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Sophocles
Antigone
442 BC
Translator's Note
This
translation by Ian Johnston of Malaspina
University-College, Nanaimo, BC (now Vancouver Island University), has certain
copyright restrictions. For information please use the following link: Copyright. For comments
or question please contact Ian
Johnston.
This
translation is available in the form of a published paperback book from Richer Resources Publications.
This text
is available in the form of a Publisher file for those who would like to print
it off as a small book. There is no charge for these files. For
details, please use the following link: Publisher files.
The
translator would like to acknowledge the extremely valuable help provided by
Andrew Brown’s edition of Sophocles’ Antigone (Aris & Philips, 1987), especially by his editorial
notes.
Note that
in this translation the numbers in square brackets refer to the Greek text, and
the numbers with no brackets refer to this text. The asterisks in the
text are links to explanatory notes at the end.
This text
was last revised in May 2005.
Background Note to the
Story
When Oedipus, King of
Thebes, discovered through his own investigations that he had killed his father
and married his mother, Jocasta, he put out his own
eyes, and Jocasta killed herself. Once Oedipus ceased
being king of Thebes, his two sons, Polyneices and Eteocles, agreed to alternate as king. When Eteocles refused to give up power to Polyneices,
the latter collected a foreign army of Argives and
attacked the city. In the ensuing battle, the Thebans triumphed over the
invading forces, and the two brothers killed each other, with Eteocles defending the city and Polyneices
attacking it. The action of the play begins immediately after the battle. Note
that Creon is a brother of Jocasta
and thus an uncle of Antigone, Ismene,
Eteocles, and Polyneices.
Sophocles
Antigone
Dramatis Personae
ANTIGONE:
daughter of Oedipus.
ISMENE: daughter of Oedipus, sister of Antigone
CREON: king of Thebes
EURYDICE: wife of Creon
HAEMON: son of Creon and Euridice,
engaged to Antigone.
TEIRESIAS: an old blind prophet
BOY: a young lad guiding Teiresias
GUARD: a soldier serving Creon.
MESSENGER
CHORUS: Theban Elders
ATTENDANTS
[In Thebes, directly in
front of the royal palace, which stands in the background,
its main doors facing the audience.
Enter Antigone leading Ismene
away from the palace]
ANTIGONE
Now, dear Ismene, my own blood sister,
do you have any sense of
all the troubles
Zeus keeps bringing on
the two of us,
as long as we’re alive?
All that misery
which stems from
Oedipus? There’s no suffering,
no shame, no ruin—not
one dishonour—
which I have not seen in
all the troubles
you and I go through.
What’s this they’re saying now,
something our general
has had proclaimed
throughout the city? Do
you know of
it? 10
Have you heard? Or have
you just missed the news?
Dishonours
which better fit our enemies
are now being piled up
on the ones we
love. [10]
ISMENE
I’ve had no word at all,
Antigone,
nothing good or bad
about our family,
not since we two lost
both our brothers,
killed on the same day
by a double blow.
And since the Argive army, just last night,
has gone away, I don’t
know any more
if I’ve been lucky or
face total
ruin. 20
ANTIGONE
I know that. That’s why
I brought you here,
outside the gates, so
only you can hear.
ISMENE
What is it? The way you
look makes it
seem [20]
you’re thinking of some
dark and gloomy news.
ANTIGONE
Look—what’s Creon doing with our two brothers?
He’s honouring
one with a full funeral
and treating the other
one disgracefully!
Eteocles,
they say, has had his burial
according to our
customary rites,
to win him honour with the dead below. 30
But as for Polyneices, who perished
so miserably, an order
has gone out
throughout the
city—that’s what people say.
He’s to have no funeral
or lament,
but to be left unburied
and unwept,
a sweet treasure for the
birds to look at,
for them to feed on to
their heart’s
content. [30]
That’s what people say
the noble Creon
has announced to you and
me—I mean to me—
and now he’s coming to
proclaim the
fact, 40
to state it clearly to
those who have not heard.
For Creon
this matter’s really serious.
Anyone who acts against
the order
will be stoned to death
before the city.
Now you know, and you’ll
quickly demonstrate
whether you are nobly
born, or else
a girl unworthy of her
splendid ancestors.
ISMENE
Oh my poor sister, if
that’s what’s happening,
what can I say that
would be any help
to ease the situation or
resolve
it? 50 [40]
ANTIGONE
Think whether you will work
with me in this
and act together.
ISMENE
In what kind of work?
What do you mean?
ANTIGONE
Will you help these hands
take up Polyneices’ corpse and bury it?
ISMENE
What? You’re going to
bury Polyneices,
when that’s been made a
crime for all in Thebes?
ANTIGONE
Yes. I’ll do
my duty to my brother—
and yours as well, if
you’re not prepared to.
I won’t be caught
betraying him.
ISMENE
You’re too rash.
Has Creon
not expressly banned that
act? 60
ANTIGONE
Yes. But he’s
no right to keep me from what’s mine.
ISMENE
O dear. Think, Antigone. Consider
how our father died,
hated and
disgraced, [50]
when those mistakes
which his own search revealed
forced him to turn his
hand against himself
and stab out both his
eyes. Then that woman,
his mother and his
wife—her double role—
destroyed her own life
in a twisted noose.
Then there’s our own two
brothers, both butchered
in a single day—that
ill-fated
pair 70
with their own hands
slaughtered one another
and brought about their
common doom.
Now, the two of us are
left here quite alone.
Think how we’ll die far
worse than all the rest,
if we defy the law and
move
against [60]
the king’s decree,
against his royal power.
We must remember that by
birth we’re women,
and, as such, we
shouldn’t fight with men.
Since those who rule are
much more powerful,
we must obey in this and
in
events 80
which bring us even
harsher agonies.
So I’ll ask those
underground for pardon—
since I’m being
compelled, I will obey
those in control. That’s
what I’m forced to do.
It makes no sense to try
to do too much.
ANTIGONE
I wouldn’t urge you to.
No. Not even
if you were keen to act.
Doing this with you
would bring me no joy.
So be what you
want. [70]
I’ll still bury him. It
would be fine to die
while doing that. I’ll
lie there with
him, 90
with a man I love, pure
and innocent,
for all my crime. My honours for the dead
must last much longer
than for those up here.
I’ll lie down there
forever. As for you,
well, if you wish, you
can show contempt
for those laws the gods
all hold in honour.
ISMENE
I’m not disrespecting
them. But I can’t act
against the state.
That’s not in my nature.
ANTIGONE
Let that be your excuse.
I’m going
now [80]
to make a burial mound
for my dear
brother. 100
ISMENE
Oh poor Antigone, I’m so afraid for you.
ANTIGONE
Don’t fear for me. Set
your own fate in order.
ISMENE
Make sure you don’t
reveal to anyone
what you intend. Keep it
closely hidden.
I’ll do the same.
ANTIGONE
No, no. Announce the fact—
if you don’t let
everybody know,
I’ll despise your
silence even more.
ISMENE
Your heart is hot to do
cold deeds.
ANTIGONE
But I know
I’ll please the ones I’m
duty bound to please.
ISMENE
Yes, if you can. But
you’re after
something 110 [90]
which you’re incapable
of carrying out.
ANTIGONE
Well, when my strength
is gone, then I’ll give up.
ISMENE
A vain attempt should
not be made at all.
ANTIGONE
I’ll hate you if you’re
going to talk that way.
And you’ll rightly earn
the loathing of the dead.
So leave me and my
foolishness alone—
we’ll get through this
fearful thing. I won’t suffer
anything as bad as a
disgraceful death.
ISMENE
All right then, go, if
that’s what you think right.
But remember this—even
though your
mission 120
makes no sense, your
friends do truly love you.
[Exit Antigone away from the palace. Ismene watches her go and then returns slowly
into the palace. Enter the Chorus of Theban elders]
CHORUS
O ray of
sunlight, [100]
most beautiful that ever
shone
on Thebes, city of the
seven gates,
you’ve appeared at last,
you glowing eye of
golden day,
moving above the streams
of Dirce,*
driving into headlong
flight
the white-shield warrior
from Argos,
who marched here fully
armed, 130
now forced back by your
sharper power.
CHORUS LEADER
Against our land he
marched, [110]
sent here by the warring
claims
of Polyneices,
with piercing screams,
an eagle flying above
our land,
covered wings as white
as snow,
and hordes of warriors
in arms,
helmets topped with horsehair
crests.
CHORUS
Standing above our
homes,
he ranged around our
seven
gates, 140
with threats to swallow
us
and spears thirsting to
kill.
Before his jaws had had
their
fill [120]
and gorged themselves on
Theban blood,
before Hephaistos’ pine-torch flames
had seized our towers,
our fortress crown,*
he went back,
driven in retreat.
Behind
him rings the din of war—
his enemy, the Theban
dragon-snake,
too difficult for him to
overcome. 150
CHORUS LEADER
Zeus hates an arrogant
boasting tongue.
Seeing them march here
in a mighty stream,
in all their clanging
golden
pride, [130]
he hurled his fire and
struck the man,
up there, on our
battlements, as he began
to scream aloud his
victory.
CHORUS
The man swung down,
torch still in hand,
and smashed into
unyielding earth—
the one who not so long
ago attacked,
who launched his
furious, enraged
assault, 160
to blast us, breathing
raging storms.
