Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

, Antigone ( ;

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 ...

: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of

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 ...

and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth,

Euryganeia In Greek mythology, Euryganeia ( grc, Εὐρυγάνεια, ''Eurygáneia'') was a Theban queen. Family Euryganeia was either a daughter of Hyperphas, and thus, sister to Euryanassa. In some sources, she was described as Jocasta's sister, wh ...

. She is a sister of

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 ...

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 revea ...

, and

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 ...

.Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). The meaning of the name is, as in the case of the masculine equivalent Antigonus, "worthy of one's parents" or "in place of one's parents". She appears in the three 5th century BC tragic plays written 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 c ...

, known as the

three Theban plays 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 c ...

, and she is the main protagonist of the eponymous tragedy ''Antigone''.

In Sophocles

The story of Antigone was addressed by the fifth-century BC Greek playwright

in his Theban plays:

''Oedipus Rex''

Antigone and her sister

are seen at the end of '' Oedipus Rex'' as Oedipus laments the "shame" and "sorrow" he is leaving his daughters to. He then begs

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' ...

to watch over them, but in his grief reaches to take them with him as he is led away. Creon prevents him from taking the girls out of the city with him. Neither of them is named in the play.

''Oedipus at Colonus''

Antigone serves as her father's guide in ''

Oedipus at Colonus ''Oedipus at Colonus'' (also ''Oedipus Coloneus''; grc, Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ, ''Oidipous epi Kolōnōi'') is the last of the three Theban plays of the Athenian tragedian Sophocles. It was written shortly before Sophocles's ...

'', as she leads him into the city where the play takes place. Antigone resembles her father in her stubbornness and doomed existence. She stays with her father for the majority of the play, until she is taken away by Creon in an attempt to blackmail Oedipus into returning to Thebes. However,

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describ ...

defends Oedipus and rescues both Antigone and her sister who was also taken prisoner. At the end of the play, both Antigone and her sister mourn the death of their father. Theseus offers them the comfort of knowing that Oedipus has received a proper burial, but by his wishes, they cannot go to the site. Antigone then decides to return to Thebes.

''Antigone''

In her own namesake play, Antigone attempts to secure a respectable burial for her brother

. Oedipus's sons,

and Polynices, had shared rule jointly until they quarreled, and Eteocles expelled his brother. In Sophocles' account, the two brothers agreed to alternate rule each year, but Eteocles decided not to share power with his brother after his tenure expired. Polynices left the kingdom, gathered an army and attacked the city of Thebes in the war of the

Seven against Thebes The Seven against Thebes were seven champions in Greek mythology who made war on Thebes. They were chosen by Adrastus, the king of Argos, to be the captains of an Argive army whose purpose was to restore Oedipus' son Polynices to the Theban ...

. Both brothers were killed in the battle. King

, who has ascended to the throne of Thebes after the death of the brothers, decrees that Polynices is not to be buried or even mourned, on pain of death by stoning. Antigone, Polynices' sister, defies the king's order and is caught. Antigone is brought before Creon, and admits that she knew of Creon's law forbidding mourning for Polynices but chose to break it, claiming the superiority of divine over human law, and she defies Creon's cruelty with courage, passion, and determination. Creon orders Antigone buried alive in a tomb. Although Creon has a change of heart and tries to release Antigone, he finds she has hanged herself. Creon's son Haemon, who was in love with Antigone, commits suicide with a knife, and his mother Queen

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 ...

also kills herself in despair over her son's death. She had been forced to weave throughout the entire story, and her death alludes to

The Fates The Fates are a common motif in European polytheism, most frequently represented as a trio of goddesses. The Fates shape the destiny of each human, often expressed in textile metaphors such as spinning fibers into yarn, or weaving threads on ...

. By her death Antigone ends up destroying the household of her adversary, Creon.

Other representations

In the oldest version of the story, the burial of Polynices takes place during Oedipus' reign in Thebes, before Oedipus marries his mother, Jocasta. However, in other versions such as

tragedies 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 ...

'' and ''

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., & R ...

'', it occurs in the years after the banishment and death of Oedipus and Antigone's struggles against Creon.

''Seven Against Thebes''

Antigone appears briefly in Aeschylus' ''

Seven Against Thebes The Seven against Thebes were seven champions in Greek mythology who made war on Thebes. They were chosen by Adrastus, the king of Argos, to be the captains of an Argive army whose purpose was to restore Oedipus' son Polynices to the Theban ...

