Antigone 0856682675, 9780856682674

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ARIS AND PHILLIPS CLASSICAL TEXTS

SOPHOCLES Antigone

Edited with Translation and Notes by

Andrew Brown

Aris & PHILLIPS CLASSICAL TEXTS

SOPHOCLES ANTIGONE

Edited with Translation and Notes by

Andrew Brown

À

Aris & Phillips is an imprint of Oxbow Books Published in the United Kingdom in 1987, reprinted 1993 and 2014 by OXBOW BOOKS 10 Hythe Bridge Street, Oxford OX1 2EW and in the United States by

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Cover image: A womam bringing offerings to a tomb, on an Athenian vase from the middle of the fifth century.

CONTENTS PREFACE ORE

V

ABBREVIATIONS suisses vii INTRODUCTION 1. Sophocles and the Antigone... l 2. The mythes 3 3. Creon and Antigone ..…................................... ss 5 4. This edition nennen entente enne nnn nennen ttn nias 10 NOTES TO THE INTRODUCTION ...................... cesseeeeeeeeee eene enne 13 BIBLIOGRAPHY inner 16 ANTIGONE — Text and translation... SOURCES OF READINGS serres

20 134

And yet she had possessed a kind of nobility, a kind of purity, simply because the standards that she obeyed were private ones. Her feelings were her own, and could not be altered from outside. It would not have occurred to her that an action that is ineffectual thereby becomes meaningless ... What mattered were individual relationships, and a completely helpless gesture, an embrace, a tear, a word spoken to a dying man, could have value in itself ... And in thinking this he remembered, without apparent relevance, how a few weeks ago he had seen a severed hand lying on the pavement and had kicked it into the gutter as though it had been a cabbage-stalk. George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four

PREFACE To produce any edition of a Greek text in these times is perhaps an act of faith; but if any such edition can be said to be ‘needed’, an introductory edition of Antigone surely can. This is one of the most famous of all Greek plays, and one of the greatest; and it is often the play that is read first, whether in Greek or in translation, by those approaching Greek

drama for the first time. Beginners’ editions do exist, but they were written for school pupils of a largely bygone age, when the main need was to expound subtleties of grammar, while depriving readers of a crib so as not to make their lives too easy. This edition is different, being modelled on (though not quite uniform with) J.H. Sommerstein’s Aristophanes series. The Introduction, Translation and Notes are designed to be fully accessible to readers with no Greek at all. Those with a little Greek should find the Translation sufficiently literal to serve as a key with which to piece together the meaning of the text printed opposite (though the scale of this edition has not allowed room for any notes on points of grammar). Those who require more advanced

discussion are constantly directed to books where it can be found. And, since I have tried to look afresh at all the main issues, and have occasionally felt impelled to make mildly unorthodox suggestions, even the experts may find this edition worth glancing at. I am most grateful to John Aris for his patience and understanding; to Mr William Ball for his help in obtaining a Greek golfball; to the staff of the Library of the Hellenic

and Roman Societies for their efficiency; to my mother for helpful advice from the viewpoint of an ideal reader; above all, yet again, to Mrs P. E. Easterling, for suggesting this

edition in the first place and for generous and invaluable criticism. I have taken the opportunity of this reprint to make some belated corrections and to revise the Note on Further Reading on p. 19. Andrew Brown London, July 2012

ABBREVIATIONS Aeschylus Agamemnon

Fond.

Supp. Hardt

fr(r). G&R GRBS Herod. Hes.

Theog. W&D JHS Mnem.

Choe phori Eumenides Persians Prometheus Bound Seven against Thebes Suppliants Aristophanes Bulletin of the Institute of Classical The Classical Quarterly The Classical Review Euripides Alcestis Bacchae Heracles Hippolytus Iphigenia at Aulis Iphigenia in Tauris Medea Phoenician Women Suppliants Soph.

Fondation

Hardt,

Entretiens

sur

Studies

l'antiquité

classique 29, Sophocle (Vandoeuvres, 1983) fragment(s) Greece and Rome Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies Herodotus Hesiod Theogony Works and Days Journal of Hellenic Studies Mnemosyne Vil

Pind.

Pindar

Isthmian Odes Nemean Odes Olympian Odes Pythian Odes Revue des études Sophocles

grecques

Ajax Antigone

Electra Oedipus at Colonus Oedipus Tyrannus Philoctetes Women of Trachis Transactions of the Philological

Thucydides Wiener Studien Xenophon

Vill

American

Association

INTRODUCTION 1. Sophocles and the Antigone Sophocles is the second of the three Greek tragedians whose work survives. ! His extraordinarily long and productive career ran from 468, when the first of his great rivals, Aeschylus, still had over ten years to live, to his death in 406, when his second great rival, Euripides, was already dead. In 468 Athens was still on her way to becoming the wealthiest and most powerful state that the Greek world had yet known; in 406 she was on the verge of total defeat by the Spartans and their allies. The intervening period at Athens saw the creation of all but (probably) two of the surviving Greek tragedies and most of the surviving comedies; the career of the statesman Pericles and the refinement of democracy; the building of the monuments on the Acropolis; the teaching of Socrates and the sophists; and other developments that were to have a permanent and fundamental influence on the very shape of western civilisation. Sophocles is said to have written 123 plays. All were designed for performance in the Theatre of Dionysus beneath the Athenian Acropolis. Most were written in sets of four (normally three tragedies and one light-hearted satyr play) for performance at the Great Dionysia, a festival of Dionysus held annually in March. At each festival three tragedians competed for a prize, and it is said that Sophocles was placed first at least 18 times (making 72 successful plays) and was

never placed last.” Seven plays survive. Two of these are securely dated: Philoctetes, performed in 409, and Oedipus at Colonus, not performed until after the poet's death. Scholars are generally, if cautiously, agreed that Electra is another late play, and that Oedipus Tyrannus belongs rather earlier, perhaps to the 420s. For Antigone we have some indirect evidence. We know that Sophocles served in the post of general, as a colleague of Pericles, for the year 441/0. An anonymous source in one of the hypotheses (arguments) to Antigone states that he was elected to the post because of the popularity of this play. It is argued that, while this anecdote may not be literally true, it would not have gained currency if it had not been chronologically possible. This argument would probably point to 442 as the date of the play's production.? The date is far from secure, since ancient biographical anecdotes are the least reliable of evidence; still, there is no obvious reason besides chronological plausibility why Antigone should have been picked 1

as the play in question, and a date of 442 does at least square with the impression which the play itself gives of being a relatively early work, though by no means an immature one. In 442 - if we provisionally accept this date - Athens was consolidating her power over most of the Aegean area (and this was causing some resentment, which would issue in the revolts of Samos and Byzantium in 440), and was sending out colonists to Thurii in southern Italy and settlers elsewhere. Peace with Sparta had for the moment been secured, at the cost of abandoning Athenian claims to a land empire in central Greece. The building of the Parthenon had started. Pericles was at the height of his influence, having just (443) secured the ostracism (temporary banishment) of his principal rival, Thucydides son of Melesias. Intellectuals active at Athens included the philosopher Anaxagoras and the sophist (teacher, rhetorician and thinker) Protagoras; both of these seem to have belonged to Pericles’ circle, as does Sophocles himself. Sophocles, already in his 50s, had been active as a dramatist for 26 years; Euripides had been active for 13,

and had yet to win a victory. Ajax and Trachiniae are also considered ‘relatively early’. If a recently discovered vase-painting has been rightly seen as inspired by Ajax,” then this play must indeed be early -- not much later, in fact, than the Oresteia of Aeschylus (458). The date of Trachiniae is much disputed,° but there has been a tendency among recent scholars to place it before Antigone. The silent exits of Deianira and Eurydice, which form the most notable link between these two plays, certainly seem to point in this direction (see n. on 1244-5). Anyone who has read the seven surviving plays senses in them a common and distinctive style and purpose, setting them apart from the plays of Aeschylus and Euripides. To isolate the common features in words is less easy;’ the more closely the critic tries to define the essence of Sophoclean drama, the more it tends to slip from his grasp. In crude and simple terms, however, three factors seem particularly important. (a) A concern with plot, regarded as an organic sequence of events, with beginning, middle and end, linked together by an intelligible process of cause and effect. Sophocles was perhaps the only one of the tragedians who would have agreed with Aristotle (Poetics 6) that plot, in this sense, is ‘the first principle and the very soul of a tragedy’. Not that the plays of Aeschylus and Euripides are without plot, but this is by no means always the main unifying factor, and it can seem almost incidental to their primary purposes; while for Sophocles the links between actions and consequences, and the intelligible patterns formed by these links, are essential parts of the poet’s vision. Certainly there are problems presented by Sophoclean plots, not least that of Antigone (see pp. 5-6); but it is 2

precisely because of the plots’ overall strength that these problems seem important. (b) A concern with the mutability of human affairs." No condition of life is ever stable, as the Messenger in Antigone proclaims (1155-71); indeed the greatest prosperity is apt to be followed by an unexpected fall, and the greatest misery by unexpected joy. If there is a pattern in life, created by the relations of cause and effect or by the fulfilment of oracles and portents, the other side of the coin is the constant failure of human beings to perceive this pattern until it is too late (and without that failure, the pattern itself could not exist). Nor does the prosperity or misery of human beings have any relation to their deserts; there are men whom the gods cast down and men whom they raise up, but their reasons for doing so have nothing to do with any human sense of justice (see nn. on 922-6, 988-1114). (c) An interest in exceptional individuals - the 'Sophoclean heroes’ - who are set apart from the common run of men by their inflexible adherence to some principle, whatever the cost to themselves and those around them.? When this intransigence is set against the forces of change and illusion (see n. on 712-18), the result is often the death of the ‘hero’; but at least he remains morally undefeated, and thus his determination attains a paradoxical value which transcends change and death itself. Not that the ‘hero’ need be a morally admirable or attractive character, for his principles are not always self-evidently right or well defended. For instance the obsession of Ajax with his personal honour not only leads to his

own death but threatens ruin to those around him;!° and this will be worth bearing in mind when we come to pass judgement on Antigone. For her play the concept of a 'Sophoclean hero' is useful, but not without its problems, as we shall see (pp. 5-10).

