No Fool Like an Obstinate Fool

Antigone by Sophocles

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Thus by the law of conscience I was led
To honor thee, dear brother, and was judged
By Creon guilty of a heinous crime.

SOPHOCLES, ANTIGONE, LINES 1005-07; F. STORR TRANSLATION

Introduction

Antigone is the first of the three Theban Plays by Sophocles, all of which revolve around the story of Oedipus and his family. Antigone is first in that it was composed first, but in the chronology of events, the story takes place last. Antigone pretty much picks up right where Seven Against Thebes by Aeschylus left off—in the aftermath of the failed siege of Thebes where Oedipus’ two sons fought and killed each other for the throne.

The Theban Plays is not a true trilogy in the sense that Aeschylus’ Oresteia is. The plays of the Oresteia (Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides) were all performed during the same competition, whereas the Theban Plays were all composed and performed at different times. Regardless, they are almost always lumped together, though usually ordered according to the chronological order of events (Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonnus, Antigone). I was influenced by Robert Fagles’ translation of the Theban Plays (which I highly recommend if you want a modern translation of these plays) which orders the plays according to when they were composed.

All quotes from Antigone are from the Francis Storr translation which is in the public domain. This translation appeared in the Loeb Classical Library. I had to rely on the Robert Fagles translation for the line numbers, so they may not be 100% accurate.

As always, I encourage you to read Antigone for yourself. You can do it! Read the publicly available Storr translation, which might be difficult if you’re not used to a poetic structure. You will have to have a dictionary nearby, as Storr uses some outdated words, but it’s not too bad. Many of the words you can figure out through context. If you prefer a modern translation, I again recommend Robert Fagles. Otherwise, Richmond Lattimore and David Grene also translated and/or edited the plays of Sophocles (and other Greek playwrights) and compiled them into multiple volumes. Lastly, I just recently discovered a modern translation that the translator Ian Johnston offers for free! He’s also translated other ancient Greek works like the Iliad and the Odyssey. You can find them here.

Summary

Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, calls her sister Ismene to meet secretly outside the gates of the palace to discuss the latest news. The new king of Thebes, Creon, the uncle of Oedipus, has decreed that the previous king, Eteocles, son of Oedipus, is to receive full burial rites. However, Polynices, Eteocles’ brother, is to receive no burial rites and is instead to be left to the dogs and the birds. Anyone who tries to bury Polynices will be executed.

Antigone is not okay with Polynices’ treatment and asks Ismene to help her give him a proper burial. Ismene refuses and even tries to convince Antigone to not bury Polynices because of how dangerous it would be. Antigone is disappointed with her sister’s response and tells her to leave. Even if Ismene changes her mind, Antigone no longer wants her help. She will bury Polynices herself and then embrace her death.

A Chorus of Theban elders enter and tell the story of what happened. Polynices, with the help of the city of Argos, raised an army and attacked Thebes. Him and six other commanders attacked each of the seven gates of Thebes. The siege failed, with the six commanders dying and Polynices and Eteocles killing each other. Having successfully defeated the invaders, Thebes is now celebrating its victory.

King Creon enters and confirms to the Chorus that he has decreed that Eteocles should get a proper burial while Polynices is to be left to the dogs and the birds, and that the penalty for defying this decree is death. He has set up guards to watch Polynices’ corpse to make sure no one buries it.

Just as Creon finishes explaining this, a Guard rushes in. He tells Creon that when the guards of the morning watch came to the corpse of Polynices, they found it covered in dust. Someone had performed burial rites on the corpse. However, no one saw who did it, and there were no traces of the perpetrator.

Creon angrily orders the Guard to find out who performed the burial ritual on the corpse. If the guard fails, Creon will execute him. The Guard rushes away, leaving the Chorus to wonder who would so openly defy Creon’s decree. The Guard returns with Antigone who was caught in the act. They had brushed the dust off the corpse and waited in hiding. In the morning, they caught Antigone trying to put more dust on the corpse and perform burial rites on it. When Creon questions her, Antigone boldly admits to defying Creon.

Creon then brings in Ismene, believing she had helped Antigone. Ismene at first tells Creon that she plotted with Antigone to bury Polynices, but Antigone refuses to let her take any credit since Ismene didn’t help her. Ismene pleads with Antigone to let her share in her punishment, but Antigone refuses.

