Trees Bending to the Torrent: Sophocles' Antigone

The spring of 441 BCE in Athens saw the premiere of Sophocles' Antigone, a play that has been staged continuously for over two millennia. But the story Sophocles told was not new—the Theban cycle had already been treated by Aeschylus in Seven Against Thebes (467 BCE) and would later be revisited by Euripides and the Roman poet Statius. The core events: Oedipus' sons Polyneices and Eteocles had killed each other in a civil war over the throne of Thebes. Their uncle Creon, now king, decreed that Eteocles—who died defending the city—would receive full burial honors, while Polyneices—who attacked it—would be left for carrion birds. Anyone attempting to bury him would be stoned to death.

The Two Unyielding Characters

The play's engine is a collision between two equally stubborn people. Antigone, Oedipus' youngest daughter, values family loyalty above all else. She tells her sister Ismene that she will bury Polyneices regardless of Creon's decree: "I know I please where I must please the most." When Ismene warns her that defiance means death, Antigone replies, "Very well then, once my strength gives out, I will be done at last."