.''

Euripides' lost story

The dramatist

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...

also wrote a play called ''

'', which is lost, but some of the text was preserved by later writers and in passages in his ''

Phoenissae ''The Phoenician Women'' ( grc, Φοίνισσαι, ''Phoinissai'') is a tragedy by Euripides, based on the same story as Aeschylus' play ''Seven Against Thebes''. It was presented along with the tragedies ''Hypsipyle'' and '' Antiope.'' With this ...

''. In Euripides, the calamity is averted by the intercession of

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Roma ...

and is followed by the marriage of Antigone and Hæmon. Antigone also plays a role in the Phoenissae.

Appearance elsewhere

Different elements of the legend appear in other places. A description of an ancient painting by

Philostratus Philostratus or Lucius Flavius Philostratus (; grc-gre, Φιλόστρατος ; c. 170 – 247/250 AD), called "the Athenian", was a Greek sophist of the Roman imperial period. His father was a minor sophist of the same name. He was born probab ...

('' Imagines'' ii. 29) refers to Antigone placing the body of Polynices on the

funeral pyre A pyre ( grc, πυρά; ''pyrá'', from , ''pyr'', "fire"), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite or execution. As a form of cremation, a body is placed upon or under the ...

, and this is also depicted on a sarcophagus in the

Villa Doria Pamphili The Villa Doria Pamphili is a seventeenth-century villa with what is today the largest landscaped public park in Rome, Italy. It is located in the quarter of Monteverde, on the ''Gianicolo'' (or the Roman Janiculum), just outside the Porta San Pa ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. And in Hyginus' version of the legend, founded apparently on a tragedy by some follower of Euripides, Antigone, on being handed over by

to her lover Hæmon to be slain, is secretly carried off by him and concealed in a shepherd's hut, where she bears him a son,

Maeon In Greek mythology, the name Maeon or Maion ( Ancient Greek: Μαίονος) may refer to: *Maeon of Thebes, son of Haemon, endowed with prophetic abilities. He was one of the fifty men that laid an ambush against Tydeus when he came to Thebes as ...

. When the boy grows up, he attends some funeral games at Thebes, and is recognized by the mark of a dragon on his body. This leads to the discovery that Antigone is still alive. The demi-god

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...

then intercedes and pleads with Creon to forgive Hæmon, but in vain. Hæmon then kills Antigone and himself. The intercession by Heracles is also represented on a painted vase (circa 380–300 BC).

Genealogy

Gallery

File:Kokular Oedipus and Antigone.jpg, ''Oedipus and Antigone'' by Aleksander Kokular (1825–1828),

National Museum, Warsaw The National Museum in Warsaw ( pl, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie), popularly abbreviated as MNW, is a national museum in Warsaw, one of the largest museums in Poland and the largest in the capital. It comprises a rich collection of ancient art ( Eg ...

File:Oedipe et Antigone, Johann Peter Krafft (1809).png, ''Oedipe et Antigone'' by Johann Peter Krafft, 1809 File:Oedipus and Antigone by Franz Dietrich.jpg, ''Oedipus and Antigon'' by Franz Dietrich File:Oedipus and Antigone (Eckersberg).jpg, ''Oedipus and Antigone'' by C. W. Eckersberg (1812) File:Per Gabriel Wickenberg - Oedipus och Antigone.jpg, ''Oedipus and Antigone'' by Per Wickenberg (1833) File:Ribelles-edipo y antigona.JPG, ''Edipo y Antigona'' by José Ribelles (circa 1800) File:The Plague of Thebes.jpg, ''Oedipus and Antigone'' by Charles Jalabert (1842) File:Emil Teschendorff - King Oedipus.jpg, ''Oedipus and Antigon'' File:Antoni Brodowski - Oedipus and Antigone - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Oedipus and Antigon'' by

Antoni Brodowski Antoni Stanisław Brodowski (26 December 1784, Warsaw – 31 March 1832, Warsaw) was a Polish painter in the Classical style. Biography According to the wishes expressed in his father's will, he began by studying mathematics.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., & R ...

'', one of the three extant Theban plays by

(497 BC406 BC), the most famous adaptation * ''

'', a play by

(c. 480406 BC) which is now lost except for some fragments * '' Antigona'', opera by

Tommaso Traetta Tommaso Michele Francesco Saverio Traetta (30 March 1727 – 6 April 1779) was an Italian composer of the Neapolitan School. Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he was responsible for certain operatic r ...

