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Guard
Here is she, the one who did the deed.
We caught this one burying him. Where is Creon?
385
Enter Creon from the palace.
Here is she, the one who did the deed.
We caught this one burying him. Where is Creon?
385
Chorus
There, he is coming from the house again at our need.
There, he is coming from the house again at our need.
Creon
What is it? What has happened that makes my coming timely?
What is it? What has happened that makes my coming timely?
Guard
My king, there is nothing that a man can rightly swear he will not do. For second thought belies one’s first intent.
I could have vowed that I would not ever come here again, because of your threats by which I had just been storm-tossed. But since this joy that exceeds and oversteps my hopes can be compared in fulness to no other pleasure, I am back—though it is contrary to my sworn oath—
390
bringing this girl who was caught giving burial honors to the dead. This time there was no casting of lots. No, this piece of luck has fallen to me, and me alone. And now, my king, as it pleases you, take her yourself, question her and convict her. But justice would see me
395
released free and clear from this trouble.
400
My king, there is nothing that a man can rightly swear he will not do. For second thought belies one’s first intent.
I could have vowed that I would not ever come here again, because of your threats by which I had just been storm-tossed. But since this joy that exceeds and oversteps my hopes can be compared in fulness to no other pleasure, I am back—though it is contrary to my sworn oath—
390
bringing this girl who was caught giving burial honors to the dead. This time there was no casting of lots. No, this piece of luck has fallen to me, and me alone. And now, my king, as it pleases you, take her yourself, question her and convict her. But justice would see me
395
released free and clear from this trouble.
400
Creon
Your prisoner here—how and where did you take her?
Your prisoner here—how and where did you take her?
Guard
She was burying the man. You know all there is to tell.
She was burying the man. You know all there is to tell.
Creon
Are you clear and sure about what you are saying?
Are you clear and sure about what you are saying?
Guard
I am. I saw her burying the corpse that you
had forbidden to bury. Is that plain and sufficient?
405
I am. I saw her burying the corpse that you
had forbidden to bury. Is that plain and sufficient?
405
Creon
And how was she observed? How taken in the act?
407
And how was she observed? How taken in the act?
Guard
It happened like this. When we had come to the place with those fierce threats of yours still in our ears, we swept away all the dust that covered
the corpse and bared the damp body well. We then sat down on the brow of the hill to windward, fleeing the smell from him, lest it strike us. Each man was wide awake and kept his neighbor alert with torrents of threats, if any one should be careless of this task.
410
So time passed, until the disk of the sun stood bright in mid-sky and the heat began to burn. And then suddenly a whirlwind lifted from the earth a storm of dust, a trouble in the sky, and it filled the plain, marring all the foliage of its woods.
415
Soon the wide air was choked with it. We closed our eyes, and endured the plague from the gods. When, after a long while, this storm had passed, the girl was seen, and she wailed aloud with the sharp cry of a grieving bird, as when inside her empty
420
nest she sees the bed stripped of its nestlings. So she, too, when she saw the corpse bare, broke into a cry of lamentation and cursed with harsh curses those who had done it. Immediately she took thirsty dust in her hands,
425
and from a pitcher of beaten bronze held high she crowned the dead with thrice-poured libations. We rushed forward when we saw it, and at once closed upon our quarry, who was not at all dismayed. We then charged her with her past and present doings,
430
but she made no denial of anything—at once to my joy and to my pain. For to have escaped from trouble one’s self gives the greatest joy, but it stings to lead friends to evil. Naturally, though, all such things are
435
of less account to me than my own safety.
440
441
It happened like this. When we had come to the place with those fierce threats of yours still in our ears, we swept away all the dust that covered
the corpse and bared the damp body well. We then sat down on the brow of the hill to windward, fleeing the smell from him, lest it strike us. Each man was wide awake and kept his neighbor alert with torrents of threats, if any one should be careless of this task.
410
So time passed, until the disk of the sun stood bright in mid-sky and the heat began to burn. And then suddenly a whirlwind lifted from the earth a storm of dust, a trouble in the sky, and it filled the plain, marring all the foliage of its woods.
