This book examines the far-reaching legacy of one of the great myths of classical antiquity. According to Greek legend, Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, secretly buried her brother in defiance of the orders of Creon, King of Thebes. Creon sentenced Antigone to death, but, before the order could be executed, she committed suicide. The theme of the conflict between Antigone and Creon — between the state and the individual, between young and old, between men and women — has captured the Western imagination for more than 2,000 years. Antigone and Creon are as alive in the politics and poetics of our ... More

This book examines the far-reaching legacy of one of the great myths of classical antiquity. According to Greek legend, Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, secretly buried her brother in defiance of the orders of Creon, King of Thebes. Creon sentenced Antigone to death, but, before the order could be executed, she committed suicide. The theme of the conflict between Antigone and Creon — between the state and the individual, between young and old, between men and women — has captured the Western imagination for more than 2,000 years. Antigone and Creon are as alive in the politics and poetics of our own day as they were in ancient Athens. Here, the book examines the treatment of the Antigone theme in Western art, literature and thought, leading us to look again at the unique influence Greek myths exercised on 20th-century culture.