2. The myth The city of Thebes, about 30 miles north-west of Athens, was particularly rich in mythical traditions; and no myth was more famous than that of Oedipus and his two sons. By the time of Sophocles, this had been the subject of at least two epic poems (Thebais and Oidipodeia), a long lyric poem by Stesichorus, and, most important, a tetralogy by Aeschylus, consisting of Laius, Oedipus, the surviving Seven against Thebes, and Sphinx. There had also been numerous allusions to it

in other works.!! Oedipus, son of Laius and Jocasta, was the King of Thebes who discovered that he had killed his father and married his mother, and blinded himself in his horror at the discovery. After this he continued, by most accounts, to live at J

Thebes, and Antigone contains no mention of the exile that was later to be the

subject of Oedipus at Colonus. For one reason or another he cursed the two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, whom Jocasta had borne him, condemning them to die at one another’s hands. He died; and at some stage (see n. on 53-4) Jocasta hanged herself. When Eteocles and Polynices grew to manhood, they quarrelled over their inheritance, and Polynices went into exile. There he married Argeia, daughter of Adrastus, King of Argos; and he and Adrastus raised an army with which to attack Thebes. The army was led by seven champions, who included the impious Capaneus (Ant. 131-7) and Polynices himself. These attacked the seven gates of Thebes, and all were killed (except Adrastus, if he is counted). At the seventh gate, however, Eteocles and Polynices met face to face, and killed one another in fulfilment of the curse of Oedipus. So much for the background to the action of this play, all of which would have been very familiar to Sophocles’ audience. The origins of the action itself are

much more obscure.!? At the end of Aesch. Sept., according to the manuscripts, Antigone and Ismene, sisters of Eteocles and Polynices, lament for their brothers, and Antigone insists on burying Polynices’ body in defiance of an edict by a Theban herald. Most scholars now agree, however, that this section of the play was not written by Aeschylus, but was inserted after the production of Antigone (and probably that of Eur. Phoen. as well).!? If so, the story of Antigone is not directly attested anywhere before Sophocles' play;!^ and the poet Pindar, writing earlier in the fifth century, alludes to a version of the Theban legend (apparently that of the epic Thebais) in which the burial of Polynices was evidently not an issue (Ol. 6.15, Nem. 9.24). This has suggested to some that Sophocles’ version may be

purely his own invention. Creon, however, has a shadowy existence in sources before Sophocles;!é and

Ismene has a story of her own, which was popular with vase-painters, but which Sophocles could not use, since it ended with her death at the hands of Tydeus (one of the Seven against Thebes), while he needed her as a foil to Antigone. There is some evidence, moreover, that the epic Oidipodeia mentioned four children of

Oedipus (though not by Jocasta in this version), and their names would doubtless have been Eteocles, Polynices, Ismene and Antigone. Since the other three have definite parts to play in the myth, one would rather expect Antigone too to be more than just a name. Confirmation of this has often been seen in a report by the traveller Pausanias in the second century AD.'? He saw a place at Thebes that was called 'Antigone's Dragging', because it was where Antigone had dragged Polynices' body to the pyre of Eteocles. This detail could not be derived from Sophocles' play, in which 4

she does no such thing, and it is argued that it derives from a pre-Sophoclean local tradition. I do not think, however, that a post-Sophoclean source can be ruled out. There can thus be no certainty in the matter; but the tragedians did not

usually invent plots from scratch, and it is likely that Sophocles had some precedent for this one. The story does not conform to any standard myth-pattern (see p.8), but it might have been related as a minor incident, and not for its own sake. We may suspect, however, that there is more free invention in this play than in many others, and that the audience were correspondingly less able to predict what would happen. This is suggested by the lack, compared with other Sophoclean plays, of the kind of dramatic irony which depends for its effect on the audience’s prior knowledge of the story (cf. n. on 100-61); and by the lack of oracles and (until a late stage) prophecies, which are used elsewhere to give expression to that prior knowledge within the play itself. : And certainly Sophocles has shaped the plot so that it closely reflects his characteristic concerns. Indeed it reads like an almost inevitable development from the second half of Ajax, which also concerned a person determined to bury a brother in defiance of authority. There the issue was not taken to its logical conclusion, partly because Odysseus intervened to save the situation, and partly because Teucer was not a truly heroic figure who could plausibly have given his life for such a cause. The ending of that play is effective in itself; but, if Sophocles felt that more needed to be said, something like Antigone perhaps had to be written.

3. Creon and Antigone

More than any other Greek tragedy, Antigone is a play about a conflict — a clash of wills between two principal figures. This has caused problems among critics who expect a Sophoclean play to be about a single ‘tragic hero’. Of the two principals, Creon has by far the longer part. It is his decree, forbidding burial to Polynices, that provokes the play's action, and his ruin that ends it; while Antigone drops out of the play with her exit at 943. On the other hand it is Antigone who, in her unswerving adherence to a single purpose and her willingness to die rather than renounce it, resembles in character the ‘heroic’ figures of other plays, such as Ajax and Electra. Creon too has some ‘heroic’ characteristics: he too is inflexible for most of the play, and, like Ajax, Heracles or Oedipus, he is finally brought through suffering to a fresh understanding of the world. In other respects, however, he is more like the Atridae of Ajax, who are

not heroes in any sense.’ There is his mean-minded vindictiveness (different even 5

from the anger of Oedipus in OC, which earns a kind of respect through Oedipus’s past suffering); there is the fact that he does yield in the end (see n. on 1091-114); above all there is the fact that he is never called upon to make any sacrifice of life or happiness for the principle he defends. He does ruin his own happiness, but involuntarily; it is others, not himself, that he is willing to sacrifice. The only thing to do with these facts is to accept them. We merely distort the play if we try to argue that Creon is, after all, the ‘hero’, and dominates the play throughout,?! or conversely that Antigone somehow continues to dominate it even after her death.” No one told Sophocles that he should be writing about a single ‘tragic hero’:® his play is, in Aristotle's terms, ‘an imitation of an action’, namely the burial of Polynices and its consequences. When Antigone goes to her death, her role is at an end, but the action is not; hence the focus of attention

passes from her to Creon. Critics are entitled to feel that the play declines in interest after that point - though a character does not have to be a ‘hero’ to be interesting, and the play's ending, with its stark concentration on the utter collapse and degradation of a once proud man, can hardly be called a weak one. What critics are not entitled to do is to complain that the dramatist ought to have written a different play. Ajax continues to dominate his play after his death because he has not been buried. Antigone has been buried - while still alive — and Sophocles does not choose to pander to the sentimental wishes of some readers by presenting that burial as other than final (see n. on 1257-353). The moral issue between Creon and Antigone has been even more endlessly debated. There are. still adherents of the view associated with the philosopher

Hegel,? that Creon and Antigone are respectively champions of human and divine law, both equally right and equally wrong.”° At the other extreme, there are still some who consider Creon wholly in the wrong, Antigone wholly in the

right.?" Creon certainly regards himself initially as the upholder of the laws of the city, and his first speech (162-210) is not unprincipled or undignified. Whether he is justified in forbidding burial to Polynices is not clear. It was evidently normal practice, at Athens and elsewhere, to forbid burial on their native soil to men convicted of treason or sacrilege.^" In such cases, however, the body would be cast outside the borders, rather than left in a place where it could cause pollution to the city." In Antigone the possibility of casting the body out is never mentioned (because, if it were, there would be no play). It can be argued that, since it is not

mentioned, Creon is left with no choice but to act as he does;" or conversely that Sophocles leaves it unmentioned precisely to ensure that the body is exposed in a way that would seem intrinsically abhorrent to the audience. I do not suppose that the audience - which consisted of several thousand people from all walks of life 6

would have given a unanimous verdict on such a delicate question. The gods eventually give their verdict, for reasons of their own, but by that time our moral attitude to Creon is much affected by other factors; so the opinion of an individual spectator on the propriety of exposing dead bodies will not be crucial to his response to the play. It is by Creon’s later conduct, then, that we must finally judge him; and, as many critics have shown, he rapidly declines in stature after his first speech.*! Even if his initial decree had genuinely patriotic motives, he soon abandons any pretence of principle when he finds himself opposed. His behaviour to the Guard is bad enough, and, when confronted by Antigone and Haemon, he leaves us in no

doubt that his motive in punishing Antigone is a fear of any challenge to his own authority, above all a challenge by a woman. The Creon who threatens to kill Antigone before the eyes of her bridegroom (760-1), merely because her bridegroom has respectfully protested at her sentence, can hardly be an embodiment of any ethical principle, or a figure on whom we need waste much sympathy. Not that he is simply a stage-villain, for his slide into tyranny and evil is all too plausible in human terms; he is at once recognisable as an ordinary, self-centred, unimaginative man, invested with more responsibility than he can carry. Antigone is much more difficult. Most critics allow that she is no plaster saint, for there can be no moral justification for her rudeness and cruelty to Ismene (esp. 86-7, 93-4, 543, 549). Her famous declaration, ‘It is not my nature to join in hatred, but in love’ (523), must be taken in a limited sense if it is not to be manifestly false. But Antigone’s treatment of the living is almost incidental, for what matters to her, and is central to her dramatic existence, is her treatment of the body of Polynices. Now most critics still assume, with little argument, that she was under a genuine moral and religious obligation to attempt the burial. And yet some argument is perhaps needed. 1 personally would not be conscious of an obligation to give up my life in an attempt to bury a dead relative; and, if an acquaintance of mine had done so, my feelings towards him or her would not be ones of unmixed admiration. Certainly the Greeks had a much stronger sense than most of us today of the importance of giving honourable burial to the dead. Burial is the central issue in the latter part of Ajax and throughout Euripides Suppliants. According to a character in Plato the ideal of every man is ‘to be rich and healthy and honoured by the Greeks, to reach old age, and. having provided his dead parents with a fine funeral, to be finely and nobly buried by his own children’ (Hippias Major 291d-e). Failure to bury the dead had important political consequences after, for 7

instance, the Battle of Delium (424 BC) and that of Arginusae (406). An ordinary Greek would certainly have felt that he was obliged to bury dead relatives when he

could, and that this obligation was sanctioned by the gods. But it does not follow that he would have felt obliged to attempt burial whatever the circumstances and whatever the cost. The ‘ordinary Greek’ was not a religious fanatic, and the gods’ commandments were not laid down for him in any sacred books. They were indeed ‘unwritten rules’ (454-5), resting only on men’s subjective impression of what was right and fitting. They would hardly, then, have so transcended common sense as to demand that the living should sacrifice themselves for the dead. Indeed, since the Greek gods offered no certain assurance of reward or compensation in an after-life, they were not in a good

position to demand death of their votaries.*? In countless Greek myths and legends death is a punishment for offending a god; in none, perhaps, is it incurred

in a god's service. Moreover, if the Greeks had a strong sense of the importance of burial, they also had a strong sense of the need to uphold legitimate authority, and of the subordinate position of women. It simply was not the business of a girl to defy the decree of a legitimate ruler, or of a male relative, on the basis of her own

conscience. Several facts show that these are not purely theoretical considerations, irrelevant to Sophocles’ play. Firstly there are the arguments of Ismene in the Prologue. You or I, if placed in Ismene’s position, would, I like to think, argue much as she does: while burying the dead is normally an obligation, it ceases to be one if the attempt will lead to another death (58-60, 65-8, 78-9), and it is anyway useless to make an attempt that cannot succeed (90, 92). We might not echo her argument ‘that we are women, not meant to fight against men’ (61-2), but we may be sure that few men in Sophocles’ audience would have questioned the validity of this for a moment. To these rational considerations Antigone can reply only with slogans and insults. Ismene is not like the complacent Chrysothemis in Electra;® she is, I should say, a better person than Antigone, in much the same sense in which Odysseus is better than Ajax, and the Antigone of OC is better than Oedipus. Secondly, there are the reactions of the Chorus. Sophoclean choruses normally provide a clue as to the likely attitudes of ordinary Greeks, and this one consists of men who, while they may be insensitive and even obtuse, are surely not monsters of impiety. And they view Antigone's action throughout with bewilderment and disapproval. She may claim (509) that they secretly agree with her, but nothing that they say bears this out; and even when they have come to feel pity at her death (801-5), they still consider that she has offended against Right (853-5). 8