But things turned out
not as he’d hoped.
Great war
god Ares assisted us—
he smashed them down and
doomed them
all [140]
to a very different
fate.
CHORUS LEADER
Seven captains at seven
gates
matched against seven
equal warriors
paid Zeus their full
bronze tribute,
the god who turns the
battle tide,
all but that pair of
wretched
men, 170
born of one father and
one mother, too—
who set their conquering
spears against each other
and then both shared a
common death.
CHORUS
Now victory with her
glorious name
has come, bringing joy
to well-armed Thebes.
The battle’s done—let’s
strive now to forget [150]
with songs and dancing
all night long,
with Bacchus leading us
to make Thebes shake.
[The palace doors are
thrown open and guards appear at the doors]
CHORUS LEADER
But here comes Creon, new king of our land,
son of Menoikeos. Thanks to the
gods, 180
who’ve brought about our
new good fortune.
What plan of action does
he have in mind?
What’s made him hold
this special
meeting, [160]
with elders summoned by
a general call?
[Enter Creon
from the palace. He addresses the assembled elders]
CREON
Men, after much tossing
of our ship of state,
the gods have safely set
things right again.
Of all the citizens I’ve
summoned you,
because I know how well
you showed respect
for the eternal power of
the throne,
first with Laius and again with
Oedipus, 190
once he restored our
city.* When he died,
you stood by his
children, firm in loyalty.
Now his sons have
perished in a single day,
killing each other with
their own two hands,
a double slaughter,
stained with brother’s
blood. [170]
And
so I have the throne, all royal power,
for I’m the one most
closely linked by blood
to those who have been
killed. It’s impossible
to really know a man, to
know his soul,
his mind and will,
before one
witnesses 200
his skill in governing
and making laws.
For me, a man who rules
the entire state
and does not take the
best advice there is,
but through fear keeps
his mouth forever
shut, [180]
such a man is the very
worst of men—
and always will be. And
a man who thinks
more highly of a friend
than of his country,
well, he means nothing
to me. Let Zeus know,
the god who always
watches everything,
I would not stay silent
if I saw
disaster 210
moving here against the
citizens,
a threat to their
security. For anyone
who acts against the
state, its enemy,
I’d never make my
friend. For I know well
our country is a ship
which keeps us safe,
and only when it sails
its proper
course [190]
do we make friends.
These are the principles
I’ll use in order to
protect our state.
That’s why I’ve
announced to all citizens
my orders for the sons
of
Oedipus— 220
Eteocles,
who perished in the fight
to save our city, the
best and bravest
of our spearmen, will
have his burial,
with all those purifying
rituals
which accompany the
noblest corpses,
as they move below. As
for his brother—
that Polyneices,
who returned from exile,
eager to wipe out in
all-consuming
fire [200]
his ancestral city and
its native gods,
keen to seize upon his
family’s
blood 230
and lead men into
slavery—for him,
the proclamation in the
state declares
he’ll have no burial
mound, no funeral rites,
and no lament. He’ll be
left unburied,
his body there for birds
and dogs to eat,
a clear reminder of his
shameful fate.
That’s my decision. For
I’ll never act
to respect an evil man
with honours
in preference to a man
who’s acted well.
Anyone who’s well disposed towards our
state, 240
alive or dead, that man
I will
respect. [210]
CHORUS LEADER
Son of Menoikeos, if that’s your will
for this city’s friends
and enemies,
it seems to me you now
control all laws
concerning those who’ve
died and us as well—
the ones who are still
living.
CREON
See to it then,
and act as guardians of
what’s been proclaimed.
CHORUS
Give that task to
younger men to deal with.
CREON
There are men assigned
to oversee the corpse.
CHORUS LEADER
Then what remains that
you would have us
do? 250
CREON
Don’t yield to those who
contravene my orders.
CHORUS LEADER: No one is
such a fool that he loves
death. [220]
CREON
Yes, that will be his
full reward, indeed.
And yet men have often
been destroyed
because they hoped to
profit in some way.
[Enter a guard, coming
towards the palace]
GUARD
My lord, I can’t say
I’ve come out of breath
by running here, making
my feet move fast.
Many times I stopped to
think things over—
and then I’d turn
around, retrace my steps.
My mind was saying many
things to
me, 260
"You fool, why go
to where you know for sure
your punishment
awaits?"—"And now, poor man,
why are you hesitating
yet again?
If Creon
finds this out from someone
else, [230]
how will you escape
being hurt?" Such matters
kept my mind
preoccupied. And so I went,
slowly and reluctantly,
and thus made
a short road turn into a
lengthy one.
But then the view that I
should come to you
won out. If what I have
to say is
nothing, 270
I’ll say it
nonetheless. For I’ve come here
clinging to the hope
that I’ll not suffer
anything that’s not part
of my destiny.
CREON
What’s happening that’s
made you so upset?
GUARD
I want to tell you first
about myself.
I did not do it. And I
didn’t see
the one who did. So it
would be unjust
if I should come to
grief. [240]
CREON
You hedge so much.
Clearly you have news of
something ominous.
GUARD
Yes. Strange things that
make me pause a
lot. 280
CREON
Why not say it and then
go—just leave.
GUARD
All right, I’ll tell
you. It’s about the corpse.
Someone has buried it
and disappeared,
after spreading thirsty
dust onto the flesh
and undertaking all
appropriate rites.
CREON
What are you saying?
What man would dare this?
GUARD
I don’t know. There was
no sign of digging,
no marks of any pick axe
or a
mattock. [250]
The
ground was dry and hard and very smooth,
without a wheel track. Whoever
did
it 290
left no trace. When the
first man on day watch
revealed it to us, we
were all amazed.
The corpse was hidden,
but not in a tomb.
It was lightly covered
up with dirt,
as if someone wanted to
avert a curse.
There was no trace of a
wild animal
or dogs who’d come to
rip the corpse apart.
Then the words flew
round among us all,
with every guard
accusing someone else. [260]
We
were about to fight, to come to
blows— 300
no one was there to put
a stop to it.
Every one of us was
responsible,
but none of us was
clearly in the wrong.
In our defence we pleaded ignorance.
Then we each stated we
were quite prepared
to pick up red-hot iron,
walk through flames,
or swear by all the gods
that we’d not done it,
we’d no idea how the act
was planned,
or how it had been
carried out. At last,
when all our searching
had proved
useless, 310
one man spoke up, and
his words forced us all
to drop our faces to the
ground in
fear. [270]
We
couldn’t see things working out for us,
whether we agreed or
disagreed with him.
He said we must report
this act to you—
we must not hide it. And
his view prevailed.
I was the unlucky man
who won the prize,
the luck of the draw.
That’s why I’m now here,
not of my own free will
or by your choice.
I know that—for no one
likes a
messenger 320
who comes bearing
unwelcome news with him.
CHORUS LEADER
My lord, I’ve been
wondering for some time now—
could this act not be
something from the gods?
CREON
Stop now—before what
you’re about to
say [280]
enrages me completely
and reveals
that you’re not only old
but stupid, too.
No one can tolerate what
you’ve just said,
when you claim gods
might care about this corpse.
Would they pay
extraordinary honours
and bury as a man who’d
served them well 330
someone who came
to burn their offerings,
their pillared temples,
to torch their lands
and scatter all its
laws? Or do you see
gods paying respect to
evil men? No, no.
For quite a while some
people in the town
have secretly been
muttering against
me. [290]
They
don’t agree with what I have decreed.
They shake their heads
and have not kept their necks
under my yoke, as they
are duty bound to do
if they were men who are
content with
me. 340
I well know that these
guards were led astray—
such men urged them to
carry out this act
for money. To foster
evil actions,
to make them commonplace
among all men,
nothing is as powerful
as money.
It destroys cities,
driving men from home.
Money trains and twists
the minds in worthy men,
so they then undertake
disgraceful acts.
Money teaches men to
live as
scoundrels, [300]
familiar with every
profane
enterprise. 350
But those who carry out
such acts for cash
sooner or later see how
for their crimes
they pay the penalty.
For if great Zeus
still has my respect,
then understand this—
I swear to you on
oath—unless you find
the one whose hands
really buried him,
unless you bring him
here before my eyes,
then death for you will
never be enough.
No, not before you’re
hung up still alive
and you confess to this
gross, violent
act. 360
That way you’ll
understand in future
days, [310]
when there’s a profit to
be gained from theft,
you’ll learn that it’s
not good to be in love
with every kind of
monetary gain.
You’ll know more men are
ruined than are saved
when they earn profits
from dishonest schemes.
GUARD
Do I have your
permission to speak now,
or do I just turn around
and go away?
CREON
But I find your voice so
irritating—
don’t you realize that?
GUARD
Where does it hurt? 370
Is it in your ears or in
your mind?
CREON
Why try to question
where I feel my pain?
GUARD
The man who did it—he
upsets your mind.
I offend your ears.
CREON
My,
my, it’s clear to see
it's natural for you to
chatter
on. [320]
GUARD
Perhaps. But I never did
this.
CREON
This and more—
you sold your life for
silver.
GUARD
How strange and sad
when the one who sorts
this out gets it all wrong.
CREON: Well, enjoy your
sophisticated views.
But if you don’t reveal
to me who did
this, 380
you’ll just confirm how
much your treasonous gains
have made you suffer.
