Antigone is a daughter of the unwittingly incestuous marriage between King Oedipus of Thebes and his mother Jocasta.

She is the subject of a popular story in which she attempts to secure a respectable burial for her brother Polynices, e en though he is seen as a traitor to Thebes and the law forbids e en mourning for him, punishable by death. !n the oldest ersion of the story, the burial of Polynices ta"es place during Oedipus# reign in Thebes, before Oedipus marries Jocasta. $owe er, in the best%"nown ersions, Sophocles# tragedies Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone, it occurs in the years after Oedipus# banishment and death, and Antigone has to struggle against &reon. !n Sophocles# ersion, after Oedipus# death, it was decided that the two brothers, 'teocles and Polynices were to reign o er Thebes ta"ing turns. 'teocles, howe er, did not want to gi e away his power causing Polynices to lea e Thebes to set up an army. !n the fight against Thebes, the two brothers "ill each other. After this e ent, &reon declares that, as punishment, Polynices# body must be left on the plain outside the city to rot and be eaten by animals. 'teocles, on the other hand, had been buried as tradition warranted. Antigone determines this to be unjust, immoral and against the laws of the gods, and is determined to bury her brother regardless of &reon#s law. She attempts to persuade her sister !smene to join her, but fails. Antigone buries her brother by herself( e entually &reon#s guards disco er this and capture her. Antigone is brought before &reon, where she declares that she "new &reon#s law but chose to brea" it, e)pounding upon the superiority of #di ine law# to that made by man. She defies his arguments, pro o"ing his wrath and punishment. Sophocles# Antigone ends in disaster, with Antigone hanging herself after being walled up, and &reon#s son $*mon +or $aimon,, who lo ed and was engaged to Antigone, "illing himself after finding her body. +Also see Oedipus for a ariant of this story., -ueen 'urydice, wife of King &reon, also "ills herself at the end of the story due to seeing such actions allowed by her husband. She had been forced to wea e throughout the entire story and her death alludes to The .ates. The dramatist 'uripides also wrote a play called Antigone, which is lost, but some of the te)t was preser ed by later writers and in passages in his Phoenissae. !n 'uripides, the calamity is a erted by the intercession of /ionysus and is followed by the marriage of Antigone and $*mon. Antigone also plays a role in 'uripides e)tant play The Phoenician Women. /ifferent elements of the legend appear in other places. A description of an ancient painting by Philostratus +Imagines ii. 01, refers to Antigone placing the body of Polynices on the funeral pyre, and this is also depicted on a sarcophagus in the 2illa /oria Pamphili in 3ome. And in $yginus# ersion of the legend, founded apparently on a tragedy by some follower of 'uripides, Antigone, on being handed o er by &reon to her lo er $*mon to be slain, is secretly carried off by him and concealed in a shepherd#s hut, where she bears him a son, 4aeon. 5hen the boy grows up, he attends some funeral games at Thebes, and is recogni6ed by the mar" of a dragon on his body. This leads to the disco ery that Antigone is still ali e. The demi%god $eracles then intercedes and pleads with &reon to forgi e $*mon, but in ain. $*mon then "ills Antigone and himself.708 The intercession by $eracles is also represented on a painted ase +circa 9:;%9;; <&,.[3][4] Antigone is a daughter of the unwittingly incestuous marriage between King Oedipus of Thebes and his mother Jocasta. She is the subject of a popular story in which she attempts to secure a respectable burial for her brother Polynices, e en though he is seen as a traitor to Thebes and the law forbids e en mourning for him, punishable by death. !n the oldest ersion of the story, the burial of Polynices ta"es place during Oedipus# reign in Thebes, before Oedipus marries Jocasta. $owe er, in the best%"nown ersions, Sophocles# tragedies Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone, it occurs in the years after Oedipus# banishment and death, and Antigone has