Nor, indeed, exception of Thirdly, is acomplete

does anyone else ever express approval of her action, with the the Thebans reported by Haemon at 692-700. there are the actual events of the play. The attempt to bury Polynices failure, as Ismene foresaw, and its only consequence is the death of

three people.? The corpse which Antigone sought to protect is torn by birds and dogs (1016-18, 1198), and pollutes Thebes. Its burial is finally accomplished by the gods acting through Tiresias; and, as far as we know, they would have so acted if Antigone had done nothing. Finally, it is wrong to claim, as many critics do, that Antigone’s action is vindicated by the gods in the Tiresias scene (see n. on 988-1114). The gods declare that Polynices’ body should have been buried and that Antigone should not have been entombed alive. They do not express any view on whether she should have attempted the burial in defiance of Creon’s authority. They punish Creon; they do not reward Antigone. As she went to her death, she felt abandoned by the gods (921-6), and nothing that occurs thereafter suggests that she is ποῖ. Why, then, have so many critics - most of them, no doubt, sober, respectable men, who would be aghast if a sister of theirs behaved like Antigone - accepted her at her own valuation? The main explanation lies, I suspect, in the familiar

stereotype of the Christian martyr.* True, it has become a commonplace of criticism to point out that Antigone is not a Christian martyr," but perhaps the concept has become so ingrained into our minds that it is genuinely difficult to place ourselves in the position of an audience to which it was unknown. We see a girl defying temporal authority, and going to her death, for something that looks like a religious conviction; so we assume, without further thought. that we must be meant to approve, and that a failure to do so would be a failure to appreciate the play. Thus the question of how far we actually do approve is short-circuited, and our patronising failure to take the play seriously in terms of our own moral values serves only to distance us further from the experience of Sophocles' audience. This essay has turned personal and provocative; but the personal and provocative may have its advantages over the blandly predictable. If [ have given the impression that Antigone is no more than a study in misguided fanaticism, no doubt I have gone too far, as this would risk making the play seem morally

uninteresting;" but I do not think we do the play any credit by missing the sense of shock and dismay which her behaviour must have caused among the first audience and which it could, perhaps, cause today. And, if the reader reacts to the above with indignant disagreement, he may at least have been helped to a more explicit formulation of his own attitude. In defining and defending this attitude he will be contributing to a debate which began. 1 am certain, on the terraces of the Theatre of Dionysus as the Chorus filed away, which has continued for two and a half 9

millenia,*' and which shows no sign of coming to an end.*? That is what matters about Antigone: not that we should respond to her in one particular way but that she compels such serious attention, forcing us, as we respond, to confront some of our most fundamental ethical assumptions. You may love Antigone or hate her; what no thinking person has ever managed to do is to ignore her.

4. This edition Text

Our knowledge of Sophocles’ plays rests on a number of medieval manuscripts, one (a famous manuscript in Florence known as L) written in the tenth

century AD, the rest from the thirteenth to the fifteenth.* By no means all the readings of all the manuscripts have been published, but I have relied for this edition on those which have - normally, in fact, on those reported by R. D.

Dawe,” to which older editions seldom add anything of real interest. I have worked principally from Dawe's Teubner Edition, which, despite occasional eccentricities, must certainly be regarded as standard, and it will be

evident that I owe a great deal to Dawe's work.^ I have also, however, used many other editions and commentaries (especially those listed on p. 16), and occasionally I have printed a reading not favoured by any of them. I hope I have exercised reasonable caution in adopting conjectural emendations, but I have probably done so more often than is usual in introductory editions. While I do not expect the majority of readers to be greatly interested in textual matters, I see no reason to deceive them into unwarranted confidence in the manuscript tradition; and I am not one of those who think it somehow 'safer' to print a manuscript reading which is almost certainly wrong than a conjecture which is quite possibly right. Beginners should notice certain conventions: square brackets | ] round words which the editor believes spurious; angle brackets < > round words (or spaces for words) inserted by him; and obeli ¢ t round words that he believes corrupt, where he knows of no emendation plausible enough to be worth adopting. Beginners should also note that 1 have followed Dawe in not using iota subscript; thus | print νῶϊν, ἡμέραι, not νῷν, ἡμέρᾳ, Critical apparatus | have simplified this as much as I dared, bearing in mind that anyone with a serious interest in textual matters can, and should, consult Dawe's edition.

I have reported all manuscript readings that have, in my view, any serious chance of being right; also the majority reading in all places where the reading 10

adopted is conjectural or ill-attested. I have, however, passed over many manuscript readings, even well-attested ones, which I think clearly wrong. And, since the identity of individual manuscripts would mean little to most readers, I have not listed them, except that 1 have sometimes specifically mentioned the

manuscript L where it stands alone. ‘Most mss.’ should be taken to mean ‘the majority of the manuscripts reported by Dawe at this point’. Such phrases may seem vague, but in fact there is no exact way to assess the weight of manuscript authority, and overt vagueness may have its advantages over a spurious impression of precision. I have reported all places where the text adopted rests on conjectural emendation (except for some minor orthographical matters, such as changes from eta to Doric alpha and vice versa); but I have not listed any conjectures not adopted (though a few are mentioned in the notes), and I have referred to all conjectures merely as ‘conj.’, since I do not expect many readers to be interested in the names of the scholars who proposed them. To ensure that the sources of all adopted readings can be found somewhere, however, I have listed on p. 134 those which are not to be found in Dawe's text or apparatus. Any reading not recorded as 'conj.' is reported from at least one manuscript.

Translation Since one of its functions is to take the place of grammatical notes in showing how I construe the Greek, the translation has had to be what is called ‘literal’. I have tried to avoid expressions that are downright impossible in English, but have done little to make the English fluent or elegant. I am well aware that there is no such thing as a literal translation (and the term lit(erally) in the notes is merely a convenient shorthand, not meant to suggest otherwise). If my English is wooden and stilted where Sophocles' Greek is supple and natural, that is doubtless as bad a way as any of traducing the original. Still, readers can usually make some allowance for translationese, while the adoption of an English poetic style could be genuinely deceptive. In interpreting the Greek 1 have constantly been guided by Jebb's great edition," and I have sometimes borrowed phrases from his translation. Places where I depart from his interpretation are usually mentioned in the notes. Notes These are designed to range from textual issues (wherever there is serious doubt on a matter important enough to affect the translation) to the interpretation of whole scenes; but much has had to be left out or drastically

11

abbreviated. Textual discussions are generally kept as brief as possible, sometimes being limited to a bare reference to a place where the reading I adopt has been defended by others; though I have given more space to issues of real importance for the interpretation of the play (as at 572-6, 904-20). Analysis of lyric metres has been omitted altogether, since I cannot see many readers finding it useful. Even the experts are unsure of the reasons why particular rhythms are used in particular places, and any non-expert who attempted to use a metrical scheme for purposes of literary interpretation would probably go badly

wrong.“ I have avoided technical terms where possible. One area that presents difficulties of terminology is that of the formal structure of a tragedy, for it has

been shown? that the structural terms traditionally used, which are taken from Aristotle Poetics 12 (episode, stasimon etc.), are unsatisfactory, but there are no generally accepted replacements for them. I have tended to compromise weakly by placing the traditional terms in inverted commas. In interpreting the play I have naturally had to pass in silence over many opinions with which I disagree, though I hope I have mentioned all widely-held opinions, and have not given the impression that my own views are the only ones possible. I have given fairly copious references to modern discussions, largely in order to provide some backing for my summary and dogmatic assertions, but I have cited accessible works in preference to obscure ones (with an open bias in favour of works in English), and I have made no attempt at bibliographical completeness. The play presents a number of problems which I am not even under the illusion that I can solve.” The usual practice among editors of introductory editions is to gloss over such problems in the apparent hope that the reader will not notice them; but 1 have thought it preferable to present them as starkly as possible, in the hope that the reader may find a solution that eludes the editor. Notes are given in the sequence in which words occur in the translation, but the line-numbers are those conventionally assigned to the Greek text (which themselves do not always reflect the colometry or line-order of this edition). This occasionally gives rise to apparent anomalies.

12

NOTES TO THE INTRODUCTION 1. I shall not set out the little that is known of his life outside his career as a tragedian. For this see e.g. Buxton 3-7 or Easterling (1985) 296-7, 764. 2. The evidence for the number of plays and number of victories is not clear—cut;

see

Buxton

3.

3,

L. Woodbury,

Phoenix

4.

For a sceptical view see Reinhardt 240.

24 (1970), 217 —24.

5. K. Schefold, Antike Kunst 19 (1976), 71—8; too confidently expressed, but the connection is tempting. 6. Easterling (1982) 19—23. 7. For an admirable attempt see Easterling (1985). 8. Jones 166—77; Easterling (1985) 302 --4. 9, The literature on the ‘Sophoclean hero' is vast, but see especially Whitman (1951) and Knox (1964). 10. See Winnington—Ingram (1980) 11-56. 11. See Baldry passim. 12. See Petersmann passim. 13. See G.O. Hutchinson, Aeschylus: Septem contra Thebas (Oxford, 1985), 190-3, 209-21. I am no longer particularly interested in the compromise proposed at CQ 26 (1976), 206-19. 14. It is almost certain that Euripides' Antigone (for which see T.B.L. Webster, The Tragedies of Euripides (London, 1967), 181-4) is later than that of Sophocles. The same is probably true of a version in a dithyramb by Ion of Chios, according to which Antigone and Ismene were burnt to death by Eteocles’ son Laodamas. 15.

So Müller

16.

'Hes.' Shield 83; Oidipodeia

21-4,

17.

Mimnermus

fr.

21

Baldry West,

33—4. from

fr. 3; Aesch. the

second

Sept. 474. hypothesis

to Soph.

Ant.

There

are grounds for believing that Mimnermus in fact mentioned Antigone as well and that a reference to her has fallen out of the hypothesis. 18. Pausanias 9.5.11; but I do not think that the expression there makes it certain that the epic specified four children. 19, Pausanias 9.25.2. 20. Cf. Knox (1964) 67—75. 21.

Cf.

Kitto

176;

Calder

390—1;

Machin

263.

22. Müller 264—73. 23. True, one character of the other must have been played by the protagonist (contrast Trach., where the protagonist probably played both Deianira and Heracles). My guess is that it was Antigone (together, perhaps, with Tiresias and Eurydice); but even if we knew this, it would not necessarily affect our interpretation of the play. Against the claim of Demosthenes (19.247)

13

that

Creon

was

played

Pickard—Cambridge,

by

The

the

tritagonist

Dramatic

Festivals

in

of

the

fourth

Athens?

century

(Oxford,

see

A.