Haemon, Creon’s son and Antigone’s fiancé, enters and tells Creon that the people secretly admire Antigone for what she’s done and that Creon should reconsider punishing her. Creon gets angry and accuses Haemon of sympathizing with a lawbreaker and threatens to execute him as well. Haemon tells his father to go ahead: he would gladly die with Antigone. In the meantime, he’s going to find a way to free her. Haemon leaves, and Creon decides on Antigone’s punishment: taking her out into the middle of nowhere and sealing her in a cave.

After the guards take Antigone away, the blind prophet Tiresias enters and warns Creon that he received a bad omen. The gods are angry that Polynices’ corpse is being left to the dogs and the birds and advises Creon to reverse his decree. Creon angrily rejects his advice and accuses the incredulous Tiresias of being a false prophet. Before storming off, Tiresias warns Creon that his actions will lead to the death of his son and provoke neighboring States against Thebes who are eager for vengeance.

Creon is rattled by the prophecy and the Chorus advise him to immediately rescind his decree and lift Antigone’s punishment. Creon reluctantly agrees and rushes off to stop the punishment. As the Chorus prays to Zeus for nothing bad to happen, a Messenger enters and informs them that Haemon has killed himself in anger over Antigone’s punishment. Eurydice, the wife of Creon and Haemon’s mother, enters and asks the Messenger to tell her what happened. The Messenger tells everyone that Creon and his men first went and performed the burial rites on Polynices, which by that point had been partly eaten by wild animals, then headed for the cave where Antigone was sealed. As they approached the cave, a wail of despair rang out. Antigone had hung herself and Haemon discovered her body. When Creon got to the cave, Haemon first tried to kill his father, but then turned his sword on himself and died right next to Antigone.

Eurydice leaves without a word which concerns the Chorus. Just as they were going to make sure she’s okay, Creon returns lamenting his son’s death and berating himself for his poor judgment. A second Messenger then enters and tells Creon that his wife killed herself cursing Creon’s name. Creon, broken and humbled, acknowledges his son’s and wife’s suicides were his fault, and that he had been wrong the entire time.

The Promises and Pitfalls of a Principled Stand

The story of Antigone is the story of a girl who stood by her principles no matter what it cost. It’s also the story of a girl who got overzealous while standing for her principles. Her defiance of the State and putting her morals above its decrees are admirable, but she did it at the expense of unnecessarily isolating herself. I want to explore both the positive and negative aspects of Antigone’s defiance.

First, I want to say that Antigone fully deserves to be another character that should be more of a household name (along with Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, which I discussed in my posts on the Odyssey). The fact that Helen of Troy is a more recognizable name than Antigone or Penelope is simply tragic. Antigone and Penelope are far better role models, and whatever flaws they have are far outweighed by their virtues. The same can’t be said with a character like Helen. I hope that someday Antigone and Penelope get the attention they deserve in our culture.

The courage Antigone displayed is difficult to understate. As soon as she heard about King Creon’s decree that no one is to bury Polynices, and anyone who tries will be executed, she said without hesitation “I don’t care. I’m burying my brother.” She goes on to say:

How sweet to die in such employ, to rest, –
Sister and brother linked in love’s embrace –
A sinless sinner, banned awhile on earth,
But by the dead commended; and with them
I shall abide for ever. As for thee,
Scorn, if thou wilt, the eternal laws of Heaven.

Sophocles, Antigone, lines 87-92; F. Storr translation

Antigone recognizes that her life in the world is temporary, but her abode among the dead is forever. Who should she worry about more: the living or the dead? She also recognizes that it is an eternal decree for the dead to be properly buried. What’s more important: the decree of the State or the decree of the gods?

We see the different answers to these questions played out among the characters of the plays. Ismene, Antigone’s sister, is the voice of the living. When Antigone tells her she’s going to defy Creon’s decree, Ismene says:

Bethink thee, sister, we are left alone;
Shall we not perish wretchedest of all,
If in defiance of the law we cross
A monarch’s will? – weak women, think of that,
Not framed by nature to contend with men.
Remember this too that the stronger rules;
We must obey his orders, these or worse.
Therefore I plead compulsion and entreat
The dead to pardon. I perforce obey
The powers that be.