[Exit Creon back into the palace. The
doors close behind him]
GUARD
Well, I hope he’s found.
That would be best. But
whether caught or not—
and that’s something
sheer chance will bring about—
you won’t see me coming
here again.
This
time, against all hope and
expectation, [330]
I’m still unhurt.
I owe the gods great thanks.
[Exit the Guard away from
the palace]
CHORUS
There are many strange
and wonderful things,
but nothing more
strangely wonderful than man.
He moves across the
white-capped ocean
seas 390
blasted by winter
storms, carving his way
under the surging waves
engulfing him.
With his teams of horses
he wears down
the unwearied and
immortal earth,
the oldest of the gods,
harassing her,
as year by year his
ploughs move back and
forth. [340]
He snares the light-winged flocks of birds,
herds of wild beasts,
creatures from deep seas,
trapped in the fine mesh
of his hunting nets.
O resourceful man, whose
skill can overcome 400
ferocious beasts roaming
mountain heights. [350]
He curbs the
rough-haired horses with his bit
and tames the
inexhaustible mountain bulls,
setting their savage
necks beneath his yoke.
He’s taught himself speech and wind-swift thought,
trained his feelings for
communal civic life,
learning to escape the
icy shafts of frost,
volleys of pelting rain
in winter storms,
the harsh life lived
under the open sky.
That’s man—so
resourceful in all he
does. 410 [360]
There’s no event his
skill cannot confront—
other than death—that
alone he cannot shun,
although for many
baffling sicknesses
he has discovered his
own remedies.
The qualities of his inventive skills
bring arts beyond his
dreams and lead him on,
sometimes to evil and
sometimes to good.
If he treats his
country’s laws with due respect
and honours
justice by swearing on the gods,
he wins high honours in his
city. 420
But when he grows bold
and turns to evil, [370]
then he has no city. A
man like that—
let him not share my
home or know my mind.
[Enter the Guard, bringing Antigone with him. She is not resisting]
CHORUS LEADER
What this? I fear some
omen from the gods.
I can’t deny what I see
here so clearly—
that young girl
there—it’s Antigone.
Oh you poor girl,
daughter of Oedipus,
child of a such a father, so unfortunate,
what’s going on? Surely
they’ve not brought you here
because you’ve disobeyed
the royal
laws, 430
because they’ve caught
you acting
foolishly? [380]
GUARD
This here’s the one who
carried out the act.
We caught her as she was
burying the corpse.
Where’s Creon?
[The palace doors open.
Enter Creon with attendants]
CHORUS LEADER
He’s coming from the house—
and just in time.
CREON
Why have I come "just in time"?
What’s happening? What
is it?
GUARD
My lord,
human beings should
never take an oath
there’s something
they’ll not do—for later thoughts
contradict what they
first meant. I’d have
sworn [390]
I’d not soon venture
here again. Back
then, 440
the threats you made
brought me a lot of grief.
But there’s no joy as
great as what we pray for
against all hope. And so
I have come back,
breaking that oath I
swore. I bring this girl,
captured while she was honouring the grave.
This time we did not
draw lots. No. This time
I was the lucky man, not
someone else.
And now, my lord, take
her for questioning.
Convict her. Do as you
wish. As for me,
by rights I’m free and
clear of all this
trouble. 450 [400]
CREON
This girl here—how did
you catch her? And where?
GUARD
She was burying that
man. Now you know
all there is to know.
CREON
Do you understand
just what you’re saying?
Are your words the truth?
GUARD
We saw this girl giving
that dead man’s corpse
full burial rites—an act
you’d made illegal.
Is what I say simple and
clear enough?
CREON
How did you see her,
catch her in the act?
GUARD
It happened this way.
When we got there,
after hearing those
awful threats from
you, 460
we swept off all the
dust covering the corpse,
so the damp body was
completely
bare. [410]
Then we sat down on
rising ground up wind,
to escape the body’s
putrid rotting stench.
We traded insults just
to stay awake,
in case someone was
careless on the job.
That’s how we spent the
time right up ’til noon,
when the sun’s bright
circle in the sky
had moved half way and
it was burning hot.
Then suddenly a swirling
windstorm
came, 470
whipping clouds of dust
up from the ground,
filling the plain—some
heaven-sent trouble.
In that level place the
dirt storm damaged
all the forest growth,
and the air around [420]
was filled with dust for
miles. We shut our mouths
and just endured this
scourge sent from the gods.
A long time passed. The
storm came to an end.
That’s when we saw the
girl. She was shrieking—
a distressing painful cry, just like a bird
who’s seen an empty
nest, its fledglings
gone. 480
That’s how she was when
she saw the naked corpse.
She screamed out a
lament, and then she swore,
calling evil curses down
upon the ones
who’d done this. Then
right away her hands
threw on the thirsty
dust. She lifted up
a finely made bronze jug
and then three times [430]
poured out her tributes
to the dead.
When we saw that, we
rushed up right away
and grabbed her. She was
not afraid at all.
We charged her with her
previous offence 490
as well as this one. She
just kept standing there,
denying nothing. That
made me happy—
though it was painful,
too. For it’s a joy
escaping troubles which
affect oneself,
but painful to bring
evil on one’s friends.
But all that is of less
concern to me
than my own
safety. [440]
CREON
You there—you with your face
bent down towards the
ground, what do you say?
Do you deny you did this
or admit it?
ANTIGONE
I admit I did it. I
won’t deny
that.
500
CREON [to the Guard]
You’re
dismissed—go where you want. You’re free—
no serious charges made
against you.
[Exit the Guard. Creon turns to interrogate Antigone]
Tell me briefly—not in some lengthy speech—
were you aware there was
a proclamation
forbidding what you did?
ANTIGONE
I’d heard of it.
How could I not? It was
public knowledge.
CREON
And yet you dared to
break those very laws?
ANTIGONE
Yes. Zeus did
not announce those laws to
me. [450]
And Justice living with
the gods below
sent no such laws for
men. I did not think 510
anything which you
proclaimed strong enough
to let a mortal override
the gods
and their unwritten and
unchanging laws.
They’re not just for
today or yesterday,
but exist forever, and
no one knows
where they first
appeared. So I did not mean
to let a fear of any
human will
lead to my punishment
among the gods.
I know all too well I’m
going to
die— [460]
how could I not?—it
makes no
difference 520
what you decree. And if
I have to die
before my time, well, I
count that a gain.
When someone has to live
the way I do,
surrounded by so many
evil things,
how can she fail to find
a benefit
in death? And so for me
meeting this fate
won’t bring any pain.
But if I’d allowed
my own mother’s dead son
to just lie there,
an unburied corpse, then
I’d feel distress.
What’s going on here
does not hurt me at
all. 530
If you think what I’m
doing now is stupid,
perhaps I’m being
charged with
foolishness [470]
by someone who’s a fool.
CHORUS LEADER
It’s clear enough
the spirit in this girl
is passionate—
her father was the same.
She has no sense
of compromise in times
of trouble.
CREON [to the Chorus Leader]
But
you should know the most obdurate wills
are those most prone to
break. The strongest iron
tempered in the fire to
make it really hard—
that’s the kind you see
most often
shatter. 540
I’m well aware the most
tempestuous horses
are tamed by one small
bit. Pride has no place
in anyone who is his neighbour’s slave.
This girl here was
already very
insolent [480]
in contravening laws we
had proclaimed.
Here she again displays
her proud contempt—
having done the act, she
now boasts of it.
She laughs at what she’s
done. Well, in this case,
if she gets her way and
goes unpunished,
then she’s the man here,
not me. No. She may
be 550
my sister’s child,
closer to me by blood
than anyone belonging to
my house
who worships Zeus Herkeios in my home,*
but she’ll not escape my
harshest punishment—
her sister, too, whom I
accuse as well.
She had an equal part in
all their
plans [490]
to do this burial. Go
summon her here.
I saw her just now
inside the palace,
her mind out of control,
some kind of fit.
[Exit attendants into the
palace to fetch Ismene]
When people hatch their mischief in the
dark 560
their minds often
convict them in advance,
betraying their
treachery. How I despise
a person caught
committing evil acts
who then desires to
glorify the crime.
ANTIGONE
Take me and kill me—what
more do you want?
CREON
Me? Nothing. With that I have everything.
ANTIGONE
Then why delay? There’s
nothing in your words
that I enjoy—may that
always be the
case! [500]
And
what I say displeases you as much.
But where could I gain
greater glory 570
than setting my own
brother in his grave?
All those here would
confirm this pleases them
if their lips weren’t
sealed by fear—being king,
which offers all sorts
of various benefits,
means you can talk and
act just as you wish.
CREON
In all of Thebes, you’re
the only one
who looks at things that
way.
ANTIGONE
They share my views,
but they keep their
mouths shut just for you.
CREON
These views of yours—so
different from the rest—
don’t they bring you any
sense of
shame? 580 [510]
ANTIGONE
No—there’s nothing
shameful in honouring
my mother’s children.
CREON
You had a brother
killed fighting for the
other side.
ANTIGONE
Yes—from the same mother
and father, too.
CREON
Why then give tributes
which insult his name?
ANTIGONE
But his dead corpse
won’t back up what you say.
CREON
Yes, he will, if you
give equal honours
to a wicked man.