1968),

141

from

work

n.2.

24. 25. to

Jones 198—200. But Hegel's own work.

See

view was evidently

Steiner

19—42

and,

more

for

complex,

the

and

writings

shifted

themselves,

Paolucci (eds.), Hegel on Tragedy (New York, 1962). 26. L.A. MacKay, ‘Antigone, Coriolanus, and Hegel’, 166—74;

the

view

was

more

memorably

stated

in

the

A.

TAPA

lectures

and

93

of

H.

(1962),

the

late

Sir

Denys Page. 27.

A.W.

Gomme,

More

Essays

in

Greek

History

and

1962), 199—208; Müller passim; Lesky (1983) 140-1. 28. For Athenian law on this matter see Thuc. 1.138.6; For other evidence, Rhinisches Museum

Literature

Xen.

(Oxford,

Hellenica

1.7.22.

and discussion, see Hester (1971) 19-21; J.J. Rosivach, 126 (1983), 193—211; Parker 45-8; Bremmer 90 -- 3.

29. It has recently been argued that Athenian law did sometimes prescribe exposure of bodies on Athenian soil, and that the play contains Sophocles’ contribution to a debate on the propriety of this: G. Cerri in La mort, les morts dans les sociétés anciennes, ed. G. Gnoli and J.—P. Vernant (Cambridge,

Sophocles the

1982),

can

manner

121—31.

hardly

This

have

described

by Tiresias

30.

So Hester, loc. cit. (n.28).

31.

E.g.

Knox,

loc.

is possible,

believed

cit.

but

that Athens

the

was

evidence

regularly

is unclear;

being

(n.20);

Podlecki

359-64;

Vickers

526-52;

action

called

rites to

one

at all.

in

(1016 —22).

Winnington — Ingram (1980) 124—8; Machin 292—307. 32. I am side—stepping the question of how far Antigone's a religious

and

polluted

In

one

sense

the

paying

of any

should the

be dead

is an inherently religious act; but, if we think specifically of an obligation to the gods, we may note that Antigone mentions this only at 77, 450—60 (an

important exception, certainly), 921—4 obligation

89,

to

93—4,

nobility

of

Polynices

466—8, birth

himself

511—23,

was

is

560,

important

(with bitterness) and perhaps 943.

mentioned

902—3.

even

in

more

often:

45—6,

Family

pride

may

democratic

Athens,

72-6,

be a

and

a

Her 80-1,

factor, funeral

among other things, an occasion for a family to proclaim illustrious ancestry. See further in n. on 1—99.

its solidarity and

33.

sacrificed

Even

those

figures

in

Euripides

who

are

literally

for was,

its

(Polyxena,

Iphigenia) or submit to death in response to a divine command (Macaria, Menoeceus) cannot be seen as martyrs in a religious cause. Nor can Hippolytus; while his scorn for Aphrodite has, in Euripides’ version, a counterpart

in

his

devotion

to

Artemis,

it

is

Aphrodite

who

causes

his

death,

and he does not willingly incur it for Artemis's sake. 34. Cf. Schadewaldt 89—93; Hester (1971) 22-3. 35. Cf. Winnington- Ingram (1980) 133—4, 241 n.80. Winnington-— Ingram is admirable on Ismene's second scene (526—76), but perhaps not even he (or Hester)

does

like Ismene,

full

justice

to

her

role

in

the

Prologue.

True,

if everyone

there could be no tragedy; but that is hardly her concern. 14

were

36.

Much

intends

mischief

only

has

a token

been

burial

done

(and

by

the

is thus

unwarranted

successful);

see

notion nn.

on

that 256,

Antigone

422-31.

37. Other factors could be cited in favour of my view of Antigone, such as the way that she is forced back on the defensive by Creon's arguments at 508-23 (cf. also Hester (1980)). The case could be strengthened still further if I were prepared to regard 904-15 as authentic; but there are better reasons for rejecting these lines than their incompatibility with an idealising view of Antigone. 38. There are doubtless other factors at work. One is the casual use of those slippery words ‘hero’ and ‘heroic’, with their built—in implication (in English) that any act of courage and self-sacrifice is necessarily to be highly valued. In

1986,

when

we

have

read

I find it natural to regard 39. But the analogy is views see Flickinger 33—4. 40. Any reader who sees that it does something to 41.

For

the

history

of

so

often

of

suicidal

bomb—attacks

that implication with some mistrust. still approved by Lesky (1983) 442 any relevance in the redress the balance.

reactions

to,

and

uses

epigraph of,

and

the

n.49.

to this book

Antigone

see

like,

For

old

may

feel

Steiner

passim;

id. Fond. Hardt Soph. 77—96. 42. As I write there appears what looks like a most interesting attempt to use Antigone and other Greek tragedies in the discussion of moral principles: M. Nussbaum, The Fragility of Goodness (Cambridge, 1986). 43. For a brief account of the history of the text see Easterling (1982) 240—9, almost all of which applies as well to Ant. as to Trach. 44.

Besides

his Teubner

Edition

of Soph.

see

Dawe

(1978).

45. | have adopted the reported reading of Hermann's Aug b at 454, that of Pearson's Ven c at 955 — both readings being doubtless accidents or scribal conjectures. On testimonia (quotations from Soph. in other authors) Colonna's edition tends to be the most informative. 46. A second edition of vol. II is promised; also a new Oxford Text, being edited

by H.

Lloyd— Jones and

N.G.

Wilson.

47. This should not need saying, but it has become fashionable in certain quarters to write patronisingly of Jebb's work, often without having taken much trouble to understand it. 48. Those interested can find metrical schemes in Dawe's edition, pp. 253—7; also (with period —end marked, and with some notes) in A.M. Dale, Metrical Analyses of Tragic Choruses (BICS Suppl. 21, 1971—83). Dale's analyses seldom

differ

materially

from

Dawe's;

where

the

colometry

differs,

this

edition

occasionally deserts Dawe for Dale. 49. Taplin (1977) 49—60, 470—6. 50. This applies particularly to the choral odes. The six odes of this play contain some of the finest poetry in Greek, but the relation of four of them to their context raises desperate problems — which almost make the apparent straightforwardness

of

the

other

two

(the

itself.

15

first

and

sixth)

seem

problematic

in

BIBLIOGRAPHY Editions

and

The

commentaries

editions

that

I have

found

most

useful

(of

Ant.

alone

unless

otherwise stated) are those of L. Campbell (Sophocles: the Plays and Fragments?, Oxford, 1879); R. Jebb (3rd ed., Cambridge, 1900); M.A. Bayfield (London, 1902); E. Bruhn (revision of the Schneidewin—Nauck edition, Berlin, 1904); A.C. Pearson (Sophoclis Fabulae, Oxford, 1928); A. Colonna (Sophoclis Fabulae II, Turin, 1978); and R.D. Dawe (Sophoclis Tragoediae 11, Leipzig, 1979). To these must be added the commentaries (without text) of G. Müller (Heidelberg, 1967) and J.C. Kamerbeek (Leiden, 1978). For fragments of Soph. I use the numbering of S. Radt, Tragicorum | Graecorum Fragmenta IV (Góttingen, 1977), which generally corresponds to that of A.C. Pearson, The Fragments of Sophocles (Cambridge, 1917) and of D.F. Sutton, The Lost Sophocles (Lanham, 1984), where most of the fragments can be found in translation. For fragments of Aeschylus I use the numbering of the H.W. Smyth's Loeb: Edition (London, 1926); and for those of Euripides the numbering of A. Nauck, Tragicorum | Graecorum Fragmenta? (Leipzig, 1889).

Books and articles This others. D. Bain,

—

includes

Actors

Masters,

1981)

H.C.

and

Bowra, von S.

CQ

all

works

Audience

Servants

Baldry, ‘The (1956), 24-37

C.M. A.T. J.

list

and

cited (Oxford,

Orders

Dramatization

Sophoclean Bradshaw,

more

than

once,

and

a

few

1977)

in Greek

of the

Tragedy

Theban

Tragedy (Oxford, 1944) ‘The Watchman Scenes

(Manchester,

Legend', in

the

G&R Antigone’,

12 (1962), 200-11

Bremmer,

The

Early

Greek

1983)

Concept

of

the

Soul

| 16

(Princeton,

3

R.W.B. R.G.A.

Burton, Buxton,

Oxford,

W.M. J.F.

The Chorus in Sophocles’ Tragedies (Oxford, 1980) Sophocles (G&R New Surveys in the Classics 16,

1984)

Calder, 'Sophokles' (1968), 389 -- 407 Davidson,

‘The

Political

Parodos

of

Tragedy, the

Antigone',

Antigone’,

BICS

GRBS 30

9

(1983),

41-51 R.D.

Dawe,

‘Some

Reflections

on

Ate

and

Hamartia',

Harvard

Studies in Classical Philology 72 (1968), 89-123 — Studies on the Text of Sophocles III (Leiden, 1978) — Review of Kamerbeek, Gnomon 54 (1982), 234-8 J.D. E.R.

Denniston, The Greek Particles? (Oxford, 1954) Dodds, The Greeks and the Irrational (Berkeley,

1951)

—

The Ancient Concept of Progress and Other Essays (Oxford, 1973) K.J. Dover, Greek Popular Morality in the Time of Plato and Aristotle (Oxford, 1974) ΒΕ. Doyle, "Atm: its Use and Meaning (New York, 1984) P.E. Easterling, ‘The Second Stasimon of Antigone', Dionysiaca ... presented to Sir Denys Page (Cambridge, 1978), 141—58 —

Sophocles:

—

Trachiniae

'Sophocles',

ed.

P.E.

The

(Cambridge,

Cambridge

Easterling

and

1982)

History

B.M.W.

of

Knox

Classical

Literature

(Cambridge,

295—316, 764—7 G.F. Else, The Madness of Antigone (Heidelberg, 1976) M.K. Flickinger, The ‘Auaptia of Sophocles’ Antigone 1935) K. R.

(lowa

1,

1985), City,

von Fritz, Antike und moderne Tragódie (Berlin, 1962) Garland, The Greek Way of Death (London, 1985)

G.H. R.F. J.P. D.A. — A.E.

Gellie, Sophocles: a reading (Melbourne, 1972) Goheen, The Imagery of Sophocles’ Antigone (Princeton, 1951) Gould, ‘Law, Custom and Myth: aspects of the social position of women in classical Athens', JHS 100 (1980), 38 -- 59 Hester, ‘Sophocles the Unphilosophical', Mnem. 24 (1971), 11-59 ‘Law and Piety in the "Antigone"', WS 14 (1980), 5-8 Housman, The Classical Papers of A.E. Housman (Cambridge, 1972) 17

J. Jones, On Aristotle and Greek Tragedy (London, 1962) J.H. Kells, ‘Problems of Interpretation in the Antigone',

BICS

10

(1963), 47-64 G.M.

