Antigone: A New Translation

Sophocles

Aug 2012 · Sold by Harper Collins

About this ebook

The most celebrated plays of ancient Athens—Sophocles’s seven surviving works—in vivid and dynamic new translations. ANTIGONE, translated by award-winning poet Robert Bagg, is one of seven plays Harper Perennial has published as beautifully designed, stand-alone editions.

Powerfully portraying the clash between civic and familial duty—between morality and obedience —Antigone brings the Oedipus Cycle to a conclusion with the story of the tragic hero's eldest daughter Antigone, who courts her own death by defying the edict of Thebes's new ruler, her uncle Kreon, which forbids giving her dishonored brother a proper burial. This is Sophocles, vibrant and alive, for a new generation.

About the author

Sophocles was born around 496 B.C. in Colonus (near Athens), Greece. In 480, he was selected to lead the paean (choral chant to a god) celebrating the decisive Greek sea victory over the Persians at the Battle of Salamis. He served as a treasurer and general for Athens when it was expanding its empire and influence. He wrote approximately 123 plays including Ajax, Antigone, Oedipus Tyrannus, Trachiniae, Electra, Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus. His last recorded act was to lead a chorus in public mourning for Euripides. He died in 406 B. C.