Short summary

The play Antigone by Sophocles begins after Eteocles and Polynices, the sons of the former king Oedipus, have killed each other in a fierce battle. Creon then ascended the throne of Thebes as the last male relative of the former king. 

While Eteocles had fought on the side of the Thebans, Polynices attacked with forces from the outside and thus betrayed his fatherland. For this reason, Creon commands that Polynices’ body may not be buried. This, however, is an order that goes against the will of the gods, which dictates that every man deserves a burial regardless of his actions.

Antigone, Eteocles and Polynices’ sister, decides not to obey this law given by a worldly king. Because of her religious conviction as well as her love for Polynices, she cann...