Kirkwood,

H.D.F.

Kitto,

A Study of Sophoclean Form

and

Meaning

in

Drama

Drama

(Ithaca,

(London,

1958) 1956)

B.M.W. Knox, The Heroic Temper (Berkeley, 1964) — Word and Action (Baltimore, 1979) — Review of Winnington—Ingram (1980), CR 32 (1982), 8-12 W.K. Lacey, The Family in Classical Greece (London, 1968) A. Lesky, Gesammelte Schriften (Berne, 1966) —

C.S.

Greek

Levy,

Tragic

(1963), LM.

Poetry,

‘Antigone's

trans.

Motives:

M.

Dillon

a Suggested

(New

Haven,

A.A.

TAPA

94

137 —44

Linforth, ‘Antigone and Creon', University Publications in Classical Philology 1S (1954—61), Lloyd— Jones, ‘Notes on Sophocles' Antigone',

H.

1983)

Interpretation’,

12-27 Long,

of California 183—259 CQ 7 (1957),

Language and Thought in Sophocles (Cambridge,

1968)

A.

Machin, Cohérence et continuité dans le théâtre de Sophocle' (Haute - Ville, 1981) D.J. Mastronarde, Contact and Discontinuity (Berkeley, 1979) R. Parker, Miasma (Oxford, 1983) A.C. Pearson, ‘Sophocles' Antigone’, CQ 22 (1928), 179-90 H. Petersmann, ‘Mythos und Gestaltung in Sophokles' Antigone’,

WS 91 (1978), 67-96 A.J. K.

Podlecki,

‘Creon

Reinhardt,

and

Sophocles,

Herodotus', trans.

H.

and

TAPA D.

97

(1966),

Harvey

359-71

(Oxford,

G. Ronnet, Sophocle poéte tragique (Paris, 1969) W. Schadewaldt, ‘Sophokles. Aias und Antigone’,

Neue

1979)

Wege

zur

Antike 8 (1929), 61-109 C.P. B.

Segal,

Tragedy

Seidensticker,

‘Die

and Civilization (Cambridge Wahl

des

Todes

bei

Mass.,

Sophokles',

1981) Fond.

Soph. (1983), 105 -- 44 G. O.

Steiner, Antigones (Oxford, 1984) Taplin, The Stagecraft of Aeschylus (Oxford, 1977) — ‘The Place of Antigone', Omnibus 7 (1984), 13—16 B. Vickers, Towards Greek Tragedy (London, 1973) A.J.A. Waldock, Sophocles the Dramatist (Cambridge, 1951)

M.L.

—

West,

‘Tragica

III',

'Tragica VII', BICS

BICS

26

(1979),

104—17

31 (1984), 171—92 18

Hardt

J.E.G. Whitehorne, ‘The Background to Polyneices' Disinterment and Reburial’,

G&R 30 (1983), 129-42 C.H. Whitman, Sophocles: a Study in Heroic Humanism (Cambridge Mass., 1951)

RP. Winnington — Ingram, ‘Sophoclea’, BICS 26 (1979), 1-12 -- Sophocles: an Interpretation (Cambridge, 1980) Note on Further Reading (2012) Naturally much has happened since the above list was compiled Antigone the most important addition is the Cambridge edition with by M. Griffith (1999). Griffith’s notes are unfailingly sensitive and introduction should be read by anyone with any sort of interest in the We now have a judicious Oxford Classical Text of Sophocles edited

in 1986. For commentary his masterly play. by H. Lloyd-

Jones and N. G. Wilson (1990) and a useful Loeb edition, with facing translation by H. Lloyd-Jones, of the plays (2 vols, Harvard 1994) and fragments (1996). For books on Sophocles in English we must still rely on the list above, with

Gellie providing a sober introduction while Knox (1964) and Winnington-Ingram (1980) may be found more stimulating. If a more recent account is wanted, there is now the comprehensive Sophocle of J. Jouanna (Paris, 2007). There have been further specialist studies of this play alone: T. C. W. Oudemans and A. P. M. H. Lardinois, Tragic Ambiguity: Anthropology, Philosophy and Sophocles’ Antigone (Leiden, 1987); W. B. Tyrrell and L. J. Bennett, Recapturing Sophocles’ Antigone (Lanham, 1998). The flow of articles continues unabated. From the list above I would still single out Hester (1971) as providing a most helpful (if chilly) account of the play’s main problems, with immense bibliography. More recently, in the perennial debate over Antigone herself, C. SourvinouInwood, ‘Assumptions and the creation of meaning: reading Sophocles’ Antigone’, JHS 109 (1989), 134-48, presents her actions very unfavourably from the viewpoint of the Athenian audience. Among more positive assessments is H. P. Foley, ‘Antigone as Moral Agent’, in M. S. Silk (ed.), Tragedy and the Tragic (Oxford, 1996), 49-73. [ have defended some of the textual choices in this edition, and made other

suggestions, at (Ὁ 41 (1991) 325-39. An article that sheds some interesting light (in particular on Creon and on the ever-contentious lines 904ff.) is S. West, ‘Sophocles Antigone and Herodotus Book Three’, in J. Griffin (ed.), Sophocles Revisited (Oxford,

1999), 109-136.

19

ANTITONH

*Qà κοινὸν

αὐτάδελφον

'Ioufvnc

ἄρ᾽ οἶσϑ᾽ ὅ τι Ζεὺς τῶν ἀπ’ ὁποῖον οὐχὶ νῶιν ἔτι ζώσαιν

κάρα,

Οἰδίπου τελεῖ;

καμῶν

οὐδὲν γὰρ οὔτ᾽ ἀλγεινὸν οὔτ’ thtns &tept οὔτ᾽ αἰσχρὸν οὔτ᾽ ἄτιμόν ἐσϑ’ ὁποῖον οὐ τῶν σῶν tc κἀμῶν οὐκ Brun” ἐγὼ κακῶν.

καὶ

νῦν

τί τοῦτ᾽

αὖ φασι

πανδήμωι

πόλει

κήρυγμα ϑεῖναι τὸν στρατηγὸν ἀρτίως; ἔχεις τι κεϊσήκουσας; f σε λανϑάνει

πρὸς ILMHNH

ἐμοὶ οὔϑ᾽ δυοῖν μιᾶι ἐπεὶ

τοὺς

στεΐχοντα

τῶν ἐχϑρῶν

κακά;

μὲν οὐδεὶς μῦϑος, ᾿Αντιγόνη, φίλων ἡδὺς οὔτ᾽ ἀλγεινὸς ἵκετ᾽ ἐξ ὅτου ἀδελφοῖν ἐστερήϑημεν δύο ϑανόντοιν ἡμέραι διπλῆι χερί" δὲ φροῦδός ἐστιν ᾿᾽᾿Αργεΐων στρατὸς

ἐν νυκτὶ οὔτ᾽

φΐλους

τῆι

νῦν,

εὐτυχοῦσα

οὐδὲν

μᾶλλον

οἶδ᾽ οὔτ᾽

ἀτωμένη.

fiôn καλῶς, nat σ᾽ ἑκμτὸς adrAcfwv πυλῶν τοῦδ᾽ οὔνεκ᾽ ἐξέπεμπον, ὡς μόνη xAÓo1c.

Ic.

τί δ᾽

Av.

οὗ γὰρ τάφου νῶιν τὸν μὲν προτΐσας, "Ετεοκλέα μέν, ὡς

χρησϑεὶς ἔκρυψε,

δηλοῖς

δικαίαι τοῖς

γάρ

τι καλχαίνουσ᾽

ϑανόντοιν

καὶ

Evepôev conj.:

ἔπος.

20

τὼ κασιγνήτω Κρέων τὸν δ᾽ ἀτιμάσας ἔχει; λέγουσι, σὺν t6íxni

vôuwit ἔντιμον

κατὰ χϑονὸς νεκροῖς"

nd

14

15

ὑπέρτερον,

AV.

ἐστί;

10

ϑανόντων 20

mss.

26

[ Enter Antigone and Ismene from the palace. | ANTIGONE: Sister, closest of kindred, Ismene’s self, do you know of any evil, among those which stem from Oedipus, that Zeus is not bringing to pass for

us while we still live? For there is no pain, no calamity [?], no shame, no dishonour, that I have not seen among your miseries and mine. And now,

what is this new edict which they say that the general has just laid down for the entire city? Have you any knowledge? Have you heard? Or do you not realise that the evils of our enemies are coming upon our own people? ISMENE: No news of our people, whether pleasant or unpleasant, has reached me, Antigone, since the two of us were bereft of our two brothers, killed on one day with a double blow. Since the Argive army departed during this present night, I have heard nothing more; I am not aware that my state has grown any happier or more disastrous. ANTIGONE: I knew it well, and that is why I brought you outside the courtyard gates, so that you alone might hear.

10

15

ISMENE: What is it? It is clear that you are in turmoil at some report.

20

ANTIGONE: Why, has Creon not deemed one of our brothers worthy of burial, the other unworthy? Eteocles, they say, he has laid beneath the earth with due observance of propriety and custom [?], to be honoured by

25

21

τὸν δ᾽ ἀϑλίως ϑανόντα ModAuvefnous νέκυν ἀστοῖσί φασιν ἐκκεκηρῦχϑαι τὸ μὴ tágui καλύψαι μηδὲ κωκῦσαΐ τινα, ἐᾶν δ’ ἄκλαυτον, ἄταφον, οἰωνοῖς γλυκὸν ϑησαυρὸν εἰσορῶσι πρὸς χάριν βορᾶς. τοιαῦτά φασι τὸν ἀγαϑὸν Κρέοντα σοὶ μᾶμοΐ, λέγω γὰρ κἀμέ, κηρύξαντ᾽ ἔχειν" καὶ δεῦρο νεῖσϑαι ταῦτα τοῖσι μὴ εἰδόσιν σαφῆ προκηρύξοντα, xal τὸ πρᾶγμ᾽ ἄγειν

οὐχ ὡς παρ᾽

οὐδέν,

ἀλλ᾽

ὅς ἄν τούτων

τι

δραῖ

φόνον προκεῖσϑάι δημόλευστον ἐν πόλει. οὕτως ἔχει σοι ταῦτα, καὶ δεΐξεις τάχα eft’ εὐγενὴς πέφυκας εἴτ᾽ ἐσϑλῶν κακή. τί

Ic.

δ’,

λύουσ᾽

ὦ ταλαῖφρον,

ἄν εἴϑ᾽

Av.

εἰ

Io.

ποῖόν

Av.

εἰ

Io.

A γὰρ

Av.

τὸν γοῦν ἀδελφόν:

Io.

ὦ σχετλία, 33 34 40 42

ξυμπονήσεις

τὸν

τοῖσι

et

ἅπτουσα καὶ

νοεῖς

ξὺν

ἐγὼ

σφ᾽,

ποτ᾽

ef;

χερί.