to struggle against &reon. !n Sophocles# ersion, after Oedipus# death, it was decided that the two brothers, 'teocles and Polynices were to reign o er Thebes ta"ing turns. 'teocles, howe er, did not want to gi e away his power causing Polynices to lea e Thebes to set up an army. !n the fight against Thebes, the two brothers "ill each other. After this e ent, &reon declares that, as punishment, Polynices# body must be left on the plain outside the city to rot and be eaten by animals. 'teocles, on the other hand, had been buried as tradition warranted. Antigone determines this to be unjust, immoral and against the laws of the gods, and is determined to bury her brother regardless of &reon#s law. She attempts to persuade her sister !smene to join her, but fails. Antigone buries her brother by herself( e entually &reon#s guards disco er this and capture her. Antigone is brought before &reon, where she declares that she "new &reon#s law but chose to brea" it, e)pounding upon the superiority of #di ine law# to that made by man. She defies his arguments, pro o"ing his wrath and punishment. Sophocles# Antigone ends in disaster, with Antigone hanging herself after being walled up, and &reon#s son $*mon +or $aimon,, who lo ed and was engaged to Antigone, "illing himself after finding her body. +Also see Oedipus for a ariant of this story., -ueen 'urydice, wife of King &reon, also "ills herself at the end of the story due to seeing such actions allowed by her husband. She had been forced to wea e throughout the entire story and her death alludes to The .ates. The dramatist 'uripides also wrote a play called Antigone, which is lost, but some of the te)t was preser ed by later writers and in passages in his Phoenissae. !n 'uripides, the calamity is a erted by the intercession of /ionysus and is followed by the marriage of Antigone and $*mon. Antigone also plays a role in 'uripides e)tant play The Phoenician Women. /ifferent elements of the legend appear in other places. A description of an ancient painting by Philostratus +Imagines ii. 01, refers to Antigone placing the body of Polynices on the funeral pyre, and this is also depicted on a sarcophagus in the 2illa /oria Pamphili in 3ome. And in $yginus# ersion of the legend, founded apparently on a tragedy by some follower of 'uripides, Antigone, on being handed o er by &reon to her lo er $*mon to be slain, is secretly carried off by him and concealed in a shepherd#s hut, where she bears him a son, 4aeon. 5hen the boy grows up, he attends some funeral games at Thebes, and is recogni6ed by the mar" of a dragon on his body. This leads to the disco ery that Antigone is still ali e. The demi%god $eracles then intercedes and pleads with &reon to forgi e $*mon, but in ain. $*mon then "ills Antigone and himself.708 The intercession by $eracles is also represented on a painted ase +circa 9:;%9;; <&,.[3][4] Antigone is a daughter of the unwittingly incestuous marriage between King Oedipus of Thebes and his mother Jocasta. She is the subject of a popular story in which she attempts to secure a respectable burial for her brother Polynices, e en though he is seen as a traitor to Thebes and the law forbids e en mourning for him, punishable by death. !n the oldest ersion of the story, the burial of Polynices ta"es place during Oedipus# reign in Thebes, before Oedipus marries Jocasta. $owe er, in the best%"nown ersions, Sophocles# tragedies Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone, it occurs in the years after Oedipus# banishment and death, and Antigone has to struggle against &reon. !n Sophocles# ersion, after Oedipus# death, it was decided that the two brothers, 'teocles and Polynices were to reign o er Thebes ta"ing turns. 'teocles, howe er, did not want to gi e away his power causing Polynices to lea e Thebes to set up an army. !n the fight against Thebes, the two brothers "ill each other. After this e ent, &reon declares that, as punishment, Polynices# body must be left on the plain outside the city to rot and be eaten by animals. 'teocles, on the other hand, had been buried as tradition warranted. Antigone determines this to be unjust, immoral and against the laws of the gods, and is determined to bury her brother regardless of &reon#s law. She

attempts to persuade her sister !smene to join her, but fails. Antigone buries her brother by herself( e entually &reon#s guards disco er this and capture her. Antigone is brought before &reon, where she declares that she "new &reon#s law but chose to brea" it, e)pounding upon the superiority of #di ine law# to that made by man. She defies his arguments, pro o"ing his wrath and punishment. Sophocles# Antigone ends in disaster, with Antigone hanging herself after being walled up, and &reon#s son $*mon +or $aimon,, who lo ed and was engaged to Antigone, "illing himself after finding her body. +Also see Oedipus for a ariant of this story., -ueen 'urydice, wife of King &reon, also "ills herself at the end of the story due to seeing such actions allowed by her husband. She had been forced to wea e throughout the entire story and her death alludes to The .ates. The dramatist 'uripides also wrote a play called Antigone, which is lost, but some of the te)t was preser ed by later writers