Antigone is the eponimous heroine of Sophocles's tragedy. She comes
from the house of Labdacus, a family oppressed
by curse. The two
brothers of Antigone, Eteocles and Polynices, die in a fratricidal
duel. The new
king of Thebes Creon, agrees to bury the former but
forbids to bury the latter, whom he believes to be a traitor. Antigone
cannot come to terms with this ban and decides to bury Polynices,
despite her sister Ismene's warning. She is caught by the guards and
sentenced to a capital punishment by Creon. Haemon, Creon's son and
Antigone's fiance, begs his father to revoke his cruel
decision. Creon,
however, remains inexorable. Only when the seer Tiresias warns Creon
against the consequences of his decision, does he decide to change his
mind. However, it is too late: Antigone had hanged herself, the
desperate Haemon had killed himself with a sword and the king's wife
had also committed suicide on hearing the news of her son's death. The
tragic story written by Sophocles was originally intended to be
performed on stage, which explains why it divided into dialogues. All
in all, the story is quite short and definitely a good read.