ἀπόρρητον

πόλει;

ἐμὸν καὶ τὸν σόν, Av σὺ μὴ ϑέληις, οὐ γὰρ δὴ προδοῦσ᾽ ἁλώσομαι.

Κρέοντος

ἀντειρηκότος;

τοῖς

mss.

προκηρύξαντα

most

mss.

εἴϑ'

conj.:

ἅπτουσα most

# ϑάπτουσα

mss.

22

^0

σκόπει.

κουφιεῖς

conj.:

ποῖ

τούτοις,

ποῦ γνώμης

τῆιδε

ϑάπτειν

ἐν

προσϑε funy πλέον;

ξυνεργάσηι

τι κινδύνευμα; νεκρὸν

τάδ’

nost

nss.

4^5

the dead below. But as for the wretched corpse of Polynices, they say that Creon has proclaimed to the townsfolk that no one may lay him in a tomb or mourn for him; they must leave him unwept, unburied, a delightful treasure-house for the birds which will gaze upon him as their welcome prey. Such, they say, is the edict which the good Creon has pronounced for you and me - for me, I tell you — and he is coming here to proclaim this explicitly to those who do not know it. And he does not consider the matter trivial; no, the penalty laid down for anyone who does any of these things is murder by public stoning in the city. So these matters stand, and you will soon show whether you are noble or the base child of a lofty race. ISMENE: If this is so, poor sister, what good can I do? What knots can I tie or untie? ANTIGONE: Consider if you will share the labour and the deed. ISMENE: Share in what venture? What ever do you mean? ANTIGONE: Will you join with this hand of mine in lifting the body? ISMENE: What? Do you mean to bury it, when the city is forbidden to do so? ANTIGONE: I certainly mean to bury my own brother - and yours, if you will not. I will not be caught betraying him. ISMENE: Reckless girl - when Creon has forbidden it?

23

30

35

45

Av.

ἀλλ᾽

Io.

οἴμοι" φρόνησον, ὦ μασιγνήτη, πατὴρ ὡς νῶιν ἀπεχϑὴς δυσκλεής τ᾽ ἀπώλετο, πρὸς αὐτοφώρων ἀμπλακημάτων διπλᾶς ὄψεις ἀράξας αὐτὸς αὐτουργῶι χερΐ" ἔπειτα μήτηρ καὶ γυνή, διπλοῦν Eros, πλεκταῖσιν ἀρτάναισι λωβᾶται βζον" τρΐτον δ᾽ ἀδελφὼ δύο μΐαν nad’ ἡμέραν αὐτοκτονοῦντε τὼ ταλαιπώρω μόρον κοινὸν κατειργάσαντ᾽ ἐπαλλήλοιν χεροῖν. νῦν δ᾽ αὖ μόνα δὴ νὼ λελειμμένα σκόπει ὅσωι κάκιστ᾽ ὁλούμεϑ᾽, εἰ νόμου βίαι

ψῆφον

οὐδὲν

αὐτῶι

τυράννων

τῶν

ἐμῶν

À κράτη

u'

εἴργειν

μέτα.

παρέξιμεν.

ἀλλ᾽’ ἐννοεῖν χρὴ τοῦτο μὲν γυναῖχ᾽ ὅτι ἔφυμεν, ὡς πρὸς ἄνδρας οὐ μαχουμένα, ἔπειτα 5' odven’ ἀρχόμεσϑ᾽ ἐκ κρεισσόνων καὶ

ταῦτ᾽

ἀκούειν

κἄτι

τῶνδ᾽

ἀλγίονα.

ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν αἰτοῦσα τοὺς ὑπὸ χϑονὸς ξύγγνοιαν ἴσχειν, ὡς βιάζομαι τάδε, τοῖς ἐν τέλει βεβῶσι πεΐσομαι" τὸ γὰρ περισσὰ πράσσειν οὐκ ἔχει νοῦν οὐδένα. οὔτ’ ἄν κελεύσαιμ᾽ οὔτ᾽ ἄν, εἰ ϑέλοις ἔτι πράσσειν, ἐμοῦ y” dv ἡδέως δρώϊιης μέτα. ἀλλ’ ἴσϑ᾽ Ómoía σοι δοκεῖ" μεῖνον δ᾽ ἐγὼ

Av.

48

56 57 58 71

u conj.: omitted by aótoxtovoUvte 1 ms.:

mss. aÜTONTEVOÜVTE

ἐπ’ ἀλλήλοιν most mss. 6' omitted by most mss. dnofa 2 mss.: ὁποῖά others 24

others

70

ANTIGONE: ISMENE:

It is not for him to keep me from my own.

Alas! Think,

sister,

how

our father perished,

shunned

and

50

despised, when he had been driven by crimes that he himself had discovered to strike his own two eyes with a self-punishing hand.Then his mother and

wife, two names in one, destroyed her life with a twisted noose. Thirdly our

55

two brothers on one day, each miserably slaying his own kin, with hands raised against one another brought about their mutual death. And now, consider how we two, left all alone, shall come to the worst end of all, if we

unlawfully offend against the decree or power of a king. We must rather bear in mind, first that we are women, not meant to fight against men; then

that we are ruled by those who are stronger, and so must obey in these things, and in things yet worse than these. I, therefore, shall ask those below the earth to pardon me, seeing that this is forced upon me, and shall obey

those who have authority. For there is no sense in acting beyond our limits. ANTIGONE: I would not ask it; and, if you should wish to act hereafter, you would not be welcome to share the deed with me. Be what you please; I shall

25

65

70

ϑάψω" καλόν μοι τοῦτο ποιούσηι Saveiv. φΐλη pet’ αὐτοῦ κεΐσομαι, gíAou μέτα, ὅσια πανουργήσασ᾽, ἐπεὶ πλείΐων χρόνος ὃν δεῖ u' ἀρέσκειν τοῖς κάτω τῶν ἐνϑάδε" ἐκεῖ γὰρ αἰεὶ κεΐσομαι. σοὶ δ᾽ εἰ δόκει, τὰ τῶν ϑεῶν ἔντιμ᾽ ἀτιμάσασ᾽ ἔχε. Io.

ἐγὼ

μὲν

βίαι

οὐκ

ἄτιμα

πολιτῶν

ποιοῦμαι,

δρᾶν

ἔφυν

Av.

σὺ μὲν τάδ᾽ ἄν προύχοι᾽, χώσουσ᾽ ἀδελφῶι φιλτάτωι

Io.

οἴμοι

Av.

μὴ

10.

ἀλλ᾽ οὖν τοὖργον,

ἂν.

ταλαΐνης,

"poo

οἴμοι,

ὡς

δὲ

ἐγὼ δὲ δὴ τάφον πορεύσομαι.

ὑπερδέδοικά

προτάρβει’

τὸν

σὸν

σου.

ἐξόρϑου

προμηνύσηις γε τοῦτο κρυφῆι δὲ κεῦϑε, σὺν

καταύδα"

σιγῶσ᾽,

ἐὰν

ἐπὶ

μὴ

πολλὸν πᾶσι

Io.

ϑερμὴν

Av.

ἀλλ᾽

Ic.

εἰ

ἂν.

οὐκοῦν,

Io.

ἀρχὴν

Av.

ef ταῦτα

λέξεις,

ἐχϑρὰ

τῶι

οἵδ’ καὶ

τὸ

ἀμήχανος.

ψυχροῖσι

δυνήσηι

ὅταν δὲ δὲ

'uoO

καρδίαν

ἀρέσκουσ᾽ γ᾽"

83

μὴ

94

προσκλήισηι

οἷς ἀλλ᾽

οὐ πρέπει

ἐχϑαρῆι

ϑανόντι

conj.:

μή

conj.:

ἔσηι ἔχεις. με

χρή.

ἐρᾶις.

πεπαύσομαι. τἀμήχανα.

μὲν

mss.

προσκείσει

26

ἀδεῖν

ἀμηχάνων

ἐξ

προσκλήισηι uou

ἐγώ.

τάδε.

μάλισϑ᾽

δὴ μὴ σϑένω,

ϑηρᾶν

μηδενὶ δ᾽ αὕτως

ἐχϑίων

κηρύξηις

βίον.

ἐμοῦ, δίκηιϊ. βίον] mss.

πότμον

ms.

L

bury him. It will be fine for me to die in doing that. I shall lie with him, a loved one with a loved one, guilty of a righteous crime. I shall have to spend more time pleasing those below than those here; for there I shall lie for ever. But if you think it right, be guilty of dishonouring the things that the gods honour. ISMENE: I do not dishonour them, but I have no means of acting in defiance of the citizens. ANTIGONE: That may be your excuse. / shall go and make a burial mound for my dear brother. ISMENE: Unhappy girl, how afraid I am for you! ANTIGONE: Have no fear for me. Keep your own life on a straight course. ISMENE: Then at least disclose this deed to no one. Keep it a secret, and I shall do the same. ANTIGONE:

75

85

Oh, proclaim it aloud! I shall hate you much more for your

silence if you do not announce these things to all.

ISMENE:

You have a hot heart for chilling deeds.

ANTIGONE: I know that I am pleasing those whom I am chiefly bound to please. ISMENE: If you will even have the power. But you desire what is impossible. ANTIGONE:

ISMENE: A ANTIGONE:

Then, when I have no strength, I shall leave off.

quest for the impossible should not even be begun. If you say this, you will be my enemy, and will also be rightly

90

ἀλλ᾽ Fa ue καὶ τὴν ἐξ ἐμοῦ ôuoBouAfav παϑεῖν τὸ δεινὸν τοῦτο" πεΐσομαι γὰρ où τοσοῦτον οὐδὲν ὥστε μὴ οὐ καλῶς ϑανεῖν. Ic. ΧΟΡΟΣ

ἀλλ᾽, ἄνους

ss

εἰ δοκεῖ σοι, στεῖχε" τοῦτο δ᾽ ἴσϑ᾽, ὅτι μὲν ἔρχηι, τοῖς φΐλοις δ᾽ ὀρϑῶς φίλη. >

ἀκτὶς ἀελίου, Td καλλιστον ἑπταπύλωι φανὲν Θήβαι τῶν προτέρων φάος, ἐφάνϑης ποτ᾽, ὦ χρυσέας duépas βλέφαρον, Διρκαΐuv ὑπὲρ ῥεέϑρων μολοῦσα, τὸν λεύκασπιν t'ApyóSevt φῶτα βάντα πανσαγίαι φυγάδα πρόδρομον ὀξυτόνωι κινήσασα χαλινῶι"

(στρ.a 101

108

ὅς

ἐφ᾽ dvetépar yar Πολυνε fuouc ἀρϑεὶς νεικέων ἐξ ἀμφιλόγων ὀξέα κλάζων αἰετὸς ὥς γᾶν ὑπερέπτα, λευκῆς χιόνος πτέρυγι στεγανός, πολλῶν ped’ ὅπλων ξύν

8'

ἱπποκόμοις

ih

n

κορύϑεσσιν.

