Many critics feel that in the play "Antigone" by Sophocles, there are two characters that can be considered the tragic hero. Antigone and Creon both display many characteristics that would label them the tragic hero. Creon's actions are against the will of the gods, and this is why he cannot be the tragic hero of Antigone. In his literary criticism of the play, Brian Vickers presents a similar feeling, "Creon is brutal and Antigone is thoroughly admirable." This idea proves true throughout the play. It is eveident that Antigone's actions are driven by a love for her brother, and a desire to please the gods. While Creon's actions are founded in his quest for more power and complete control over the city of Thebes and its people.
             Creon's brutality can best be illustrated by looking at the way his citezens, other than Antigone, react to his laws. One example is the way Ismene talks about Creon when she is trying to convince Antigone not to bury Polyneices. She tells Antigone, "We must obey them (the laws)...I yield to those with authority. (Sophocles)" The people of Thebes obey his laws purely out of fear of Creon, and the respect owed to a king. Antigone is not disrespectful of Creon but she also is not afraid of his brutality. Even if she were afraid of Creon it still would not have changed her actions because she answers to a higher power, the gods.
             Creon's love for the city-state cause him to abandon all other beliefs. He tries to enforce this upon the people of Thebes. He wants them to think that his laws should be followed before any other personal, moral, or religious belief. This is where the conflict of character occurs between Antigone and Creon. Antigone knows that the sacred laws held by heaven are far more important than those made by a king (Hathorn, 61).
             Those who argue that Creon was only trying to protect and preserve the city extend
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