Antigone Sophocles Translated from the Greek by Alexander Harvey (abridged PDF)

Antigone Sophocles

Sophocles’ Antigone is a classical Greek tragedy first performed around 441 BCE. It tells the story of Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, who defies King Creon’s decree by burying her brother Polynices, believing divine law outweighs human law. The play explores themes of duty, conscience, fate, and the conflict between individual morality and state authority

Dramatis Personae

- Chorus of Theban Elders  

- Creon: Sovereign at Thebes  

- Haemon: Son to Creon, in love with Antigone  

- Teiresias: A blind seer  

- Guard: In command at the burial ground  

- Messenger: A youth from the country  

- Antigone: Daughter of the late King Oedipus  

- Ismene: Sister to Antigone  

- Eurydice: Wife to Creon  

- Soldiers, maids in attendance upon Eurydice, escort of Creon, citizens of Thebes  

Plot Overview

- Background: After a civil war in Thebes, Antigone’s brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, kill each other in battle.  

- Creon’s Decree: Creon, now king, orders that Polynices (a traitor) must remain unburied, while Eteocles receives full honors.  

- Antigone’s Defiance: Antigone insists that burial is a sacred duty commanded by the gods. She secretly performs funeral rites for Polynices.  

- Conflict: Creon arrests Antigone. She remains defiant, arguing divine law is higher than human law.  

- Tragedy: Creon sentences her to death. Despite warnings from the prophet Tiresias, he delays reversing his decision. Antigone dies, leading to the suicides of Creon’s son Haemon (her fiancé) and his wife Eurydice. Creon is left broken.  

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