Αντιγόνη

by Sophocles

"Αντιγόνη" by Sophocles is an Athenian tragedy written in either 442 or 440 BC. After a civil war leaves two brothers dead, the new ruler Creon decrees that one will be honored while the other's body must remain unburied—the harshest punishment imaginable. Their sister Antigone defies this edict, placing divine law and family loyalty above the king's command. Her act of defiance sets off a devastating chain of conflicts between personal conscience and state power, love and duty, mortal law and divine will.