ANTIGONE
But the one who died
was not some slave—it
was his own brother.
CREON
Who was destroying this
country—the other
one 590
went to his death
defending it.
ANTIGONE
That may be,
but Hades still desires
equal rites for both.*
CREON
A good man does not wish
what we give
him [520]
to be the same an evil
man receives.
ANTIGONE
Who knows? In the world
below perhaps
such actions are no
crime.
CREON
An enemy
can never be a friend,
not even in death.
ANTIGONE
But my nature is to
love. I cannot hate.
CREON
Then go down to the
dead. If you must love,
love them. No woman’s
going to govern
me— 600
no, no—not while I’m
still alive.
[Enter two attendants from
the house bringing Ismene to Creon]
CHORUS LEADER
Ismene’s
coming. There—right by the door.
She’s crying. How she
must love her sister!
From her forehead a
cloud casts its shadow
down across her darkly
flushing face—
and drops its rain onto
her lovely
cheeks. [530]
CREON
You there—you snake
lurking in my house,
sucking out my life’s
blood so secretly.
I’d no idea I was
nurturing two pests,
who aimed to rise
against my throne. Come
here. 610
Tell me this—do you
admit you played your part
in this burial, or will
you swear an oath
you had no knowledge of
it?
ISMENE
I did it—
I admit it, and she’ll
back me up.
So I bear the guilt as
well.
ANTIGONE
No, no—
justice will not allow
you to say that.
You didn’t want to. I
didn’t work with you.
ISMENE
But now you’re in trouble,
I’m not
ashamed [540]
of suffering, too, as
your companion.
ANTIGONE
Hades and the dead can
say who did
it— 620
I don’t love a friend
whose love is only words.
ISMENE
You’re my sister. Don’t dishonour me.
Let me respect the dead
and die with you.
ANTIGONE
Don’t try
to share my death or make a claim
to actions which you did
not do. I’ll die—
and that will be enough.
ISMENE
But if you’re gone,
what is there in life
for me to love?
ANTIGONE
Ask Creon.
He’s the one you care about.
ISMENE
Why hurt me like this?
It doesn’t help
you. [550]
ANTIGONE
If I am mocking you, it
pains me,
too. 630
ISMENE
Even now is there some
way I can help?
ANTIGONE
Save yourself.
I won’t envy your escape.
ISMENE
I feel so wretched
leaving you to die.
ANTIGONE
But you chose life—it
was my choice to die.
ISMENE
But not before I’d said
those words just now.
ANTIGONE
Some people may approve
of how you think—
others will believe my
judgment’s good.
ISMENE
But the mistake’s the
same for both of us.
ANTIGONE
Be brave. You’re alive.
But my spirit died
some time ago so I might
help the
dead 640 [560]
CREON
I’d say one of these
girls has just revealed
how mad she is—the
other’s been that way
since she was born.
ISMENE
My lord, whatever good sense
people have by birth no
longer stays with them
once their lives go
wrong—it abandons them.
CREON
In your case, that’s
true, once you made your choice
to act in evil ways with
wicked people.
ISMENE
How could I live alone,
without her here?
CREON
Don’t speak of her being
here. Her life is over.
ISMENE
You’re going to kill
your own son’s
bride? 650
CREON
Why not? There are other
fields for him to plough.
ISMENE
No one will make him a
more loving wife
than she will.
CREON
I have no desire my son
should have an evil
wife.
ANTIGONE
Dearest Haemon,
how your father wrongs
you.
CREON
I’ve had enough of this—
you and your marriage.
ISMENE
You really want that?
You’re going to take her
from him?
CREON
No, not me.
Hades is the one who’ll
stop the marriage.
CHORUS LEADER
So she must die—that
seems decided on.
CREON
Yes—for you and me the
matter’s
closed. 660
[Creon
turns to address his attendants]
No more delay. You slaves, take them inside.
From this point on they
must act like women
and have no liberty to
wander off.
Even bold men run when
they see
Hades [580]
coming close to them to
snatch their lives.
[The attendants take Antigone and Ismene into the
palace, leaving Creon and the Chorus on stage]
CHORUS
Those who live without
tasting evil
have happy lives—for
when the gods
shake a house to its
foundations,
then inevitable
disasters strike,
falling upon whole
families, 670
just as a surging ocean
swell
running before cruel
Thracian winds
across the dark trench
of the sea
churns up the deep black
sand [590]
and crashes headlong on
the cliffs,
which scream in pain
against the wind.
I see this house’s age-old sorrows,
the house of Labdakos’ children,*
sorrows falling on the
sorrows of the dead,
one generation bringing
no
relief 680
to generations after
it—some god
strikes at them—on and
on without an end.
For now the light which
has been shining
over the last roots of
Oedipus’
house [600]
is being cut down with a
bloody knife
belonging to the gods
below—
for foolish talk and
frenzy in the soul.
Oh Zeus, what human trespasses
can check your power?
Even Sleep,
who casts his nets on
everything, 690
cannot master that—nor
can the months,
the tireless months the
gods control.
A sovereign who cannot
grow old,
you hold Olympus as your
own,*
in all its glittering
magnificence. [610]
From now on into all
future time,
as in the past, your law
holds firm.
It never enters lives of
human beings
in its full force
without disaster.
Hope ranging far and wide brings
comfort 700
to many men—but then
hope can deceive,
delusions born of
volatile desire.
It comes upon the man
who’s ignorant
until his foot is seared
in burning fire.
Someone’s wisdom has
revealed to
us [620]
this famous
saying—sometimes the gods
lure a man’s mind
forward to disaster,
and he thinks evil’s
something good.
But then he lives only
the briefest time
free of catastrophe.
[The palace doors open]
CHORUS LEADER
Here comes
Haemon, 710
your only living son. Is
he grieving
the fate of Antigone, his bride,
bitter that his marriage
hopes are
gone? [630]
CREON
We’ll soon find out—more
accurately
than any prophet here
could indicate.
[Enter Haemon
from the palace]
My son, have you heard the sentence that’s been passed
upon your bride? And
have you now come here
angry at your father? Or
are you loyal to me,
on my side no matter
what I do?
HAEMON
Father, I’m yours. For
me your
judgments 720
and the ways you act on
them are good—
I shall follow them. I’ll
not consider
any marriage a greater
benefit
than your fine
leadership.
CREON
Indeed, my son,
that’s how your heart
should always be resolved,
to stand behind your
father’s
judgment [640]
on every issue. That’s
what men pray for—
obedient children
growing up at home
who will pay back their
father’s enemies,
evil to them for evil
done to
him, 730
while honouring his friends as much as he does.
A man who fathers
useless children—
what can one say of him
except he’s bred
troubles for himself,
and much to laugh at
for those who fight
against him? So, my son,
don’t ever throw good
sense aside for pleasure,
for some woman’s sake.
You understand
how such embraces can
turn freezing cold [650]
when an evil woman
shares your life at home.
What greater wound is
there than a false
friend? 740
So spit this girl
out—she’s your enemy.
Let her marry someone
else in Hades.
Since I caught her
clearly disobeying,
the only culprit in the
entire city,
I won’t perjure myself
before the state.
No—I’ll kill her. And so
let her appeal
to Zeus, the god of
blood relationships.
If I foster any lack of
full respect
in my own family, I
surely do the same
with those who are not
linked to me by
blood. 750 [660]
The
man who acts well with his household
will be found a just man
in the city.*
I’d trust such a man to
govern wisely
or to be content with
someone ruling him.
And in
the thick of battle at his
post [670]
he’ll stand firm beside
his fellow soldier,
a loyal, brave man.
But anyone who’s proud
and violates our laws or
thinks he’ll tell
our leaders what to do,
a man like that
wins no praise from me.
No. We must
obey 760
whatever man the city
puts in charge,
no matter what the
issue—great or small,
just or unjust. For there’s no greater evil
than a lack of
leadership. That destroys
whole cities, turns
households into ruins,
and in war makes
soldiers break and run away.
When men succeed, what
keeps their lives secure
in almost every case is
their obedience.
That’s why they must
support those in control,
and never let some woman
beat us
down. 770
If we must fall from
power, let that come
at some man’s hand—at
least, we won’t be called
inferior to any
woman. [680]
CHORUS LEADER
Unless we’re being
deceived by our old age,
what you’ve just said
seems reasonable to us.
HAEMON
Father, the gods instill
good sense in men—
the greatest of all the
things which we possess.
I
could not find your words somehow not right—
I hope that’s something
I never learn to do.
But other words might be
good, as
well. 780
Because of who you are,
you can't perceive
all the things men say
or do—or their complaints.
Your gaze makes citizens
afraid—they
can’t [690]
say anything you would
not like to hear.
But in the darkness I
can hear them talk—
the city is upset about
the girl.
They say of all women
here she’s least deserves
the worst of deaths for
her most glorious act.
When in the slaughter
her own brother died,
she did not just leave
him there
unburied, 790
to be ripped apart by
carrion dogs or birds.
Surely she deserves some
golden honour?
That’s the dark secret rumour people
speak. [700]
For
me, father, nothing is more valuable
than your well being.
For any children,
what could be a greater honour to them
than their father’s
thriving reputation?
A father feels the same
about his sons.
