The gods never move faster than when punishing men with the
consequences of their own actions.
Desperate to gain control over a city ravaged by civil war, Creon
refuses to bury the body of Antigone's rebellious brother. Outraged, she
defies his edict. Creon condemns the young woman, his niece, to be
buried alive. The people daren't object but the prophet Teiresias warns
that this tyranny will anger the gods: the rotting corpse is polluting
the city. Creon hesitates and his fate is sealed.
Sophocles' great tragic play dramatises the clash between the family and
the city and, with high poetry and deep tragedy, presents an
irreconcilable but equally balanced conflict. Sophoclean heroine
Antigone has become a cultural archetype, the symbol of personal
integrity and an icon of political freedom, whilst her coprotagonist
Creon can be interpreted as either a civic saviour or a ruthless
tyrant.
This translation by Don Taylor, accurate yet poetic, was made for a BBC
TV production of the Theban Plays in 1986, which he directed.