Sophocles, Antigone, lines 70-80; F. Storr translation

Won’t we die, and die pitilessly, if we defy the decree? If we defy the king? We have no choice but to obey the State. The State is stronger than us. We have no power to defy it. We need to just go along with it and ask the dead to forgive us.

Antigone, however, sees things differently. As she tells Ismene later on after getting caught burying their brother:

Fear not; thou livest, I died long ago
Then when I gave my life to save the dead.

Sophocles, Antigone, lines 630-31; F. Storr translation

Antigone has counted herself among the dead from the start. Therefore, it doesn’t matter to her what some living king says. It doesn’t matter what some earthly State will do to her. Ismene should do what her people, the living, ask of her. Antigone, however, counts as her people the dead, and she will not forsake them.

Moving on, we have Creon and the Chorus of Theban elders who are both representatives of the State. Their words and actions reflect this:

[Creon]: Whome’er the State|
Appoints must be obeyed in everything,
But small and great, just and unjust alike.

Sophocles, Antigone, lines 748-51; F. Storr translation

[Chorus]: Religion has her chains, ‘tis true,
Let rite be paid when rites are due.
Yet is it ill to disobey
The powers who hold by might the sway.
Thou hast withstood authority,
A self-willed rebel, thou must die.

Sophocles, Antigone, lines 959-62; F. Storr translation

Having convictions, practicing religion, giving what’s due to the dead… all of that is good and all, but the State and its authority takes precedence. If your religious convictions tell you to do one thing, but the State tells you to do another, you better obey the State.

Antigone, however, sees things very differently:

Yea, for these laws were not ordained of Zeus,
And she who sits enthroned with gods below,
Justice, enacted not these human laws.
Nor did I deem that thou, a mortal man,
Could’st by a breath annul and override
The immutable unwritten laws of Heaven.
They were not born today nor yesterday;
They die not; and none knoweth whence they sprang.
I was not like, who feared no mortal’s frown,
To disobey these laws and so provoke
The wrath of Heaven. I knew that I must die,
E’en hadst thou not proclaimed it; and if death
Is thereby hastened, I shall count it gain.

Sophocles, Antigone, lines 499-516; F. Storr translation

The laws and decrees of the State were made by men. The laws I obey were ordained by the gods. The laws of the State do not nullify the laws of Heaven. Therefore, it is worse to disobey the laws of Heaven than the laws of an earthly kingdom.

After this courageous display of conviction, Creon sends Antigone away to die. Antigone then hangs herself and joins her people.

Antigone’s fearless conviction, however, was also what caused her to make bad decisions. It narrowed her mind. It gave her a bit of a martyr complex. As a result, she isolated herself more and more like someone who believes she’s alone because only she “gets it.” She completely lost sight of her original conviction.

The very second Ismene showed any doubt about Antigone’s actions, Antigone immediately pushed her away and considered her on the opposing side. Antigone didn’t give Ismene a chance to think it over. She didn’t try and argue with Ismene to change her mind. Maybe all Ismene needed was a little bit of encouragement? Maybe she needed a little more help understanding why it would be better to defy the decree? It’s possible that, with a little more prompting, Ismene could have been Antigone’s ally. She did, after all, say that she was willing to share in the blame for Antigone’s actions and join her in being executed after Antigone was caught (something Antigone immediately rejected since she already made up her mind that Ismene was on the “other side”).

This behavior reminds me of a phrase I learned recently: purity spiraling. It’s when a person becomes so zealous about their ideology they begin excluding others that are not “pure” enough in the ideology. Eventually, they’ll turn on even their closest allies. Ismene failed Antigone’s “purity test” and immediately became the “other.” There was no redemption for Ismene after that.

Another example is Antigone’s fiancé Haemon. Haemon openly opposed his father Creon. He told him flat out he was willing to die alongside Antigone if necessary, but that he was going to help her in the meantime:

Think not that in my sight the maid shall die,
Or by my side; never shalt thou again
Behold my face hereafter.

Sophocles, Antigone, lines 855-57; F. Storr translation

Haemon was willing to walk away from his father, which meant walking away from the throne of Thebes, to help Antigone. If Haemon isn’t a loyal lover, who is?

Antigone was there the whole time Haemon said all of this.¹ She watched Haemon defy his father, the king. She listened to him declare he would not allow her to be executed.

And what does Antigone do?

