In looking into this question, one must consider the
entirety of the story of Oedipus. Fate led Oedipus into fullfilling the prophesy of the
Oracle of Delphi. He does not knowingly kill his father and marry his mother. His
quest for the tuth leads him to the discovery of his
identity.
Creon tries to make the best of a bad situation
but by taking sides in the feud between the two sons of Oedipus and Jocasta, he brought
down the wrath of the gods. To leave a body unburied was an offense to the gods and
Etocles had violated the terms of the agreement to rule
Thebes.
Antigone felt it was more important to follow god's
law rather than man's law aka Creon's law. Her reasoning was simple, it was better to
break man's law than god's law because gods were much more powerful than
kings.
It can be argued that Creon is the tragic hero
because he displays hubris in defying the law of the gods, but the true tragic hero is
Antigone because she is willing to give her life for her principals and her love of her
brother.
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