''Antigone'' ( el, Aντιγόνη, ''Antigone'') is a 1961 Greek film adaptation of the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & Roma ...

'' by

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...

. It stars

Irene Papas Irene Papas or Irene Pappas ( el, Ειρήνη Παππά, Eiríni Pappá, ; born Eirini Lelekou ( el, Ειρήνη Λελέκου, Eiríni Lelékou, link=no); 3 September 1929 – 14 September 2022) was a Greek actress and singer who starred ...

in the title role and was directed by

Yorgos Javellas George Tzavellas, also rendered Giorgos Tzavellas, Yiorgos Tzavellas, or Yorgos Javellas ( el, Γιώργος Τζαβέλλας, 1916, Athens – October 18, 1976), was a Greek film director, screenwriter, and playwright. His filmmaking was particu ...

. The film follows the story of the play closely, but ends differently – instead of Creon retiring back to the palace as in the play, the film ends with Creon relinquishing his kingship and exiling himself out of Thebes.

Plot

After

Oedipus Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...

realises he married his mother

Jocasta In Greek mythology, Jocasta (), also rendered Iocaste ( grc, Ἰοκάστη ) and also known as Epicaste (; ), was a daughter of Menoeceus, a descendant of the Spartoi Echion, and queen consort of Thebes. She was the wife of first Laius, t ...

and stepped down as king of Thebes, his two sons

Eteocles In Greek mythology, Eteocles (; ) was a king of Thebes, the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta or Euryganeia. Oedipus killed his father Laius and married his mother without knowing his relationship to either. When the relationship was revealed, ...

and

Polynices In Greek mythology, Polynices (also Polyneices) (; grc, Πολυνείκης, Polyneíkes, lit= manifold strife' or 'much strife) was the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta or Euryganeia and the older brother of Eteocles (according to Sophocles' ...

kill each other in the struggle for the succession. Creon,

's brother, ascends the throne and give the order that the body of Polynices should remain unburied, since he assaulted Thebes to dethrone his older brother. Oedipus' daughter Antigone, after trying unsuccessfully to involve her sister Ismene in her scheme, defies the prohibition and buries her brother. Creon arrests both sisters, but eventually decrees that only Antigone has to be walled up alive, although the young woman is engaged to his son Haemon. Only the seer Tiresias manages eventually to open Creon's eyes and explains to him that the ban on the burial would anger the gods. It is however too late: even if Creon has Polynices buried and is willing to free Antigone, she has already hanged herself in her prison in the meantime. Shortly after, Haemon commits suicide as well and Creon, now broken by his own actions, renounces the throne.

Cast

Manos Katrakis Emmanuel "Manos" Katrakis ( el, Εμμανουήλ (Μάνος) Κατράκης; 14 August 1908 – 3 September 1984) was a Greek actor of theater and film.Creon Creon may refer to: Greek history * Creon, the first annual eponymous archon of Athens, 682–681 BC Greek mythology * Creon (king of Thebes), mythological king of Thebes * Creon (king of Corinth), father of Creusa/Glauce in Euripides' ''Medea' ...

, king of Thebes *

Maro Kontou Maro Kontou ( gr, Μάρω Κοντού; born 21 June 1934) is a Greek actress and politician. She performed in more than sixty films since 1954. Selected filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kontou, Maro 1934 births ...

Ismene In Greek mythology, Ismene (; grc, Ἰσμήνη, ''Ismēnē'') is the daughter and half-sister of Oedipus, daughter and granddaughter of Jocasta, and sister of Antigone, Eteocles, and Polynices. She appears in several plays of Sophocles: at the ...

, Antigone's sister * -

Haemon According to Sophocles' play ''Antigone'', Haemon {{IPAc-en, ˈ, h, iː, m, ɒ, n or Haimon (Ancient Greek: Αἵμων, ''Haimon'' "bloody"; ''gen''.: Αἵμωνος) was the mythological son of Creon and Eurydice, and thus brother of Menoeceus ...

, Creon's son * Ilia Livykou -

Eurydice Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice') was a character in Greek mythology and the Auloniad wife of Orpheus, who tried to bring her back from the dead with his enchanting music. Etymology Several meanings for the name ...

, Creon's wife * Giannis Argyris - A Sentry * Byron Pallis - A Messenger * Tzavalas Karousos -

Tiresias In Greek mythology, Tiresias (; grc, Τειρεσίας, Teiresías) was a blind prophet of Apollo in Thebes, famous for clairvoyance and for being transformed into a woman for seven years. He was the son of the shepherd Everes and the nymph ...

* Thodoros Moridis - First Elder of Thebes * Giorgos Vlahopoulos - Elder of Thebes * Yorgos Karetas - Elder of Thebes * Thanasis Kefalopoulos - Elder of Thebes

Awards

Won

Thessaloniki International Film Festival The Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF), organized by the cultural institution of the same name under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture, is held every November in Thessaloniki.TIFF features international competition secti ...

1961: Irene Papas (''Best Actress''), Argyris Kounadis (''Best Music'') *

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by the San Francisco Film Society, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in in ...

1961: Manos Katrakis (''Best Actor'')

Nominated

* Berlin International Film Festival 1961: Giorgos Tzavellas (''

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The winn ...

'') *

Golden Globe Awards 1962 The 20th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1962, were held on March 5, 1963. Winners Film Best Film - Drama ''Lawrence of Arabia'' *'' The Chapman Report'' *'' Days of Wine and Roses'' *'' Freud: The Secret Passi ...

: ''Samuel Goldwyn International Award''

References

External links

* *
''Antigone''
at

FilmAffinity FilmAffinity is a movie recommendations website created in 2002 in Madrid, Spain by the film critic Pablo Kurt Verdú Schumann and the programmer Daniel Nicolás. As of 2016, the site listed 125,000 movies and series and had 556,000 reviews wri ...

{{Oedipus 1961 films Films set in ancient Greece 1960s Greek-language films 1961 drama films Greek black-and-white films Films based on ancient Greek plays Films based on works by Sophocles Films directed by George Tzavellas Works based on Antigone (Sophocles play)