στὰς δ᾽ ὑπὲρ μελάϑρων φονώσαισιν ἀμφιχανὼν κύκλωι λόγχαις 108

ὀξυτόνωι

110 ὅς 113 ὥς 117-18

ἐπτάπυλον conj.:

(ἀντ. a

στόμα, ὀξυτόρωι

most

mss.,

bEutépur

... Πολυνεΐκους conj.: Sv ... Πολυνείκης γᾶν conj.: εἷς γᾶν (or γῆν) ὥς mss. φονώσαισιν conj.: φονίαισιν most mss. 28

some

mss.

called an enemy to the dead. But leave me and my folly to suffer this evil. For I shall suffer nothing as bad as an ignoble death. ISMENE: Well, if you are resolved, go. But know this: you go in folly, but to your dear ones truly dear.

95

[Exeunt Antigone by a parodos (side-entrance), Ismene into the palace.

Enter Chorus of Theban CHORUS: Rayofthe sun, gates, you have appeared of Dirce, making the man

elders by the other parodos.) fairest light that ever shone on Thebes oftheseven at last, eye of golden day, coming over the streams of the white shield, who came in full panoply from

100 105

Argos [?], to depart in headlong flight with whistling bridle. Through the quarrelsome disputes of Polynices he against our land, and with shrill cries hovered over the land covering it with snow-white wing, he with his many weapons horsehair-crested helmets. He paused above our homes, ravening with murderous

was led forth like an eagle, and his many spears for the

110 115

ἔβα πρΐν rod’ duetépwv αἱμάτων yévuoiv πληρωϑῆναι καὶ στεφάνωμα πύργων πευκάενϑ᾽ “Ἤφαιστον ἅλεϊν" τοῖος

ἀμφὶ

πάταγος

vot’

ἐτάϑη

"Apeos,

δυσχεΐρωμα

12t

ἀντιπάλωι

125

δράκοντος.

Ζεὺς γὰρ μεγάλης γλώσσας κόμπους ὑπερεχϑαΐρει, καί σφας ἐσιδὼν πολλῶι ῥεύματι προσνισσομένους

χρυσοῦ

καναχῆς

παλτῶι

ῥιπτεῖ

én’

ἄκρων

νΐἵκην

ὑπεροπλίαις, πυρὶ

BaABíBuv

ἤδη

δρμῶντ᾽

ἀλαλάξαι.

ἀντιτύπαι δ᾽ ἐπὶ yar πέσε tavtadweeic πυρφόρος ὅς τότε μαινομέναι ξὺν ὀὁρμᾶι βακχεύων ἐπέπνει ῥιπαῖς ἐχϑίστων ἀνέμων.

εἶχε

δ’

ἄλλα

ἄλλαι δ’

(cto.8B 135

τὰ τοῦδ᾽,

ἐπ’

ἄλλοις

πληρωϑῆναι

conj.:

ἐπενώ-

nud

121-2 125

ἀντιπάλου

126

δράκοντι

130

ὑπεροπλίαις conj.: variant in some

134

ἀντιτύπαι

138

ἄλλα

most most

139

ἄλλα

variant most

mas.

mss.

Ünepontias

ἀντίτυπα

mss. mss.,

some

mss.

conj.:

δ᾽ 1 ms.:

others

πλησϑῆναι in

most

τὰ τοῦδ᾽ τὰ

μὲν

ἄλλα

most

mss.,

mss.

conj.:

τὰ δ᾽

some

τὰ

ἄλλοις]

5'

(or

ἄλλους

30

ὑπερόπτας

τάδ᾽)

some

most

mss.

or τάδ’

sevenfold gates he surrounded - and was gone, before he could glut his jaws with our blood, and the fire of pine torches could seize upon our ring of towers. To such a pitch was raised the clatter of Ares at his back, too hard for the serpent’s adversary to subdue. For Zeus detests the boasts of a proud tongue, and seeing them come on in a great stream, in the arrogance of clashing gold, he struck with brandished fire one who was already rushing to utter a shout of victory at his goal upon our ramparts. He swayed in the balance and fell to earth with a crash, the fire-bearer who before, revelling in his mad onset, had breathed upon us with blasts of

malignant winds. His fortunes went one way, while to others great Ares,

31

120 125

130

135

ua

στυφελίζων

ons ἑπτὰ

μέγας

"A140

δεξιόχειρος. λοχαγοὶ

ταχϑέντες Ζηνὶ

γὰρ

ἐφ’

ἴσοι

πρὸς

τροπαΐωι

ἑπτὰ

πύλαις

ἴσους

πάγχαλκα

πλὴν τοῖν στυγεροῖν, μητρός τε μιᾶς φύντε

ἔλιπον

τέλη,

d πατρὸς ἑνὸς καϑ᾽ αὐτοῖν

145

Sixpateis λόγχας στήσαντ᾽ ἔχετον κοινοῦ ϑανάτου μέρος ἄμφω.

ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἃ μεγαλώνυμος ἦλϑε τᾶι πολυαρμάτωι ἀντιχαρεῖσα ἐκ μὲν δὴ πολέμων

τῶν νῦν ϑέσϑαι ϑεῶν

δὲ

ναοὺς

παννυχίοις

Nina Θήβαι,

(ἄντ.β 150

Ancuooóvav: χοροῖς

πάντας

ἐπέλ-

ϑωμεν, 5 θήβας δ᾽ ἐλελίχϑων Βάκχιος ἄρχοι. ἀλλ᾽ ὅδε γὰρ δὴ βασιλεὺς χώρας, παῖς Ó Μενοικέως, < » νεοχμὸς νεαραῖσι ϑεῶν ἐπὶ συντυχίαις, χωρεῖ τίνα δὴ μῆτιν ἐρέσσων, ὅτι σύγκλητον τήνδε γερόντων προύϑετο λέσχην, κοινῶι κηρύγματι πέμψας; 140 151 153 153-4 154 156

δεξιόσειρος most mss. ϑέσϑε most mss. παννύχοις most mas. ἐλελΐζων most mas. Βάκχιος conj.: βακχεῖος παῖς conj.: Κρέων mss. 32

mas.

155

160

striking right-handed, assigned other fates. For seven captains, matched evenly at seven gates against as many opponents, left offerings of bronze for Zeus who routs enemies; except for those two unhappy men, who, born of one father and one mother, set their two conquering spears against one another, and who both have a share in a common death. But, since high-titled Victory has come, her joy answering the joy of Thebes of the many chariots, let forgetfulness follow after the recent wars, and let us visit all the temples of the gods with night-long dances, and may Bacchus, who shakes the ground of Thebes, be our leader! But here comes the King of the land, the son of Menoeceus, newly

proclaimed [?] under the new conditions that the gods have sent. What plan is he putting in motion, that he has proposed this special conference of elders, sending notice by means of a proclamation to us all?

33

140

145

150

155 160

KPEQN

ἄνδρες,

τὰ μὲν

δὴ πόλεος

ἀσφαλῶς

ϑεοὶ

πολλῶι σάλωι σεΐσαντες ὥρϑωσαν πάλιν" ὑμᾶς δ᾽ ἐγὼ πομποῖσιν ἐκ πάντων δίχα ἔστειλ᾽ ἱκέσϑαι, τοῦτο μὲν τὰ Λαΐου σέϑοντας εἰδὼς εὖ ϑρόνων ἀεὶ κράτη,

τοῦτ᾽

addic,

ἡνίκ᾽

οἰδίπους

ὥρϑου

165

πόλιν,

μἀπεὶ διώλετ᾽, ἀμφὶ τοὺς κεΐνων ἔτι παῖδας μένοντας ἐμπέδοις φρονήμασιν. Bt’ οὖν ἐκεῖνοι πρὸς διπλῆς μοΐρας μίαν xa98' ἡμέραν ὥλοντο, matoavtés te καὶ πληγέντες αὐτόχειρι σὺν μιάσματι, ἐγὼ κράτη δὴ πάντα καὶ ϑρόνους ἔχω γένους xat’ ἀγχιστεῖα τῶν ὀλωλότων. ἀμήχανον

ψυχήν

τε

ἀρχαῖς

δὲ

καὶ

παντὸς

ἀνδρὸς

φρόνημα

καὶ

τε καὶ νόμοισιν

170

17$

ἐκμαϑεῖν

γνώμην,

ἐντριβὴς

πρὶν

ἄν

φανῆι.

ἐμοὶ γὰρ ὅστις πᾶσαν εὐθύνων πόλιν μὴ τῶν ἀρΐστων ἅπτεται βουλευμάτων, ἀλλ’ ἐκ φόβου του γλῶσσαν ἐγκλήισας ἔχει, κάκιστος εἶναι νῦν τε καὶ πάλαι δοκεῖ" xal μεΐζον’ ὅστις ἀντὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ πάτρας

φΐλον ἐγὼ

οὔτ᾽

νομίζει, γάρ,

ἴστω

τοῦτον Ζεὺς

ἄν σιωπήσαιμι

οὐδαμοῦ

ὁ πάνϑ’

τὴν &tnv

λέγω.

ὁρῶν

def, 165

ὀρῶν

στείχουσαν ἀστοῖς ἀντὶ τῆς σωτηρίας, οὔτ᾽ dv φίλον ποτ’ ἄνδρα δυσμενῆ χϑονὸς ϑείμην ἐμαυτῶι, τοῦτο γιγνώσκων, ὅτι

5’ 180

ἐστὶν

ἐγκλήισας

ἡ σώιζουσα, conj.:

καὶ

ἐγκλείσας 34

180

ταύτης mss.

