Antigone, a tragedy by Sophocles, centers on the defiant daughter of Oedipus, the former king of Thebes. After a brutal civil war in which her brothers Eteocles and Polyneices kill each other, King Creon ascends the throne and declares that Eteocles, who defended the city, will be honored with a proper burial, while Polyneices, who attacked it, is to be left unburied as a traitor. Antigone, driven by loyalty to divine law and familial duty, defies Creon's decree and buries her brother. Her act of rebellion sets off a tragic chain of events. Creon, stubborn and unyielding, sentences her to death, despite pleas from his son Haemon, who is also Antigone’s fiancé. The gods and the prophet Tiresias warn of the consequences, but Creon realizes his error too late. Antigone dies, followed by Haemon and then Creon's wife, Eurydice, leaving Creon alone, broken by the loss brought on by his own pride. The play is a powerful exploration of justice, loyalty, and the consequences of absolute power.
