Antigone

Antigone is a tragedy written by Sophocles around 441 BC. It follows the story of Oedipus' daughter, Antigone, who defies the law to give her brother a proper burial and pay respect to their family's legacy. The play is known for its exploration of themes such as fate versus free will, justice versus injustice, loyalty versus betrayal and hubris against humility. As one of the three great tragedies by Sophocles, it has been studied extensively in literary circles and remains an important part of Western literature today.


The main protagonist in Antigone is Creon, King of Thebes, who makes a decree that no one should bury Polyneices after he died, trying to take control over his home city from his own brother Eteocles. This angers Antigone, who believes she must fulfill her duty as a sister to provide him with funeral rites so he can rest peacefully in death, despite what the laws say about it being illegal under Creon's rule. She challenges these orders even though it may lead to her own demise, which ultimately leads up to a tragic ending where all the characters involved end up dead or emotionally damaged due to their choices throughout the course of the plot line. Despite this bleak outcome, readers are still left pondering whether true justice was served or if there was some other way out of the situation without any casualties taking place, since the original intent behind both sides was justifiable, making a difficult decision on how to choose between the two conflicting forces at hand.