, libretto by

Marco Coltellini Marco Coltellini (24 May 1724, in Montepulciano – November 1777, in Saint Petersburg) was an Italian opera tenor, librettist and printer. Biography Coltellini embarked on a career in the Church, but had to leave after fathering four daught ...

(1772) * '' Antigona'', opera by

Josef Mysliveček Josef Mysliveček (9 March 1737 – 4 February 1781) was a Czech composer who contributed to the formation of late eighteenth-century classicism in music. Mysliveček provided his younger friend Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with significant com ...

, libretto by Gaetano Roccaforte (1774) * ''

'' (1841), settings of the choruses by Felix Mendelssohn as incidental music for a performance of Johann Jakob Christian Donner's translation of ''Sophocles'' * ''Antigone'', play by

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...

(1889–1963) * ''Antigone'', opera by

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 t ...

(1892–1955), libretto by

(1889–1963) * ''

Antigonae ''Antigonae'' (''Antigone''), written by Carl Orff, was first presented on 9 August 1949 under the direction of Ferenc Fricsay in the Felsenreitschule, Salzburg, Austria, as part of the Salzburg Festival. Antigonae is in Orff's words a "musical se ...

'' (Salzburg 1949), opera by

Carl Orff Carl Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, best known for his cantata '' Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Schulwerk were influential for children's music education. Life Early life Carl ...

(1895–1982) * ''

'' (1944), play by

Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ''Antigone'', an a ...

(1910–1987) performed during the Nazi occupation of Paris * " Antigone-Legend", for soprano and piano (text by Bertolt Brecht), by

Frederic Rzewski Frederic Anthony Rzewski ( ; April 13, 1938 – June 26, 2021) was an American composer and pianist, considered to be one of the most important American composer-pianists of his time. His major compositions, which often incorporate social an ...

(1938–2021) and presented as a play in two slightly different versions in 1948 and 1951 * ''Αντιγόνη'' (''

''), ballet by

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( el, Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films ''Zorba the Greek'' (1964), '' Z'' ...

(b. 1925), 1959 * ''Αντιγόνη'' (''

''), opera by

(b. 1925), 1995–96 * ''

'' (1990/1991), opera by Ton de Leeuw (b. 1926) * ''Antígona Furiosa'' (Furious Antigone), play by

Griselda Gambaro Griselda Gambaro (born 24 July 1928) is an Argentine writer, whose novels, plays, short stories, story tales, essays and novels for teenagers often concern the political violence in her home country that would develop into the Dirty War. One recu ...

(b. 1928) * '' Another Antigone'', play by A. R. Gurney (b. 1930) * '' The Island'', play by Athol Fugard (b. 1932) * ''La Pasión Según Antígona Pérez'' ((The) Passion according to Antigone Pérez), adaptation by

Luis Rafael Sánchez Dr. Luis Rafael Sánchez, a.k.a. "Wico" Sánchez (November 17, 1936) is a Puerto Rican essayist, novelist, and short-story author who is widely considered one of the island's most outstanding contemporary playwrights. Possibly his best known play ...

(b. 1936), updated to 20th-century Latin America * ''Antígona'', play by

Salvador Espriu Salvador Espriu i Castelló (; 10 July 1913 – 22 February 1985) was a Catalan poet. Biography Espriu was born in Santa Coloma de Farners, Catalonia, Spain. He was the son of an attorney. He spent his childhood between his home town, Barcelon ...

(1939) * "Antigone", a short story by Sheila Watson (1959) * ''Tegonni, An African Antigone'' by

Femi Osofisan Babafemi Adeyemi Osofisan (born June 16, 1946), known as Femi Osofisan or F.O., is a Nigerian writer noted for his critique of societal problems and his use of African traditional performances and surrealism in some of his plays. A frequent theme ...

(b. 1946) * ''Antigone'', an adaptation of Sophocles' play by Peruvian poet

José Watanabe José Watanabe (1946 2007) was a Peruvian poet who won a number of literary awards. Watanabe was born in Laredo, a large sugar cane farm in northern Peru. His father was a Japanese immigrant, and his mother was a Peruvian of Andean origin. In ...