415
Soon the wide air was choked with it. We closed our eyes, and endured the plague from the gods. When, after a long while, this storm had passed, the girl was seen, and she wailed aloud with the sharp cry of a grieving bird, as when inside her empty
420
nest she sees the bed stripped of its nestlings. So she, too, when she saw the corpse bare, broke into a cry of lamentation and cursed with harsh curses those who had done it. Immediately she took thirsty dust in her hands,
425
and from a pitcher of beaten bronze held high she crowned the dead with thrice-poured libations. We rushed forward when we saw it, and at once closed upon our quarry, who was not at all dismayed. We then charged her with her past and present doings,
430
but she made no denial of anything—at once to my joy and to my pain. For to have escaped from trouble one’s self gives the greatest joy, but it stings to lead friends to evil. Naturally, though, all such things are
435
of less account to me than my own safety.
440
Creon
You, you with your face bent to the ground, do you admit, or deny that you did this?
You, you with your face bent to the ground, do you admit, or deny that you did this?
Antigone
I declare it and make no denial.
I declare it and make no denial.
Creon
To the Guard.
You can take yourself wherever you please,
free and clear of a heavy charge.
Exit Guard.
445
You can take yourself wherever you please,
free and clear of a heavy charge.
Exit Guard.
445
To Antigone.
You, however, tell me—not at length, but briefly—did you know that an edict had forbidden this?
You, however, tell me—not at length, but briefly—did you know that an edict had forbidden this?
Antigone
I knew it. How could I not? It was public.
I knew it. How could I not? It was public.
Creon
And even so you dared overstep that law?
And even so you dared overstep that law?
Antigone
Yes, since it was not Zeus that published me that edict, and since not of that kind are the laws which Justice who dwells with the gods below established among men. Nor did I think that your decrees were of such force, that a mortal could override the unwritten
450
and unfailing statutes given us by the gods. For their life is not of today or yesterday, but for all time, and no man knows when they were first put forth. Not for fear of any man’s pride was I about to owe a penalty to the gods for breaking these.
455
Die I must, that I knew well (how could I not?). That is true even without your edicts. But if I am to die before my time, I count that a gain. When anyone lives as I do, surrounded by evils, how can he not carry off gain by dying?
460
So for me to meet this doom is a grief of no account. But if I had endured that my mother’s son should in death lie an unburied corpse, that would have grieved me. Yet for this, I am not grieved. And if my present actions are foolish in your sight,
465
it may be that it is a fool who accuses me of folly.
470
471
Yes, since it was not Zeus that published me that edict, and since not of that kind are the laws which Justice who dwells with the gods below established among men. Nor did I think that your decrees were of such force, that a mortal could override the unwritten
450
and unfailing statutes given us by the gods. For their life is not of today or yesterday, but for all time, and no man knows when they were first put forth. Not for fear of any man’s pride was I about to owe a penalty to the gods for breaking these.
455
Die I must, that I knew well (how could I not?). That is true even without your edicts. But if I am to die before my time, I count that a gain. When anyone lives as I do, surrounded by evils, how can he not carry off gain by dying?
460
So for me to meet this doom is a grief of no account. But if I had endured that my mother’s son should in death lie an unburied corpse, that would have grieved me. Yet for this, I am not grieved. And if my present actions are foolish in your sight,
465
it may be that it is a fool who accuses me of folly.
470
Chorus
She shows herself the wild offspring of a wild father, and does not know how to bend before troubles.
She shows herself the wild offspring of a wild father, and does not know how to bend before troubles.
Creon
Yet remember that over-hard spirits most often collapse. It is the stiffest iron, baked to
utter hardness in the fire, that you most often see snapped and shivered. And I have witnessed horses with great spirit disciplined by a small bit. For there is no place for pride, when one is his neighbors’ slave.
475
This girl was already practiced in outrage when she overstepped the published laws. And, that done, this now is a second outrage, that she glories in it and exults in her deed. In truth, then, I am no man, but she is,
480
if this victory rests with her and brings no penalty. No! Whether she is my sister’s child, or nearer to me in blood than any of my kin that worship Zeus at the altar of our house, she and her sister will not escape a doom most harsh. For in truth
485
I charge that other with an equal share in the plotting of this burial. Call her out! I saw her inside just now, raving, and not in control of her wits. Before the deed, the mind frequently is convicted of stealthy crimes when conspirators are plotting depravity in the dark.
490
But, truly, I detest it, too, when one who has been caught in treachery then seeks to make the crime a glory.
495
Yet remember that over-hard spirits most often collapse. It is the stiffest iron, baked to
utter hardness in the fire, that you most often see snapped and shivered. And I have witnessed horses with great spirit disciplined by a small bit. For there is no place for pride, when one is his neighbors’ slave.