So don’t let your mind
dwell on just one thought,
that what you say is right
and nothing
else. 800
A man who thinks that
only he is wise,
that he can speak and
think like no one else,
when such men are
exposed, then all can see
their emptiness inside. For any
man, [710]
even if he’s wise,
there’s nothing shameful
in learning many things,
staying flexible.
You notice how in winter
floods the trees
which bend before the
storm preserve their twigs.
The ones who stand
against it are destroyed,
root and branch. In the
same way, those
sailors 810
who keep their sails
stretched tight, never easing off,
make their ship
capsize—and from that point on
sail with their rowing
benches all submerged.
So end your anger.
Permit yourself to change.
For if I, as a younger
man, may state
my views, I’d say it
would be for the best [720]
if men by nature
understood all things—
if not, and that is
usually the case,
when men speak well, it
good to learn from them.
CHORUS LEADER
My lord, if what he’s
said is
relevant, 820
it seems appropriate to
learn from him,
and you too, Haemon, listen to the king.
The things which you
both said were excellent.
CREON
And men my age—are we
then going to school
to learn what’s wise
from men as young as him?
HAEMON
There’s nothing wrong in
that. And if I’m young,
don’t think about my
age—look at what I do.
CREON
And what you do—does
that include
this, [730]
honouring
those who act against our laws?
HAEMON
I would not encourage
anyone 830
to show respect to evil
men.
CREON
And her—
is she not suffering
from the same disease?
HAEMON
The people here in
Thebes all say the same—
they deny she is.
CREON
So the city now
will instruct me how I
am to govern?
HAEMON
Now you’re talking like
someone far too young.
Don’t you see that?
CREON
Am I to rule this land
at someone else’s whim
or by myself?
HAEMON
A city which belongs to
just one man
is no true city.
CREON
According to our
laws, 840
does not the ruler own
the city?
HAEMON
By yourself you’d make
an excellent king
but in a desert.
CREON
It seems as if this
boy [740]
is fighting on the
woman’s side.
HAEMON
That’s true—
if you’re the woman. I’m
concerned for you.
CREON
You’re
the worst there is—you set your judgment up
against your father.
HAEMON
No, not when I see
you making a mistake and
being unjust.
CREON
Is it a mistake to honour my own rule?
HAEMON
You’re not honouring that by trampling
on 850
the gods’ prerogatives.
CREON
You foul creature—
you’re worse than any
woman.
HAEMON
You’ll not catch me
giving way to some
disgrace.
CREON
But your words
all speak on her behalf.
HAEMON
And yours and mine—
and for the gods below.
CREON
You woman’s slave—
don’t try to win
me over.
HAEMON
What do you want—
to speak and never hear
someone reply?*
CREON
You’ll never marry her
while she’s
alive. [750]
HAEMON
Then she’ll die—and in
her death kill someone else.
CREON
Are you so insolent you
threaten
me? 860
HAEMON
Where’s the threat in
challenging a bad decree?
CREON
You’ll regret parading
what you think like this—
you—a person with an
empty brain!
HAEMON
If you were not my
father, I might say
you were not thinking
straight.
CREON
Would you, indeed?
Well, then, by Olympus,
I’ll have you know
you’ll be sorry for
demeaning me
with all these insults.
[Creon
turns to his attendants]
Go bring her out— [760]
that hateful creature,
so she can die right here,
with him present, before
her bridegroom’s
eyes. 870
HAEMON
No. Don’t
ever hope for that. She’ll not die
with me just standing
there. And as for you—
your eyes will never see
my face again.
So let your rage charge
on among your friends
who want to stand by you
in this.
[Exit Haemon,
running back into the palace]
CHORUS LEADER
My lord, Haemon left in such a hurry.
He’s angry—in a young
man at his age
the mind turns bitter
when he’s feeling hurt.
CREON
Let him dream up or
carry out great deeds
beyond the power of man,
he’ll not save these
girls— 880
their fate is sealed.
CHORUS LEADER
Are you going to kill them
both? [770]
CREON
No—not the one whose
hands are clean. You’re right.
CHORUS LEADER
How do you plan to kill Antigone?
CREON
I’ll take her on a path
no people use,
and hide her in a cavern
in the rocks,
while still alive. I’ll
set out provisions,
as much as piety
requires, to make sure
the city is not totally
corrupted.*
Then she can speak her
prayers to Hades,
the only god she
worships, for success 890
avoiding death—or else,
at least, she’ll learn,
although too late, how
it’s a waste of time
to work to honour those whom Hades
holds. [780]
CHORUS
O Eros, the conqueror in
every fight,*
Eros, who squanders all
men’s wealth,
who sleeps at night on
girls’ soft cheeks,
and roams across the
ocean seas
and through the
shepherd’s hut—
no immortal god escapes
from you,
nor any man, who lives
but for a
day. 900
And the one whom you
possess goes mad. [790]
Even in good men you
twist their minds,
perverting them to their
own ruin.
You provoke these men to
family strife.
The
bride’s desire seen glittering in her eyes—
that conquers
everything, its power
enthroned beside eternal
laws, for there
the goddess Aphrodite
works her
will, [800]
whose ways are
irresistible.*
[Antigone
enters from the palace with attendants who are taking her away to her
execution]
CHORAL LEADER
When I look at her I
forget my
place. 910
I lose restraint and
can’t hold back my tears—
Antigone
going to her bridal room
where all are laid to
rest in death.
ANTIGONE
Look at me, my native
citizens,
as I go on my final
journey,
as I gaze upon the
sunlight one last time,
which I’ll never see
again—for Hades,
who brings all people to
their final sleep,
leads me on, while I’m
still
living, [810]
down to the shores of
Acheron.* 920
I’ve not yet had my
bridal chant,
nor has any wedding song
been sung—
for my marriage is to
Acheron.
CHORUS
Surely you carry fame
with you and praise,
as you move to the deep
home of the dead.
You were not stricken by
lethal disease
or paid your wages with
a
sword. [820]
No. You were
in charge of your own fate.
So of all living human
beings, you alone
make your way down to
Hades still
alive. 930
ANTIGONE
I’ve heard about a guest
of ours,
daughter of Tantalus,
from Phrygia—
she went to an
excruciating death
in Sipylus,
right on the mountain peak.
The stone there, just
like clinging ivy,
wore her down, and now,
so people say,
the snow and rain never
leave her
there, [830]
as she laments. Below
her weeping eyes
her neck is wet with
tears. God brings me
to a final rest which
most resembles
hers. 940
CHORUS
But Niobe
was a goddess, born divine—
and we are human beings,
a race which dies.
But still, it’s a fine
thing for a woman,
once she’s dead, to have it said she shared,
in life and death, the
fate of demi-gods.*
ANTIGONE
Oh, you are mocking me!
Why me—
by our fathers’ gods—why
do you all,
my own city and the
richest men of Thebes,
insult me now right to
my face,
without waiting for my
death? 950
Well at least I have Dirce’s springs,
the holy grounds of
Thebes,
a city full of splendid
chariots,
to witness how no
friends lament for me
as I move on—you see the
laws
which lead me to my
rock-bound prison,
a tomb made just for me.
Alas!
In my wretchedness I
have no
home, [850]
not with human beings or
corpses,
not with the living or
the
dead. 960
CHORUS
You pushed your daring
to the limit, my child,
and tripped against
Justice’s high altar—
perhaps your agonies are
paying back
some compensation for
your father.*
ANTIGONE
Now there you touch on
my most painful thought—
my father’s
destiny—always on my mind,
along with that whole
fate which sticks to
us, [860]
the splendid house of Labdakos—the curse
arising from a mother’s
marriage bed,
when she had sex with
her own son, my
father. 970
From what kind of
parents was I born,
their wretched daughter?
I go to them,
unmarried and accursed,
an outcast.
Alas, too, for my
brother Polyneices,
who made a fatal
marriage and then
died— [870]
and with that death
killed me while still alive.*
CHORUS
To be piously devout
shows reverence,
but powerful men, who in
their persons
incorporate authority,
cannot bear
anyone to break their
rules. Hence, you
die 980
because of your own selfish will.
ANTIGONE
Without lament, without
a friend,
and with no marriage
song, I’m being led
in this miserable state,
along my final road.
So
wretched that I no longer have the
right [880]
to look upon the sun,
that sacred eye.
But my fate prompts no
tears, and no friend mourns.
CREON
Don’t you know that no
one faced with death
would ever stop the
singing and the groans,
if that would help? Take
her and shut her
up, 990
as I have ordered, in
her tomb’s embrace.
And get it done as
quickly as you can.
Then leave her there
alone, all by herself—
she can sort out whether
she wants suicide
or remains alive, buried
in a place like that.
As far as she’s
concerned, we bear no guilt.
But she’s lost her place
living here with us.* [890]
ANTIGONE
Oh my tomb and bridal
chamber—
my eternal hollow
dwelling place,
where I go to join my
people. Most of
them 1000
have perished—Persephone
has welcomed them
among the dead.* I’m the last one, dying here
the most evil death by
far, as I move down
before the time allotted
for my life is done.
But I go nourishing the
vital hope
my father will be
pleased to see me come,
and you, too, my mother,
will welcome me,
as well as you, my own
dear brother.
When you died, with my
own hands I washed
you. [900]
I arranged your corpse
and at the grave
mound 1010
poured out libations.
