Antigone, Part I

“I will bury him,” she declares, “and if I die for it, I am content to die.”

Art: Antigone by Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo (1872).

Next, we move into one of the greatest Greek tragedies: Antigone by Sophocles. It’s an epic and tragic clash between family duty/ divine law, and the flawed law of state, instituted by a tyrannical ruler. Antigone is one of the fiercest and boldest figures in all of Greek theatre (and literature). As she defies the decree of her uncle, King Creon, to leave her brother’s body unburied because he fought on the losing side of a bloody civil war, she sets the stage for a conflict of monumental proportion that costs her—and Creon—everything. 

Antigone’s defiance is a declaration of loyalty to a higher, moral (divine) law over the corrupt authority of the state, and it’s an unflinching assertion of personal duty in the face of malignant power. When confronted by her sister Ismene, who tries to reason with her, Antigone’s resolve is unwavering. “I will bury him,” she declares, “and if I die for it, I am content to die.”

Her words set the tone for the play, where personal conviction and allegiance to a higher, moral code collides with the cold, calculating power of human law-making. This tragedy unfolds from the clash of two wills—Antigone and Creon—both resolute in their belief that they are right.