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Antigone

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Heroic daughter of Oedipus who defied King Creon’s edict to bury her brother Polynices, symbolizing moral duty over state law.

Detailed Definition
Antigone, in Sophocles’ tragedy, defies King Creon’s edict by burying her brother Polynices, asserting divine law over human decree. She is entombed alive and takes her own life. Her story has inspired countless poetic reflections on civil disobedience, familial duty, and the conflict between state authority and moral conscience.
Example
Example in poetry:
Antigone defies Creon’s edict to bury her brother in Sophocles’ tragedy, becoming a symbol of moral conscience; In Jean Anouilh’s modern adaptation, Antigone’s choice reflects resistance to authoritarianism; Hölderlin’s poetic translations highlight Antigone’s tragic nobility; Seamus Heaney’s The Burial at Thebes reimagines her story in contemporary political terms; Romantic poets saw Antigone as embodying natural law over human decree; Modern feminist poetry invokes Antigone as a figure of ethical defiance.
Additional Notes
Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, defies King Creon to bury her brother Polynices, embodying civil disobedience and divine law over human decree; her story (in Sophocles’ tragedy) is foundational for ethical and political poetry—useful when exploring loyalty, gender, or the conflict between state and conscience; often paired with Ismene as contrasting responses to oppression.
Other Meanings of “Antigone”
Also Known As
Daughter of Oedipus Buryer of Brothers Defier of Creon
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