But now, Polyneices,
this is my reward for
covering your corpse.*
However, for wise people
I was right
to honour
you. I’d never have done it
for children of my own,
not as their mother,
nor for a dead husband
lying in decay—
no, not in defiance of
the citizens.
What law do I appeal to,
claiming this?
If my husband died,
there’d be another one,
and if I were to lose a
child of
mine 1020
I’d have another with
some other
man. [910]
But since my father and
my mother, too,
are hidden away in
Hades’ house,
I’ll never have another
living brother.
That was the law I used
to honour you.
But Creon
thought that I was in the wrong
and acting recklessly
for you, my brother.
Now he seizes me by
force and leads me here—
no wedding and no bridal
song, no share
in married life or
raising
children. 1030
Instead I go in sorrow
to my grave,
without my friends, to
die while still alive. [920]
What
holy justice have I violated?
In my wretchedness, why
should I still look
up to the gods? Which
one can I invoke
to bring me help, when
for my reverence
they charge me with
impiety? Well, then,
if this is something
fine among the gods,
I’ll come to recognize
that I’ve done wrong.
But if these people here
are being
unjust 1040
may they endure no
greater punishment
than the injustices
they’re doing to me.
CHORUS LEADER
The same storm blasts
continue to attack
the mind in this young
girl. [930]
CREON
Then those escorting her
will be sorry they’re so
slow.
ANTIGONE
Alas, then,
those words mean death is very near at hand.
CREON
I won’t encourage you or
cheer you up,
by saying the sentence
won’t be carried out.
ANTIGONE
O city of my fathers
in this land of
Thebes— 1050
and my ancestral gods,
I am being led away.
No more delaying for me.
Look on me, you lords of
Thebes, [940]
the last survivor of
your royal house,
see what I have to
undergo,
the kind of men who do
this to me,
for paying reverence to
true piety.
[Antigone
is led away under escort]
CHORUS
In her brass-bound room
fair Danae as well
endured her separation
from the heaven’s
light,
1060
a prisoner hidden in a
chamber like a tomb,
although she, too, came
from a noble line.*
And she, my child, had
in her care
the liquid streaming
golden seed of
Zeus. [950]
But the power of fate is
full of mystery.
There’s no evading it,
no, not with wealth,
or war, or walls, or
black sea-beaten ships.
And the hot-tempered child of Dryas,
king of the Edonians, was put in prison,
closed up in the rocks
by
Dionysus,
1070
for his angry mocking of
the god.*
There the dreadful
flower of his
rage [960]
slowly withered, and he
came to know
the god who in his
frenzy he had mocked
with his own tongue. For he had tried
to hold in check women
in that frenzy
inspired by the god, the
Bacchanalian fire.
More than that—he’d made
the Muses angry,
challenging the gods who
love the flute.*
Beside the black rocks where the twin seas
meet, 1080
by Thracian Salmydessos at the Bosphorus,*
close to the place where
Ares dwells, [970]
the war god witnessed
the unholy wounds
which blinded the two
sons of Phineus,
inflicted by his savage
wife—the sightless holes
cried out for someone to
avenge those blows
made with her sharpened
comb in blood-stained hands.*
In their misery they wept, lamenting
their wretched
suffering, sons of a mother
whose marriage had gone
wrong. And
yet, 1090 [980]
she was an offspring of
an ancient family,
the race of Erechtheus, raised far away,
in caves surrounded by
her father’s winds,
Boreas’ child, a girl
who raced with horses
across steep hills—child
of the gods.
But she, too, my child,
suffered much
from the immortal Fates.*
[Enter Teiresias, led by a young boy]
TEIRESIAS
Lords of Thebes, we two
have walked a common path,
one person’s vision
serving both of us.
The blind require a
guide to find their
way. 1100 [990]
CREON
What news do you have,
old Teiresias?
TEIRESIAS
I’ll tell you—and you
obey the prophet.
CREON
I’ve not rejected your
advice before.
TEIRESIAS
That’s the reason why
you’ve steered the city
on its proper course.
CREON
From my experience
I can confirm the help
you give.
TEIRESIAS
Then know this—
your luck is once more
on fate’s razor edge.
CREON
What? What you’ve just
said makes me nervous.
TEIRESIAS
You’ll know—once you
hear the tokens of my art.
As I was sitting in my
ancient place 1110
receiving omens from the
flights of birds
who all come there where
I can hear
them, [1000]
I note among those birds
an unknown cry—
evil, unintelligible,
angry screaming.
I knew that they were
tearing at each other
with murderous claws.
The noisy wings
revealed that all too
well. I was afraid.
So right away up on the
blazing altar
I set up burnt
offerings. But Hephaestus
failed to shine out from
the
sacrifice— 1120
dark slime poured out
onto the embers,
oozing from the thighs,
which smoked and spat,
bile was sprayed high up
into the
air, [1010]
and the melting thighs
lost all the fat
which they’d been
wrapped in. The rites had failed—
there was no prophecy
revealed in them.
I learned that from this boy, who is my guide,
as I guide other men.* Our state is sick—
your policies have done
this. In the city
our altars and our
hearths have been
defiled, 1130
all of them, with
rotting flesh brought there
by birds and dogs from
Oedipus’ son,
who lies there miserably
dead. The gods
no longer will accept
our sacrifice,
our prayers, our thigh
bones burned in
fire. [1020]
No bird will shriek out
a clear sign to us,
for they have gorged
themselves on fat and blood
from a man who’s dead.
Consider this, my son.
All men make
mistakes—that’s not uncommon.
But when they do,
they’re no longer
foolish 1140
or subject to bad luck
if they try to fix
the evil into which
they’ve fallen,
once they give up their
intransigence.
Men who put their
stubbornness on show
invite accusations of
stupidity.
Make concessions to the
dead—don’t ever stab
a man who’s just been
killed. What’s the glory
in killing a dead person
one more
time? [1030]
I’ve been concerned for
you. It’s good advice.
Learning can be pleasant
when a man speaks
well, 1150
especially when he seeks
your benefit.
CREON
Old man, you’re all like
archers shooting at me—
For
you all I’ve now become your target—
even prophets have been
aiming at me.
I’ve long been bought
and sold as merchandise
among that tribe. Well,
go make your profits.
If it’s what you want,
then trade with Sardis
for their golden-silver
alloy—or for gold
from India, but you’ll
never hide that corpse
in any grave. Even if
Zeus’
eagles 1160 [1040]
should choose to seize
his festering body
and take it up, right to
the throne of Zeus,
not even then would I,
in trembling fear
of some defilement,
permit that corpse
a burial. For I know
well that no man
has the power to pollute
the gods.
But, old Teiresias, among human beings
the wisest suffer a
disgraceful fall
when, to promote
themselves, they use fine words
to spread around abusive
insults. 1170
TEIRESIAS
Alas, does any man know
or think about . . .
CREON [interrupting]
Think
what? What sort of pithy common thought
are you about to utter?
TEIRESIAS [ignoring the interruption]
. . . how good advice
is valuable—worth more
than all possessions. [1050]
CREON
I think that’s true, as
much as foolishness
is what harms us most.
TEIRESIAS
Yet that’s the sickness
now infecting you.
CREON
I have no desire
to denigrate a prophet
when I speak.
TEIRESIAS
But that’s what you are
doing, when you claim
my oracles are false.
CREON
The tribe of prophets— 1180
all of them—are fond of
money
TEIRESIAS
And kings?
Their tribe loves to
benefit dishonestly.
CREON
You know you’re speaking
of the man who rules you.
TEIRESIAS
I know—thanks to me you
saved the city
and now are in control.*
CREON
You’re a wise prophet,
but you love doing
wrong.
TEIRESIAS
You’ll force me
to speak of secrets
locked inside my heart. [1060]
CREON
Do it—just don’t speak
to benefit yourself.
TEIRESIAS
I don’t think that I’ll
be doing that—
not as far as you’re
concerned.
CREON
You can be sure 1190
you won’t change my mind
to make yourself more rich.
TEIRESIAS
Then understand this
well—you will not see
the sun race through its
cycle many times
before you lose a child
of your own loins,
a corpse in payment for
these corpses.
You’ve thrown down to
those below someone
from up above—in your
arrogance
you’ve moved a living
soul into a grave,
leaving here a body
owned by gods
below— [1070]
unburied, dispossessed,
unsanctified. 1200
That’s no concern of
yours or gods above.
In this you violate the ones
below.
And so
destroying avengers wait for you,
Furies of Hades and the
gods, who’ll see
you caught up in this
very wickedness.
Now see if I speak as
someone who’s been bribed.
It won’t be long before in
your own house
the men and women all
cry out in sorrow,
and cities rise in hate
against you—all
those [1080]
whose mangled soldiers
have had burial
rites 1210
from dogs, wild animals,
or flying birds
who carry the unholy
stench back home,
to every city hearth.* Like an archer,
I shoot these arrows now
into your heart
because you have
provoked me. I’m angry—
so my aim is good.
You’ll not escape their pain.
Boy, lead us home so he
can vent his rage
on younger men and keep
a quieter tongue
and a more temperate
mind than he has
now. [1090]
[Exit Teiresias,
led by the young boy]
CHORUS LEADER
My lord, my lord, such
dreadful
prophecies— 1220
and now he’s gone. Since
my hair changed colour
from black to white, I
know here in the city
he’s never uttered a
false prophecy.
