Creon uses the power he has received in a tyrannical matter which leads to a tragic outcome for both himself and his …show more content…
Creon’s cruel character in Antigone leads him to losing not only his identity but also his wife and son. Haemon, Creon’s son killed himself due to his father’s actions of punishment towards his fiancé Antigone. Haemon could not bear to witness her hanging dead in the cave so he plotted revenge on his own father and tried to kill Creon. Since Haemon was unsuccessful and missed while he tried to stab his father he instead killed himself. Once Eurydice was aware of this tragedy and the loss of her son she then committed suicide leaving Creon with absolutely no one as he deserved. It is evident that in Antigone, Creon ultimately loses everything he has in the process of ruling the Thebes. Family is a huge part of ones identity and once family is taken away so is their identity as we see in Antigone when Creon is left feelings sorry for himself for causing all this tragedy in his family. The identity Creon once had of a gentle and kind ruler ultimately goes out the window in Antigone as he becomes a complete cruel person while having the identity of a King and ruling the