and in passages in his Phoenissae. !n 'uripides, the calamity is a erted by the intercession of /ionysus and is followed by the marriage of Antigone and $*mon. Antigone also plays a role in 'uripides e)tant play The Phoenician Women. /ifferent elements of the legend appear in other places. A description of an ancient painting by Philostratus +Imagines ii. 01, refers to Antigone placing the body of Polynices on the funeral pyre, and this is also depicted on a sarcophagus in the 2illa /oria Pamphili in 3ome. And in $yginus# ersion of the legend, founded apparently on a tragedy by some follower of 'uripides, Antigone, on being handed o er by &reon to her lo er $*mon to be slain, is secretly carried off by him and concealed in a shepherd#s hut, where she bears him a son, 4aeon. 5hen the boy grows up, he attends some funeral games at Thebes, and is recogni6ed by the mar" of a dragon on his body. This leads to the disco ery that Antigone is still ali e. The demi%god $eracles then intercedes and pleads with &reon to forgi e $*mon, but in ain. $*mon then "ills Antigone and himself.708 The intercession by $eracles is also represented on a painted ase +circa 9:;%9;; <&,.[3][4] Antigone is a daughter of the unwittingly incestuous marriage between King Oedipus of Thebes and his mother Jocasta. She is the subject of a popular story in which she attempts to secure a respectable burial for her brother Polynices, e en though he is seen as a traitor to Thebes and the law forbids e en mourning for him, punishable by death. !n the oldest ersion of the story, the burial of Polynices ta"es place during Oedipus# reign in Thebes, before Oedipus marries Jocasta. $owe er, in the best%"nown ersions, Sophocles# tragedies Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone, it occurs in the years after Oedipus# banishment and death, and Antigone has to struggle against &reon. !n Sophocles# ersion, after Oedipus# death, it was decided that the two brothers, 'teocles and Polynices were to reign o er Thebes ta"ing turns. 'teocles, howe er, did not want to gi e away his power causing Polynices to lea e Thebes to set up an army. !n the fight against Thebes, the two brothers "ill each other. After this e ent, &reon declares that, as punishment, Polynices# body must be left on the plain outside the city to rot and be eaten by animals. 'teocles, on the other hand, had been buried as tradition warranted. Antigone determines this to be unjust, immoral and against the laws of the gods, and is determined to bury her brother regardless of &reon#s law. She attempts to persuade her sister !smene to join her, but fails. Antigone buries her brother by herself( e entually &reon#s guards disco er this and capture her. Antigone is brought before &reon, where she declares that she "new &reon#s law but chose to brea" it, e)pounding upon the superiority of #di ine law# to that made by man. She defies his arguments, pro o"ing his wrath and punishment. Sophocles# Antigone ends in disaster, with Antigone hanging herself after being walled up, and &reon#s son $*mon +or $aimon,, who lo ed and was engaged to Antigone, "illing himself after finding her body. +Also see Oedipus for a ariant of this story., -ueen 'urydice, wife of King &reon, also "ills

herself at the end of the story due to seeing such actions allowed by her husband. She had been forced to wea e throughout the entire story and her death alludes to The .ates. The dramatist 'uripides also wrote a play called Antigone, which is lost, but some of the te)t was preser ed by later writers and in passages in his Phoenissae. !n 'uripides, the calamity is a erted by the intercession of /ionysus and is followed by the marriage of Antigone and $*mon. Antigone also plays a role in 'uripides e)tant play The Phoenician Women. /ifferent elements of the legend appear in other places. A description of an ancient painting by Philostratus +Imagines ii. 01, refers to Antigone placing the body of Polynices on the funeral pyre, and this is also depicted on a sarcophagus in the 2illa /oria Pamphili in 3ome. And in $yginus# ersion of the legend, founded apparently on a tragedy by some follower of 'uripides, Antigone, on being handed o er by &reon to her lo er $*mon to be slain, is secretly carried off by him and concealed in a shepherd#s hut, where she bears him a son, 4aeon. 5hen the boy grows up, he attends some funeral games at Thebes, and is recogni6ed by the mar" of a dragon on his body. This leads to the disco ery that Antigone is still ali e. The demi%god $eracles then intercedes and pleads with &reon to forgi e $*mon, but in ain. $*mon then "ills Antigone and himself.708 The intercession by $eracles is also represented on a painted ase +circa 9:;%9;; <&,.[3][4]