She kills herself before giving Haemon a chance to help her.

This is the end result of someone believing she’s the only one who “gets it,” who believes she has to stand alone and resolute and martyr herself.

It’s addicting to feel that you’re alone in your convictions. That you’re a solitary figure standing against a behemoth. Sometimes, that’s exactly what you are. Most of the time, though, there are others who think as you do. Don’t get tempted by that addicting feeling and either fail to seek them out or notice them but pretend they don’t exist. That’s not a way to advance a cause, or a moral, or an ideology. It’s a way to ensure its extinction.

Desperate Tyranny

One behavior I’ve noticed among people in power is that when their power and control begins to wane, they take more and more drastic measures to hold onto it. And most of the time, their behavior only serves to accelerate their decline.

Creon is no different. When we’re first introduced to him, it’s clear he takes his position as king seriously. He believes he is doing the right thing with the people he rules concerning his decree to bury Eteocles but leave Polynices unburied. However, we also get the first sign that his priorities are more about preserving the State rather than ruling his people well:

And I contemn the man who sets his friend
Before his country. For myself, I call
To witness Zeus, whose eyes are everywhere,
If I perceive some mischievous design
To sap the State, I will not hold my tongue;
Nor would I reckon as my private friend
A public foe, well knowing that the State
Is the good ship that holds our fortunes all:
Farewell to friendship, if she suffers wreck.

Sophocles, Antigone, lines 203-13; F. Storr translation

Creon has a lot of faith in the State, which means he has a lot of faith in his own judgment. Too much, in fact. It never seems to cross his mind that the State (himself) could do wrong, that the State (himself) could make an error that requires correction.

This flaw is immediately made apparent when he finds out that someone dared to defy his decree and tried burying Polynices. He can’t believe someone would be so audacious. It must have been some malcontent, someone who can’t stand the just rule of Creon and simply wants to create chaos, who bribed the guards to turn a blind eye to their dastardly deed. Money corrupts people after all. Creon threatens the guard who bore the message with a painful execution if the culprit isn’t found.

Creon not only incorrectly guesses the motive of the person who tried burying Polynices, but he also overreacts toward the guard who was simply giving a report. Creon, like many in power, looks down on those he rules and believes he has all the answers as to what’s going on and why. His default reaction is to blame human greed. It never occurs to him that someone might break his decree for the sake of justice. That’s because his rule is just, so anything that goes against it is naturally unjust.

When Antigone is caught, Creon at first doesn’t believe the guard that this girl, Creon’s niece, actually defied his decree. How could he believe the guard who testifies about Antigone:

Undismayed she stood, and when
We taxed her with the former crime and this,
She disowned nothing.

Sophocles, Antigone, lines 482-84; F. Storr translation

This girl? There’s no way. So, Creon interrogates her:

[Creon]: Speak, girl, with head bent low and downcast eyes,
Does thou plead guilty or deny the deed?
[Antigone]: Guilty. I did it, I deny it not.
[Creon]: … Now answer this plain question, yes or no,
Wast thou acquainted with the interdict?
[Antigone]: I knew, all knew; how should I fail to know?
[Creon]: And yet wert bold enough to break the law?

Sophocles, Antigone, lines 490-98; F. Storr translation

And then Antigone contradicts Creon’s worldview. As we learned in the previous section, she didn’t defy Creon’s decree out of greed or because she wanted to sow chaos. She did it out of familial duty. Creon’s ridiculous decree doesn’t abrogate her duty to her brother. It doesn’t abrogate the decree of the gods.

Yea, for these laws were not ordained by Zeus

Sophocles, Antigone, line 499; F. Storr translation

Creon’s “just” decree is not just at all.

Creon can’t stand for this though. Antigone is a dangerous element. He can’t have anyone like this who so openly and brazenly defies him. Defies his “just” rule. She must be dealt with. Swiftly and harshly. She must be made an example of. Antigone then hits Creon with another gut punch:

And yet how otherwise had I achieved
A name so glorious as by burying
A brother? so my townsmen all would say,
Where they not gagged by terror, Manifold
A king’s prerogatives, and not the least
That all his acts and all his words are law.

Sophocles, Antigone, lines 561-67; F. Storr translation

What’s this? The people are on Antigone’s side? That’s absurd:

[Creon]: Of all these Thebans none so deems but thou.
[Antigone]: These think as I, but bate their breath to thee.