CREON
I know that, too—and it
disturbs my mind.
It’s dreadful to give
way, but to resist
and let destruction
hammer down my spirit—
that’s a fearful option,
too.
CHORUS LEADER
Son of Menoikeos,
you need to listen to
some good advice.
CREON
Tell me what to do. Speak
up. I’ll do it.
CHORUS LEADER
Go and release the girl
from her rock
tomb. 1230 [1100]
Then prepare a grave for
that unburied corpse.
CREON
This is your advice? You
think I should concede?
CHORUS
LEADER
Yes, my lord, as fast as
possible.
Swift footed injuries
sent from the gods
hack down those who act
imprudently.
CREON
Alas—it’s difficult. But
I’ll give up.
I’ll not do what I’d set
my heart upon.
It’s not right to fight
against necessity.
CHORUS LEADER
Go now and get this
done. Don’t give the work
to other men to do.
CREON
I’ll go just as I am. 1240
Come, you servants, each
and every one of you.
Come on. Bring axes with
you. Go there quickly—
up to the higher ground.
I’ve changed my
mind. [1110]
Since I’m the one who
tied her up, I’ll go
and set her free myself. Now I’m
afraid.
Until one dies the best
thing well may be
to follow our
established laws.
[Creon
and his attendants hurry off stage]
CHORUS
Oh you with many names,
you glory of that Theban
bride,
and child of thundering
Zeus, 1250
you who cherish famous
Italy,
and rule the welcoming
valley lands
of Eleusianian
Deo—
O Bacchus—you who dwell
in the bacchants’ mother
city Thebes,
beside Ismenus’ flowing streams,
on land sown with the
teeth
of that fierce dragon.*
Above the double mountain peaks,
the torches flashing
through the murky
smoke 1260
have seen you where Corcyian nymphs
move on as they worship
you
by the Kastalian
stream. [1130]
And from the ivy-covered
slopes
of Nysa’s
hills, from the green shore
so rich in vines, you
come to us,
visiting our Theban
ways,
while deathless voices
all cry out
in honour
of your name, "Evoe."*
You honour Thebes, our
city, 1270
above all others, you
and your mother
blasted by that
lightning strike.*
And now when all our
people
here [1140]
are captive to a foul
disease,
on your healing feet you
come
across the moaning
strait
or over the Parnassian hill.
You who lead the dance,
among the fire-breathing
stars,
who guard the voices in
the
night, 1280
child born of Zeus, oh
my
lord, [1150]
appear with your
attendant Thyiads,
who dance in frenzy all
night long,
for you their patron,
Iacchus.*
[Enter a Messenger]
MESSENGER
All you here who live
beside the home
of Amphion
and Cadmus—in human life
there’s no set place
which I would praise or blame.*
The lucky and unlucky
rise or fall
by chance day after
day—and how these things
are fixed for men no one
can
prophesy. 1290 [1160]
For Creon,
in my view, was once a man
we all looked up to. For he saved the state,
this land of Cadmus,
from its enemies.
He took control and
reigned as its sole king—
and prospered with the
birth of noble children.
Now all is gone. For when
a man has lost
what gives him pleasure,
I don’t include him
among the living—he’s a
breathing corpse.
Pile up a massive
fortune in your home,
if that’s what you
want—live like a
king. 1300
If there’s no pleasure
in it, I’d not give
to any man a vapour’s shadow for
it, [1170]
not compared to human
joy.
CHORUS LEADER
Have you come with news
of some fresh trouble
in our house of kings?
MESSENGER
They’re dead—
and those alive bear the
responsibility
for those who’ve died.
CHORUS LEADER
Who did the killing?
Who’s lying dead? Tell
us.
MESSENGER
Haemon has been killed.
No stranger shed his
blood.
CHORUS LEADER
At his father’s hand?
Or did he kill himself?
MESSENGER
By his own hand—
angry at his father for
the murder. 1310
CHORUS LEADER
Teiresias,
how your words have proven true!
MESSENGER
That’s how things stand.
Consider what comes next.
CHORUS LEADER
I see Creon’s wife, poor
Eurydice— [1180]
she’s coming from the
house—either by chance,
or else she’s heard
there’s news about her son.
[Enter Eurydice from the
palace with some attendants]
EURYDICE
Citizens of Thebes, I
heard you talking,
as I was walking out,
going off to pray,
to ask for help from
goddess Pallas.
While I was unfastening
the gate,
I heard someone speaking
of bad
news 1320
about my family. I was
terrified.
I collapsed, fainting
back into the arms
of my attendants. So
tell the news
again— [1190]
I’ll listen. I’m no
stranger to misfortune.
MESSENGER
Dear lady, I’ll speak of
what I saw,
omitting not one detail
of the truth.
Why should I ease your
mind with a report
which turns out later to
be incorrect?
The truth is always
best. I went to the plain,
accompanying your
husband as his
guide. 1330
Polyneices’
corpse, still unlamented,
was lying there, the
greatest distance off,
torn apart by dogs. We
prayed to Pluto
and to Hecate, goddess
of the road,
for their good will and
to restrain their
rage. [1200]
We
gave the corpse a ritual wash, and burned
what was left of it on
fresh-cut branches.
We piled up a high tomb
of his native earth.
Then we moved to the
young girl’s rocky cave,
the hollow cavern of
that bride of
death. 1340
From far away one man
heard a voice
coming from the chamber
where we’d put her
without a funeral—a
piercing cry.
He went to tell our
master Creon,
who, as he approached
the place, heard the sound,
an unintelligible scream
of sorrow.
He groaned and then
spoke out these bitter
words, [1210]
"Has misery made me
a prophet now?
And am I travelling
along a road
that takes me to the
worst of all
disasters? 1350
I’ve just heard the
voice of my own son.
You servants,
go ahead—get up there fast.
Remove the stones piled
in the entrance way,
then stand beside the
tomb and look in there
to see if that was Haemon’s voice I heard,
or if the gods have been
deceiving me."
Following what our
desperate master asked,
we looked. In the furthest corner of the
tomb [1220]
we saw Antigone hanging by the neck,
held up in a noose—fine
woven linen. 1360
Haemon
had his arms around her waist—
he was embracing her and
crying out
in sorrow for the loss
of his own bride,
now among the dead, his
father’s work,
and for his horrifying
marriage bed.
Creon
saw him, let out a fearful groan,
then went inside and
called out anxiously,
"You unhappy boy,
what have you done?
What are you thinking?
Have you lost your mind?
Come out, my child—I’m
begging you—please
come." 1370 [1230]
But the boy just stared
at him with savage eyes,
spat in his face and,
without saying a word,
drew his two-edged
sword. Creon moved away,
so the boy’s blow failed
to strike his father.
Angry at himself, the
ill-fated lad
right then and there
leaned into his own sword,
driving half the blade
between his ribs.
While still conscious he
embraced the girl
in his weak arms, and,
as he breathed his last,
he coughed up streams of
blood on her fair
cheek. 1380
Now he lies there,
corpse on corpse, his
marriage [1240]
has been fulfilled in
chambers of the dead.
The unfortunate boy has
shown all men
how, of all the evils
which afflict mankind,
the most disastrous one
is thoughtlessness.
[Eurydice turns and slowly
returns into the palace]
CHORUS LEADER
What do you make of
that? The queen’s gone back.
She left without a word,
good or bad.
MESSENGER
I’m surprised myself.
It’s about her son—
she heard that terrible
report. I hope
she’s gone because she
doesn’t think it right 1390
to mourn for him in
public. In the home,
surrounded by her
servants, she’ll arrange
a period of mourning for
the house.
She’s discreet and has
experience—
she won’t make mistakes. [1250]
CHORUS LEADER
I’m not sure of that.
to
me her staying silent was extreme—
it seems to point to
something ominous,
just like a vain excess
of grief.
MESSENGER
I’ll go in.
We’ll
find out if she’s hiding something secret,
deep within her
passionate heart. You’re right— 1400
excessive silence can be
dangerous.
[The Messenger goes up the
stairs into the palace. Enter Creon from the side,
with attendants.
Creon is holding the body of Haemon]
CHORUS LEADER
Here comes
the king in person—carrying
in his arms, if it’s
right to speak of this,
a clear reminder that
this evil comes
not from some stranger,
but his own
mistakes. [1260]
CREON
Aaiii—mistakes
made by a foolish mind,
cruel mistakes that
bring on death.
You see us here, all in
one family—
the killer and the
killed.
Oh the profanity of what
I
planned. 1410
Alas, my son, you died
so young—
a death before your
time.
Aaiii
. . . aaiii . . . you’re dead . . . gone—
not your own foolishness
but mine.
CHORUS LEADER
Alas, it seems you’ve
learned to see what’s right—
but far too
late. &nb
sp; [1270]
CREON
Aaiiii . . . I’ve learned it in my pain.
Some god clutching a
great weight struck my head,
then
hurled me onto paths in wilderness,
throwing down and
casting underfoot
what brought me
joy. 1420
So sad . . . so sad . .
.
the wretched agony of
human life.
[The Messenger reappears
from the palace]
MESSENGER
My lord, you come like
one who stores up evil,
what you hold in your
arms and what you’ll see
before too long inside
the
house. [1280]
CREON
What’s that?