475
This girl was already practiced in outrage when she overstepped the published laws. And, that done, this now is a second outrage, that she glories in it and exults in her deed. In truth, then, I am no man, but she is,
480
if this victory rests with her and brings no penalty. No! Whether she is my sister’s child, or nearer to me in blood than any of my kin that worship Zeus at the altar of our house, she and her sister will not escape a doom most harsh. For in truth
485
I charge that other with an equal share in the plotting of this burial. Call her out! I saw her inside just now, raving, and not in control of her wits. Before the deed, the mind frequently is convicted of stealthy crimes when conspirators are plotting depravity in the dark.
490
But, truly, I detest it, too, when one who has been caught in treachery then seeks to make the crime a glory.
495
Antigone
What more do you want than to capture and kill me?
What more do you want than to capture and kill me?
Creon
I want nothing else. Having that, I have everything.
499
I want nothing else. Having that, I have everything.
Antigone
Why then do you wait? In none of your maxims
is there anything that pleases me—and may there never be! Similarly to you as well my views must be displeasing. And yet, how could I have won a nobler glory than by giving burial to my own brother? All here would admit that they approve,
500
if fear did not grip their tongues. But tyranny, blest with so much else, has the power to do and say whatever it pleases.
505
Why then do you wait? In none of your maxims
is there anything that pleases me—and may there never be! Similarly to you as well my views must be displeasing. And yet, how could I have won a nobler glory than by giving burial to my own brother? All here would admit that they approve,
500
if fear did not grip their tongues. But tyranny, blest with so much else, has the power to do and say whatever it pleases.
505
Creon
You alone out of all these Thebans see it that way.
You alone out of all these Thebans see it that way.
Antigone
They do, too, but for you they hold their tongues.
They do, too, but for you they hold their tongues.
Creon
Are you not ashamed that your beliefs differ from theirs?
510
Are you not ashamed that your beliefs differ from theirs?
510
Antigone
No, there is nothing shameful in respecting your own flesh and blood.
No, there is nothing shameful in respecting your own flesh and blood.
Creon
Was not he your brother too, who died in the opposite cause?
Was not he your brother too, who died in the opposite cause?
Antigone
A brother by the same mother and the same father.
A brother by the same mother and the same father.
Creon
Why, then, do you pay a service that is disrespectful to him?
Why, then, do you pay a service that is disrespectful to him?
Antigone
The dead man will not support you in that.
515
The dead man will not support you in that.
515
Creon
Yes, he will, if you honor him equally with the wicked one.
Yes, he will, if you honor him equally with the wicked one.
Antigone
It was his brother, not his slave, who died.
It was his brother, not his slave, who died.
Creon
But he died ravaging this land, while he fell in its defense.
But he died ravaging this land, while he fell in its defense.
Antigone
Hades craves these rites, nevertheless.
Hades craves these rites, nevertheless.
Creon
But the good man craves a portion not equal to the evil’s.
520
But the good man craves a portion not equal to the evil’s.
520
Antigone
Who knows but that these actions are pure to those below?
Who knows but that these actions are pure to those below?
Creon
You do not love someone you have hated, not even after death.
You do not love someone you have hated, not even after death.
Antigone
It is not my nature to join in hate, but in love.
It is not my nature to join in hate, but in love.
Creon
Then, go down to hell and love them
if you must. While I live, no woman will rule me.
525
526
Then, go down to hell and love them
if you must. While I live, no woman will rule me.
525
Enter Ismene from the house, led in by two attendants.
531
556
Chorus
Look, here comes Ismene from the palace, shedding the tears of a loving sister. A cloud over her eyes mars her red-flushed face,
and it breaks into rain on her comely cheek.
530
531
Look, here comes Ismene from the palace, shedding the tears of a loving sister. A cloud over her eyes mars her red-flushed face,
and it breaks into rain on her comely cheek.
530
Creon
You who were lurking like a viper in my own house and secretly gulping up my life’s blood, while I was oblivious that I was nurturing two plagues, two revolutions against my throne—tell me now, will you also affirm
your share in this burial, or will you forswear all knowledge of it?
535
You who were lurking like a viper in my own house and secretly gulping up my life’s blood, while I was oblivious that I was nurturing two plagues, two revolutions against my throne—tell me now, will you also affirm
your share in this burial, or will you forswear all knowledge of it?
535
Ismene
I performed the deed—as long as she concurs—and I share and carry the burden of guilt.
I performed the deed—as long as she concurs—and I share and carry the burden of guilt.
Antigone
No, justice will not permit you to do this, since you were not willing to help with the deed, nor did I give you a part in it.