Sophocles, Antigone, lines 568-70; F. Storr translation

Creon then changes the subject. I imagine this is because if what Antigone says is true, her execution wouldn’t be an example of what happens to those who defy the State. It would be the martyring of a folk hero. And Creon can’t come to terms with that. So, instead, he chooses not to face reality.

And then his son Haemon forces him to face reality:

[Haemon]: The commons stand in terror of thy frown,
And dare not utter aught that might offend,
But I can overhear their muttered plaints,
Know how the people mourn this maiden doomed
For noblest deeds to die the worst of deaths.

Sophocles, Antigone, lines 773-78; F. Storr translation

Haemon tells his father the unthinkable: he needs to rescind his decree and let Antigone go. Creon can’t have that and begins arguing:

[Creon]: Is not this maid an arrant law-breaker?
[Haemon]: The Theban commons with one voice say, No.
[Creon]: What, shall the mob dictate my policy?
[Haemon]: ‘Tis thou, methinks, who speakest like a boy.
[Creon]: Am I to rule for others, or myself?
[Haemon]: A State for one man is no State at all.
[Creon]: The State is his who rules it, so ‘tis held.
[Haemon]: As monarch of a desert thou wouldst shine.

Sophocles, Antigone, lines 819-27; F. Storr translation

Creon can’t see the plain truth of the matter: he made a bad law and Antigone would not be a criminal if it weren’t for this bad law. Creon can whine and complain about mob rule all wants, but if the mob is against him, his own rule is worthless. It can only be imposed by fear and brutality. And a State that rules through fear and brutality will never have the trust, goodwill, and loyalty of the people it rules. A State that does not have the trust, goodwill, and loyalty of its people will not survive.

Creon’s mental state spirals out of control after this. His trusted advisor, the blind prophet Tiresias, begins telling him that he needs to rescind the decree and that the gods are angry. Rather than listen to Tiresias—who has never led him astray once, who has proved himself someone who could reliably divine the will of the gods—Creon instead calls him a false prophet. He even goes so far as to say:

Ye will not purchase this man’s burial,
Not though the winged ministers of Zeus
Should bear him in their talons to his throne

Sophocles, Antigone, lines 1151-53; F. Storr translation

Creon’s niece and future daughter-in-law, Creon’s son, Creon’s trusted advisor, the people of Thebes, and even the gods, are all saying that Creon’s decree is wrong. And yet, Creon digs in his heels and refuses to budge. If Creon is even willing to ignore an explicit sign from the gods that he needs to bury Polynices, it’s clear he has lost his mind. His desperation to hold onto power, his unwillingness to acknowledge that the State (himself) can do wrong, drives him further into isolation.

It also causes his rule to come crashing down. Creon ultimately buries Polynices, but it’s too late. Antigone kills herself. Haemon kills himself. Creon’s wife kills herself. He’s burned bridges with Tiresias. And, I imagine, all of these incidents do not help Creon’s reputation with his people.

For a stupid decree, Creon lost his family, his advisor, the support of the gods, and the goodwill of his people. Plus, he would lose his life. According to stories outside of the Theban Plays, Creon would be killed soon after this, either at the hands of a foreign power or an assassin, as a direct result of his decree. His reign and his dynasty would come to an end.

In a sense, Creon is kind of like Antigone: single-mindedly sticking to his ideology. The problem is that his ideology was causing suffering everywhere and could only be maintained through force and fear. Antigone, on the other hand, wasn’t hurting anyone. She wouldn’t be committing any crimes were it not for Creon’s ridiculous decree. All she wanted to do was bury her brother.

Two ideologies. One coercive and statist. One loyal to family. The coercive ideology lost.

Thank you, Sophocles, for that bit of hope.

That's all for Antigone.

May your days be filled with grace.

-Andronikos

Buy my other books Revenge and its Discontents: My Journey Through the Iliad and 1001 Nights of the Soul: My Journey Through the Odyssey. Kindle and paperback versions available.

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Thumbnail: Antigone Sentenced to Death by Creon by Giuseppe Diotti, 1845. Public domain.

1At least, this was the impression I got reading the play. There was no indication that Antigone left until Creon decided on Antigone’s punishment, which occurred after Haemon came and went.