(b. 1946) * ''Antigone'', opera by

Mark Alburger Mark Alburger (born April 2, 1957 in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania) is a San Francisco Bay area composer and conductor. He is the founder and music director of the San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra, as well as the music director of Goat ...

(b. 1957) * ''

'' (1961), a film 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 ...

, starring

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 ...

. * ''La tumba de Antígona'' (1967), philosophy work in poetry (razón poética) by

María Zambrano María Zambrano Alarcón (22 April 1904 – 6 February 1991) was a Spanish essayist and philosopher associated with the Generation of '36 movement. Her extensive work between the civic engagement and the poetic reflection started to be r ...

(1904–1991) * ''Antigone'', comic book by David Hopkins (b. 1977) * ''Antigone'', opera by Vassily Lobanov, libretto by Alexey Parin (1988) * ''Antigone'' by

Henry Bauchau Henry Bauchau (22 January 1913 – 21 September 2012) was a Belgian psychoanalyst, lawyer, and author of French prose and poetry. Biography Henry Bauchau was born in Mechelen, Belgium on 22 January 1913. He became a trial lawyer in Brussels in ...

* ''Antigone's Red'' (2002), a short play by Chiori Miyagawa * ''

The Burial at Thebes ''The Burial at Thebes: A version of Sophocles' Antigone'' is a play by Irish Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney, based on the fifth century BC tragedy ''Antigone'' by Sophocles. It is also an opera by Dominique Le Gendre. Plot Antigone, the daughte ...

'' (2004), by

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

, adapted into a 2008 opera with music by Dominique Le Gendre * ''Antigone'', play by

Mac Wellman Mac Wellman, born John McDowell Wellman on March 7, 1945, in Cleveland, Ohio, is an American playwright, author, and poet.Leopoldo Marechal Leopoldo Marechal (June 11, 1900 – June 26, 1970) was one of the most important Argentine writers of the twentieth century. Biographical notes Born in Buenos Aires into a family of French and Spanish descent, Marechal became a primary sch ...

(1900–1970) * ''Antigona'' (1960), a play by

Dominik Smole Dominik Smole (24 August 1929 – 29 July 1992) was a Slovenian writer and playwright. Biography Smole was born in Ljubljana in what was then the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He attended school in Ljubljana and after the end of World War II he was emp ...

* ''Antigonai'' (2009), opera based on fragments by Sophocles and Hölderlin for three choirs and a women's trio by Argentine composer Carlos Stella * ''Antigone's Song'' (2010), a short post-apocalyptic musical western film based loosely on the myth of Antigone by Perpombellar Productions * ''

'' (1948), by Bertolt Brecht, based on the translation by

Friedrich Hölderlin Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticism. Part ...

and published under the title ''Antigonemodell 1948''. An English translation of Brecht's version of the play is available * ''Antigone'', play by Antonio D'Alfonso (2004) * ''Antigone'', play by Don Taylor * ''Antigone'', modern adaptation (87 minute film) by Antonio D'Alfonso (2012) * ''Antigonick'', play by

Anne Carson Anne Carson (born June 21, 1950) is a Canadian poet, essayist, translator, classicist, and professor. Trained at the University of Toronto, Carson has taught classics, comparative literature, and creative writing at universities across the Unit ...

(2012) which is a free and poetic adaptation of the Sophocles play. Carson and her colleagues presented a reading of Antigonick in 2012 at the Louisiana gallery in Denmark. * ''Antigonas, linaje de hembras'', play by Argentinean playwright Jorge Huertas * ''Antigone'', play by Theodora Voutsa (2016) at Compagnietheater in Amsterdam * ''Antígona Oriental'' (2012) written by Marianela Morena and directed by Volker Lösch. * ''Antigone'' (2016), a play by Slavoj Žižek which allows for three different endings (2016). * ''Antigona'' (2016), a solo play by Brazilian actress Andrea Beltrão * ''The Children of Jocasta'' (2017), a novel by

Natalie Haynes Natalie Louise Haynes (born 1974) is an English writer, broadcaster, classicist, and comedian. Early life Haynes was born in Birmingham, where she attended King Edward VI High School for Girls. She read Classics at Christ's College, Cambridge, ...

which pays particular attention to Ismene, Antigone's sister. * '' Home Fire'' (2017), a novel by Kamilla Shamsie which adapts the story to present issues concerning the repatriation of the body of a terrorist. * ''Antigone'' (2017), a film artwork by

Tacita Dean Tacita Charlotte Dean CBE, RA (born 1965) is a British / German visual artist who works primarily in film. She was a nominee for the Turner Prize in 1998, won the Hugo Boss Prize in 2006, and was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 2008. ...