No, justice will not permit you to do this, since you were not willing to help with the deed, nor did I give you a part in it.
Ismene
But now with this sea of troubles around you, I am not ashamed to sail in a sea of suffering at your side.
540
But now with this sea of troubles around you, I am not ashamed to sail in a sea of suffering at your side.
540
Antigone
As to whose deed it is, Hades and the dead are witnesses. A friend in words is not the type of friend I love.
As to whose deed it is, Hades and the dead are witnesses. A friend in words is not the type of friend I love.
Ismene
No, sister, do not strip me of death’s honor,
but let me die with you and make due consecration to the dead.
545
No, sister, do not strip me of death’s honor,
but let me die with you and make due consecration to the dead.
545
Antigone
Do not share my death. Do not claim deeds to which you did not put your hand. My death will suffice.
Do not share my death. Do not claim deeds to which you did not put your hand. My death will suffice.
Ismene
And how can I cherish life, once I am deprived of you?
And how can I cherish life, once I am deprived of you?
Antigone
Ask Creon. Your concern is for him.
Ask Creon. Your concern is for him.
Ismene
Why do you torture me like this, when it does not help you?
550
Why do you torture me like this, when it does not help you?
550
Antigone
No, if I mock you, it is to my own pain that I do so.
No, if I mock you, it is to my own pain that I do so.
Ismene
Tell me, how can I help you, even now?
Tell me, how can I help you, even now?
Antigone
Save yourself. I do not grudge your escape.
Save yourself. I do not grudge your escape.
Ismene
Ah, misery! Will I fall short of sharing your fate?
Ah, misery! Will I fall short of sharing your fate?
Antigone
Your choice was to live, it was mine to die.
555
556
Your choice was to live, it was mine to die.
555
Ismene
At least your choice was not made without my protests.
At least your choice was not made without my protests.
Antigone
One world approved your wisdom, another approved mine.
One world approved your wisdom, another approved mine.
Ismene
Nevertheless, the offense is identical for both of us.
Nevertheless, the offense is identical for both of us.
Antigone
Take heart! You live. But my life has long been
in Death’s hands so that I might serve the dead.
560
Take heart! You live. But my life has long been
in Death’s hands so that I might serve the dead.
560
Creon
One of these maidens, I declare, has just revealed her foolishness; the other has displayed it from the moment of her birth.
One of these maidens, I declare, has just revealed her foolishness; the other has displayed it from the moment of her birth.
Ismene
Yes, Creon. Whatever amount of reason nature may have given them does not remain with those in dire straits, but goes astray.
Yes, Creon. Whatever amount of reason nature may have given them does not remain with those in dire straits, but goes astray.
Creon
Yours did, I know, when you chose dire actions with dire allies.
565
Yours did, I know, when you chose dire actions with dire allies.
565
Ismene
What life would there be for me alone, without her presence?
What life would there be for me alone, without her presence?
Creon
Do not speak of her
presence. She lives no longer.
Do not speak of her
presence. She lives no longer.
Ismene
What? You will kill your own son’s bride?
What? You will kill your own son’s bride?
Creon
Why not? There are other fields for him to plough.
Why not? There are other fields for him to plough.
Ismene
But not fitted to him as she was.
570
But not fitted to him as she was.
570
Creon
I abhor an evil wife for my son.
I abhor an evil wife for my son.
Antigone
Haemon, dearest! How your father wrongs you!
Haemon, dearest! How your father wrongs you!
Creon
Enough! Enough of you and of your marriage!
Enough! Enough of you and of your marriage!
Chorus
Will you really cheat your son of this girl?
Will you really cheat your son of this girl?
Creon
Death it is who will end these bridals for me.
575
Death it is who will end these bridals for me.
575
Chorus
Then it seems that it is resolved that she will die.
Then it seems that it is resolved that she will die.
Creon
Resolved, yes, for you and by me.
To the two Attendants. No more delay! Servants, take them inside! Hereafter they must be women, and not left at large.
For it is known that even the brave seek to flee, when they see Death now closing on their life.
Exeunt Attendants, guarding Antigone and Ismene. Creon remains.
580
Resolved, yes, for you and by me.
To the two Attendants. No more delay! Servants, take them inside! Hereafter they must be women, and not left at large.
For it is known that even the brave seek to flee, when they see Death now closing on their life.
Exeunt Attendants, guarding Antigone and Ismene. Creon remains.
580
Antigone. Sophocles. Richard Jebb (Translator). Cambridge. 1891.
Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.