Is there something still
more evil than all this?
MESSENGER
Your wife is dead—blood
mother of that corpse—
slaughtered with a
sword—her wounds are very new,
poor lady.
CREON
Aaiiii . . . . a gathering
place for death . . .
no sacrifice can bring
this to an
end. 1430
Why are you destroying
me? You there—
you bringer of this
dreadful news, this agony,
what are you saying now?
Aaiii . . .
You kill a man then kill
him once again.
What are you saying,
boy? What news?
A slaughter heaped on
slaughter— [1290]
my wife, alas . . .
she’s dead?
MESSENGER [opening the palace doors, revealing the body of Eurydice]
Look here. No
longer is she concealed inside.
CREON
Alas, how miserable I
feel—to look upon
this second horror. What
remains for me,
what’s fate still got in
store? I’ve just
held 1440
my own son in my arms,
and now I see
right here in front of
me another corpse.
Alas for this suffering
mother. [1300]
Alas, my son.
MESSENGER
Stabbed with a sharp
sword at the altar,
she let her darkening
eyesight fail,
once she had cried out
in sorrow
for the glorious fate of
Megareos,
who died some time ago,
and then again
for Haemon,
and then, with her last
breath, 1450
she called out evil
things against you,
the killer of your sons.*
CREON
Aaaii
. . . My fear now makes me tremble.
Why won’t
someone now strike out at me,
pierce my heart with a
double bladed sword?
How miserable I am . . .
aaiii . .
. [1310]
how full of misery and
pain . . .
MESSENGER
By this woman who lies
dead you stand charged
with the deaths of both
your sons.
CREON
What about her?
How did she die so
violently?
MESSENGER
She killed
herself, 1460
with her own hands she
stabbed her belly,
once she heard her son’s
unhappy fate.
CREON
Alas for me . . . the
guilt for all of this is mine—
it can never be removed
from me or passed
to any other mortal man.
I, and I alone . . .
I murdered you . . . I
speak the truth.
Servants—hurry and lead
me off, [1320]
get me away from here,
for now
what I am in life is
nothing.
CHORUS LEADER
What you advise is
good—if good can
come 1470
with all these evils.
When we face such things
the less we say the
better.
CREON
Let that day come, oh
let it come,
the fairest of all
destinies for me,
the one which brings on
my last
day. [1330]
Oh, let it come, so that
I never see
another dawn.
CHORUS LEADER
That’s something for the
times ahead.
Now we need to deal with
what confronts us here.
What’s yet to come is
the concern of
those 1480
whose task it is to deal
with it.
CREON
In that prayer
I included everything I
most desire.
CHORUS
Pray for nothing.
There’s no release for
mortal human beings,
not from events which
destiny has set.
CREON
Then take this foolish
man away from here.
I killed you, my son,
without intending
to, [1340]
and you, as well, my
wife. How useless I am now.
I don’t know where to
look or find support.
Everything I touch goes
wrong, and on my head
fate climbs up with its
overwhelming
load. 1490
[The Attendants help Creon move up the stairs into the palace, taking Haemon’s body with them]
CHORUS
The most important part
of true success
is wisdom—not to act
impiously
towards the gods, for
boasts of arrogant
men [1350]
bring on great blows of
punishment—
so in old age men can
discover wisdom.
Notes
*Dirce: one of the rivers beside Thebes. [Back to Text]
*Hephaistos: god of fire. [Back to Text]
*Laius: king of Thebes and father of Oedipus. Oedipus
killed him (not knowing who he was) and became the next king of Thebes by
saving the city from the devastation of the Sphinx. [Back to Text]
*Zeus Herkeios: Zeus of the Courtyard, a patron god of worship
within the home. [Back to Text]
*Hades:
god of the underworld, lord of the dead. [Back to Text]
*Labdakos: father of Laius
and hence grandfather of Oedipus and great-grandfather of Antigone
and Ismene. [Back to Text]
*Olympus:
a mountain in northern Greece where, according to tradition, the major gods
live. [Back to Text]
*Following
common editorial practice, the lines of the Greek have been rearranged here, so
that 663-7 come after 671, hence the apparently odd
numbering of the lines. [Back to Text]
*Following
the suggestion of Andrew Brown and others, I have moved lines 756-7 in the
Greek text so that they come right after line 750. [Back to Text]
*corrupted:
the killing of a family member could bring on divine punishment in the form of
a pollution involving the entire city (as in the case of Oedipus). Creon is, one assumes, taking refuge in the notion that he
will not be executing Antigone directly. [Back to Text]
*Eros:
the god of erotic sexual passion. [Back to Text]
*Aphrodite:
goddess of sexual desire. [Back to Text]
*Acheron:
one of the major rivers of the underworld. [Back to Text]
*The
last two speeches refer to Niobe, daughter of
Tantalus (a son of Zeus). Niobe had seven sons and
daughters and boasted that she had more children than the goddess Leto. As punishment Artemis and Apollo, Leto’s
two children, destroyed all Niobe’s children. Niobe turned to stone in grief and was reportedly visible
on Mount Sipylus (in Asia Minor). The Chorus’ claim
that Niobe was a goddess or semi-divine is very odd
here, since her story is almost always a tale of human presumption and divine
punishment for human arrogance.[Back to Text]
*father:
The Chorus here is offering the traditional suggestion that present afflictions
can arise from a family curse originating in previous generations. [Back to Text]
*still
alive: Polyneices married the daughter of Adrastus, an action which enabled him to acquire the army
to attack Thebes. [Back to Text]
*here
with us: Creon’s logic seems to suggest that
because he is not executing Antigone directly and is
leaving her a choice between committing suicide and slowly starving to death in
the cave, he has no moral responsibility for what happens. [Back to Text]
*Persephone is the wife of Hades and thus goddess of the underworld. [Back to Text]
*In these
lines Antigone seems to be talking about both her
brothers, first claiming she washed and dressed the body of Eteocles
and then covered Polyneices. However, the pronoun
references in the Greek are confusing. Lines 904 to 920 in the Greek text have
prompted a great deal of critical debate, since they seem incompatible with Antigone’s earlier motivation and do not make much sense in
context (in addition most of them appear closely derived from Herodotus 3.119).
Hence, some editors insist that the lines (or most of them) be removed. Brown
provides a useful short summary of the arguments and some editorial options
(199-200). [Back to Text]
*Danae: daughter of Acrisus,
King of Argos. Because of a prophecy that he would be killed
by a son born to Danae, Acrisus
imprisoned her. But Zeus made love to her in the form of a golden
shower, and she gave birth to Perseus, who, once
grown, killed Acrisus accidentally. [Back to Text]
*mocking of the god: a reference to Lycurgus son of Dryas, a Thracian king. He
attacked the god Dionysus and was punished with blinding or with being torn
apart. [Back to Text]
*flute:
the anger of the Muses at a Thracian who boasted of his flute playing is not
normally a part of the Lycurgus story but refers to another Thracian, Thamyras. [Back to Text]
*dark
rocks . . . Bosphorus: the dark rocks were a
famous hazard to shipping. They moved together to smash any ship moving between
them. The Bosphorus is the strait between the Black
Sea and the Propontis (near the Hellespont). [Back to Text]
*blood-stained
hands: this verse and the next refer to the Thracian king Phineas, whose second wife blinded her two step sons (from Phineas’ first wife Cleopatra) by stabbing out their eyes. [Back to Text]
*immortal
Fates: Cleopatra was the grand-daughter of Erechtheus,
king of Athens. Boreas, father of Erechtheus, was god
of the North Wind. [Back to Text]
*other
men: Teiresias’ offering failed to catch fire.
His interpretation is that it has been rejected by the gods, a very unfavourable omen. [Back to Text]
*in
control: This is the second reference to the fact that at some point
earlier Teiresias has given important political help
to Creon. It is not at all clear what this refers to. [Back to Text]
*Teiresias here is apparently accusing Creon
of refusing burial to the dead allied soldiers Polyneices
brought with him from other cities. There is no mention of this anywhere else
in the play, although the detail is present in other versions of the story. [Back to Text]
*fierce
dragon: In these lines the Chorus celebrates Dionysus, the god born in
Thebes to Semele, daughter of King Cadmus. The
bacchants are those who worship Dionysus. Eleusis, a region on the coast near
Athens, was famous for the its Eleusinian Mysteries, a
secret ritual of worship. Deo is a reference to the
goddess Demeter, who was worshipped at Eleusis. The Theban race sprang up from
dragon’s teeth sown in a field by Cadmus, founder of the city. [Back to Text]
*Evoe: a cry of celebration made by worshippers of
Bacchus. [Back to Text]
*lightning
strike: Semele, Dionysus human mother, was
destroyed by Zeus lightning bolt, because of the jealousy of Hera, Zeus’ wife. [Back to Text]
*Iacchus: Thyiads are worshippers of Dionysus, Iacchus a divinity associated with Dionysus. [Back to Text]
*Amphion: legendary
king of Thebes, husband of Niobe. [Back to Text]
*Megareos: Haemon’s
brother, who, we are to understand on the basis of this reference, died nobly some
time before the play begins. It is not clear how Creon
might have been responsible for his death. In another version of the story, Creon has a son Menoeceos, who
kills himself in order to save the city. [Back to Text]
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