* ''Antigone in

Molenbeek ( French, ) or (Dutch, ), often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, from which it is separated ...

'' (2017) a play by Stefan Hertmans * ''Antigone Alone'' (2018) a solo play by the actor/writer Michael McEvoy * ''Antigone in Ferguson'' (2018) a play by the group ''Theater of War'' which offers commentary on the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown, presented as a reading of the play by the cast with a gospel choir acting as the chorus. * ''

'' (2019), a film by

Sophie Deraspe Sophie Deraspe (born October 27, 1973) is a Canadian director, scenarist, director of photography and producer. Prominent in new Quebec cinema, she is known for a 2015 documentary ''The Amina Profile'', an exploration of the Amina Abdallah Arraf a ...

* ''Pale Sister'' (2021) Written by

Colm Tóibín Colm Tóibín (, approximately ; born 30 May 1955) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist, critic, playwright and poet. His first novel, '' The South'', was published in 1990. '' The Blackwater Lightship'' was shortlis ...

. Starring

Lisa Dwan Lisa Dwan is an Irish stage, film and television actress, director, and writer. She is best known for her performances and adaptations of the work of Samuel Beckett and other theatre. Early life Dwan was born in Coosan, Athlone, County Westmea ...

, directed by

Sir Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas ...

. * ''The Riot Act'' (1984) written by Tom Paulin, reimagining the play in the setting of Northern Ireland during the period of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

's government. Produced by Field Day Theatre Co., Dublin.

Analysis

In the works of Hegel, in particular in his discussion of

Sittlichkeit ''Sittlichkeit'' is the concept of "ethical life" or "ethical order" furthered by philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel in his 1807 work ''Phenomenology of Spirit'' and his 1820/21 work ''Elements of the Philosophy of Right'' (''PR''). The thr ...

in his ''

Phenomenology of Spirit ''The Phenomenology of Spirit'' (german: Phänomenologie des Geistes) is the most widely-discussed philosophical work of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel; its German title can be translated as either ''The Phenomenology of Spirit'' or ''The Phenomen ...

'' and his ''

Elements of the Philosophy of Right ''Elements of the Philosophy of Right'' (german: Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts) is a work by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel published in 1820, though the book's original title page dates it to 1821. Hegel's most mature statement of his ...

'', Antigone is figured as exposing a tragic rift between the so-called feminine "Divine Law," which Antigone represents, and the "Human Law," represented by Creon. The Catholic philosopher Jacques Maritain considers Antigone as the "heroine of the natural law:" :she was aware of the fact that, in transgressing the human law and being crushed by it, she was obeying a higher commandment—that she was obeying laws that were unwritten, and that had their origin neither today nor yesterday, but which live always and forever, and no one knows where they have come from. The psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan writes about the ethical dimension of Antigone in his Seminar VII, ''The Ethics of Psychoanalysis.'' Others who have written on Antigone include theorist Judith Butler, in her book ''Antigone's Claim'', as well as philosopher Slavoj Žižek, in various works, including ''Interrogating the Real'' (Bloomsbury: London, 2005) and ''The Metastases of Enjoyment'' (Verso: London, 1994).

Contemporary productions

A new translation of ''Antigone'' into English by the Canadian poet

has been used in a production of the play (March 2015) at the Barbican directed by

Ivo van Hove Ivo van Hove (born 28 October 1958) is a Belgian theatre director known as the artistic director of Toneelgroep Amsterdam in the Netherlands and for his Off-Broadway avant-garde experimental theatre productions. On Broadway, he has directed re ...

and featuring

Juliette Binoche Juliette Binoche (; born 9 March 1964) is a French actress and dancer. She has appeared in more than sixty feature films and has been the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Silver Bear, ...

as Antigone. This production was broadcast as a TV movie on April 26, 2015. The play was transferred to the BAM Harvey Theatre at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, running from September 24 to October 4, 2015.''Antigone''
at Brooklyn Academy of Music.

References

External links

Antigone
– a review of the Antigone myth and the various productions of her story {{Authority control Princesses in Greek mythology Theban characters in Greek mythology Characters in Greek mythology Suicides in Greek mythology