As is expected for a work by this Greek playwright, the play also contains a thoughtful rumination on the relationship between gods and humans without having any god directly interact with any mortal on stage. Creon’s despotic rule is met by Antigone’s steadfast defiance and her refusal to submit ensures she is a character who endures throughout the ages. Questions of leadership, free will, civil disobedience, and the cost of wisdom are all explored in this last installment of the trilogy, an addition that furthers Sophocles’ legacy as his plays handle themes that are still relevant today. She embarks on a quest not for the sake of rebelling, but to honor her beloved brother and stand for her rights rather than mindlessly acquiesce to Creon’s cruel tyranny. He orders all of Thebes that no one is allowed to perform funeral rites for his nephew, a ruling that Antigone rebels against. After Oedipus’ sons, Polynices and Eteocles, kill each other in battle, Creon dictates that Eteocles will be given a proper hero’s burial but Polynices will not receive similar treatment. Where Creon was ambiguous in Oedipus, the unexplored sides of his character are brought forth as his tyrannical ways have caused Thebes to once again fall ill. Antigone finds herself engaged to her cousin Haemon, and her father’s former kingdom now ruled by her uncle Creon.

The play follows its titular character, the daughter of Oedipus, after the events of Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus. First performed around 441 – 442 B.C.E., it still enraptures audiences today with its exploration of pertinent themes like free will and civil disobedience. Considered to be Sophocles’ most political play in the Oedipus Trilogy, Antigone was actually written before the other plays, though it takes place last chronologically.

Greek play antigone