Customer Reviews for Dover Publications Antigone

The setting of the play is Thebes. Polynics, son of Oedipus, has led a rebellious army against his brother, Eteocles, ruler of Thebes. Both have died in single combat. When Creon, their uncle, assumes rule, he commands that the body of the rebel Polynics be left unburied and unmourned, and warns that anyone who tampers with his decree will be put to death.

Antigone, sister of Polynics, defies Creon's order and buries her brother, claiming that she honors first the laws of the gods. Enraged, Creon condemns her to be sealed in a cave and left to die. How the gods take their revenge on Creon provides the gripping denouncement to this compelling tragedy.