ἔπι

[Enter Creon and attendants by a parodos.] CREON: Gentlemen, the gods, after tossing the state on heavy seas, have righted it again. And through my messengers I have commanded you, outof all the people, to come here apart, since I am well aware, firstly that you always respected the authority of Laius’s throne, and again that you did likewise when Oedipus governed the city, and that, when he had died, you still remained constant in your loyalty to those men’s descendants. Well, now that they have been killed on one day by a twofold fate, striking and stricken in the pollution of kindred murder, it is I who possess all authority and royal power, by closeness of kinship to the dead. It is impossible to gain full knowledge of any man’s character, mentality and judgement until he is seen practised in rule and law-giving. For to me a man who, governing a whole city, does not employ the best counsels, but keeps his mouth shut through some fear, seems, and has

165

170

175

180

always seemed, the worst of men; and one who considers a friend more

important than his country I regard as worthless. For I - let Zeus, who sees all things always, be my witness -- would not be silent if Isaw ruinratherthan deliverance coming upon the citizens, nor would I ever regard my country's enemy as my friend, knowing that it is our country that preservesus, anditis

35

185 190

πλέοντες ὀρϑῆς τοὺς φίλους ποιούμεϑα. τοιοῖσδ᾽ ἐγὼ νόμοισι τήνδ᾽ αὄξω πόλιν. μαὶ νῦν ἀδελφὰ τῶνδε κηρύξας ἔχω ἀστοῖσι παΐδων τῶν ἀπ᾽ Οἰδίπου πέρι" ’EteonAéa μέν, Sc πόλεως ὑπερμαχῶν ὅλωλε τῆσδε, πάντ᾽ ἀριστεύσας 6opt, téqui τε κρύψαι καὶ τὰ πάντ᾽ Égayvicai

190

ἃ τοῖς ἀρίστοις ἔρχεται κάτω νεκροῖς" τὸν δ᾽ αὖ ξύναιμον τοῦδε, Πολυνεΐκην λέγω, ὅς γῆν πατρώιαν καὶ ϑεοὺς τοὺς ἐγγενεῖς φυγὰς κατελθὼν ἠϑέλησε μὲν πυρὶ πρῆσαι

κατ᾽

ἄκρας,

ἠϑέλησε

δ᾽

αἵματος

κοινοῦ πάσασϑαι, τοὺς δὲ δουλώσας ἄγειν, τοῦτον πόλει τῆιϊιδ᾽ exncunpuxtar τάφωι μήτε κτερίΐίζειν μήτε κωκῦσαΐ τινα, ἐᾶν δ᾽ ἄϑαπτον καὶ πρὸς οἰωνῶν δέμας καὶ πρὸς κυνῶν ἐδεστὸν αἰκισϑέν τ᾽ ἰδεῖν. τοιόνδ᾽ ἐμὸν φρόνημα, κοῦποτ᾽ ἔκ γ᾽ ἐμοῦ τιμῆι προέξουσ᾽ οἱ κακοὶ τῶν ἐνδίκων. ἀλλ᾽

μαὶ _ 190 196 203

ὅστις

ζῶν

εὔνους

ὁμοίως

ἐξ

τῆιδε

ἐμοῦ

τῆι

πόλει,

ϑανὼν

τιμήσεται.

ὀρϑῶς 1 ms. and a variant in Demosthenes ἀφαγνίσαι most mss. ἐκκεκήρυκται conj.: ἐκκεκηρύχϑαι mss.

206

αἰκισϑέν

208

τιμῆι

τ’

conj.:

or αἰκισϑέντ᾽ : mss. τιμὴν

mss.

36

200

ambiguous

205

only while she remains upright, as we sail upon her, that we make our friends. Such are the principles by which I strengthen the city. And I have now, in accordance with these principles, made proclamation to the citizens concerning the sons of Oedipus. Eteocles, who died fighting for this city, having won every distinction in battle, is to be laid in a tomb, and all the offerings are to be paid which come to the noblest of the dead below. But as for his brother Polynices, who, on his return from exile, was prepared utterly to destroy his ancestral land and the gods of his race with fire; who was prepared to feed on kindred blood and reduce others to slavery; as for this man, proclamation has been made to the city that no one shall

give him burial honours or lament him, and that instead his body shall be left unburied to be devoured Such is my purpose, held in higher honour than honoured by me as much

by birds and dogs and mangled in men's sight. and never by any deed of mine shall the base be the just. But he who is a friend to this city shall be in death as in life.

37

215

220

225

230

Xo.

σοὶ ταῦτ᾽ ἀρέσκει, παῖ Μενοικέως, tKoéovt τὸν τῆιδε δύσνουν καὶ τὸν εὐμενῆ πόλει. νόμωι δὲ χρῆσϑαι παντί πού γ᾽ ἔνεστί σοι

καὶ

τῶν ϑανόντων

Ko.

ὡς

Χο.

νεωτέρωι

Κρ.

ἀλλ᾽

Xo.

τί

δῆτ᾽

Κρ.

τὸ

μὴ

Χο.

οὐκ

Κρ.

καὶ μὴν ὁ μισϑός ἄνδρας τὸ κέρδος

OYAAE

ἄν

σκοποΐ τωι

εἴσ᾽ ἄν

ἄλλο

ψυχὴ

ἐρῶ

nÜ6a

οὐχ

223

ἐπίσκοποι.

ἀπιστοῦσιν

ἔτι; τάδε.

ϑανεῖν

,

κοῦφον

τάχους ἐξάρας

φροντίδων

ἐρᾶι.

ἐμαυτὸν πολλά

εἰς μοι

ὅπο πόδα. 225

ἀναστροφήν. μυϑουμένη᾽

τί χωρεῖςol μολὼν

σπουδῆς

ἐλπίδων

ἐπιστάσεις,

δώσεις

Sfxnv;

κεῖ τάδ᾽ εἴσεται Κρέων πῶς σὺ δῆτ᾽ οὐκ ἀλγυνῆι;

Κρέον] ποιεῖν variant in 1 γ᾽ conj.: 1' mss. vuv conj.: νῦν mss. γ᾽ conj.: τ᾽ mss. ἄλλωι most mss. and elsewhere ΦΎΛΑΞ conj.:

τάχους

γ᾽

ἐπεντέλλοις

ὅς

215

πρόϑες.

νεκροῦ

ὅπως

τλήμων, μένεις ads ἄλλου παρ’ ἀνδρός, 211 213 215 217 218 223

πέρι.

γ᾽ οὗτος" ἀλλ᾽ ὑπ᾽ πολλάκις διώλεσεν.

ἔσχον

κυκλῶν

τοῦ

τοῖς

ἱκάνω

γὰρ

βαστάζειν

μῶρος

μὲν

γὰρ

τάλας,

εἰρημένων.

τῶν

τοῦτ᾽

οὕτω

δύσπνους ὁδοῖς

ἦτε

τοῦτο

᾿᾽πιχωρεῖν

πολλὰς

ζῶμεν

ἕτοιμοι

ἔστιν

ἄναξ,

vuv

χὠπόσοι

Aristotle 38

as.

ἄγγελος

mss.

230

CHORUS:

It is your pleasure, son of Menoeceus, so to treat [?] the city’s

enemy for the CREON: CHORUS: CREON: CHORUS: CREON: CHORUS: CREON: hopes.

and its friend. You doubtless have the power to apply any law, both dead and for us who live. Be sentinels, then, of my instructions. Assign this task to some younger man. Watchmen for the corpse have already been appointed. Then what is this further command that you would give? That you should not side with those who disobey these orders. No one is so foolish as to desire death. That is indeed the reward; but gain often ruins men through their

215

220

[Enter Guard by a parodos.| GUARD: Lord, I will not say that I arrive out of breath from running, having sped on nimble foot. For my thoughts gave me many pauses, when I wheeled round in my tracks to return. My spirit spoke to me, saying many things: ‘Unhappy man, why are you going to a place where you will be punished?’ “Wretched one, are you halting again? And if Creon learns of this from another man, will you not suffer for it?’ Pondering such thoughts I

39

225

230

τοιαῦϑ᾽ ἐλίσσων ἤνυτον σχολῆι βραδύς, χοῦτως ὁδὸς βραχεῖα γίγνεται μακρά. τέλος γε μέντοι δεῦρ᾽ ἐνΐκησεν μολεῖν σοΐ, κεῖ τὸ μηδὲν ἐξερῶ, φράσω δ᾽ ὅμως. τῆς ἐλπΐδος γὰρ ἔρχομαι δεδραγμένος τὸ μὴ παϑεῖν Pu ἄλλο πλὴν τὸ μόρσιμον. Kp.

τί

δ᾽

ἐστὶν

ἄνϑ᾽

οὗ

τήνδ᾽

ἔχεις

du.

φράσαι ϑέλω σοι πρῶτα τἀμαυτοῦ τὸ γὰρ πρᾶγμ᾽ oSt’ ἔδρασ᾽ οὔτ᾽ εἶδον ὅστις ἦν οὐδ᾽ ἄν δικαΐως ἐς κακὸν πέσοιμΐ τι.

ἀϑυμίαν;

Κρ.

εὖ γε στεγάζηι κἀποφάργνυσαι κύκλωι τὸ πρᾶγμα’ δηλοῖς δ᾽ ὥς τι σημανῶν νέον.

du.

τὰ δεινὰ γάρ

τοι προστίϑησ᾽

Κρ.

odxouv

ποτ᾽,

gu.

“ai δὴ λέγω σοι" τὸν νεκρόν τις ϑάψας βέβηκε μἀπὶ χρωτὶ διψίαν κόνιν

ἐρεῖς

παλύνας

τίς

εἶτ᾽

ἀνδρῶν

ἦν

ὄκνον

ἃ

ὁ δρῶν,

ἄπει;

χρή.

τί φήις;

du.

οὐκ οἶδ᾽ - ἐκεῖ γὰρ οὔτε του γενῆιδος ἦν πλῆγμ᾽, οὐ δικέλλης ἐμβολή: στύφλος δὲ γῆ καὶ χέρσος, ἀρρὼξ οὐδ᾽ ἐπημαξευμένη

ὁ τολμήσας

τάδε;

τροχοῖσιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἄσημος οὐργάτης τίς ὅπως δ᾽ ὁ πρῶτος ἡμὶν ἡμεροσκόπος πᾶσι

ϑαῦμα

245

ἀρτίως

Κρ.

δεΐκνυσι,

290

πολύν.

ἀπαλλαχϑεὶς

κἀφαγιστεύσας

235

δυσχερὲς

250

ἦν.

παρῆν.

"Ν

231

βραδύς

241

oteyétni conj.: στοχάζηι mss. ἐμβολή 1 ms. and a variant in τίς conj.: τις mss. 40

250 252

ταχύς variant

in 2 nas. another:

ἐμβολὴ

others

came on my way with slow reluctance, and so a short journey became long. At last, however, victory went to the plan of coming here to you. And even

if my words are worthless, I shall still speak. For I come with a firm grip on the hope that I can suffer nothing but what is fated. CREON: What is it that makes you so fearful? GUARD: I want first to tell you my own part. I neither did the deed nor saw who did it, and it would not be right for me to come to any harm. CREON: Youare effectively covering yourself and fencing yourself round in this matter. You must be about to deliver some strange news. GUARD: Dangers make for long hesitation. CREON: So will you never speak and then take yourself off? GUARD: Tam speaking. Someone has just buried the corpse and gone, after sprinkling thirsty dust on its flesh and performing the needful rites. CREON: What are you saying? What man has dared to do this?

GUARD: I do not know. For at the spot there was no stroke made by a pickaxe, no impression of a mattock. The ground was hard and dry, unbroken and unmarked by cartwheels; there was no sign who the culprit

had been. And when the first day-watchman showed us this, it came as an

41

235

240

245

250

ὃ μὲν γὰρ ἠφάνιστο, λεπτὴ

tuuBÁonc

δ᾽,

ἄγος

φεύγοντος

δ᾽

οὔὗτε

ϑηρὸς

σημεῖα

μὲν

ὥς,

οὔτε

o6,

ἐπῆν

tou

255

κόνις.

κυνῶν

ἐλθόντος, οὐ σπάσαντος, ἐξεφαΐνετο. λόγοι δ᾽ ἐν ἀλλήλοισιν ἐρρόϑουν κακοΐ, φύλαξ ἐλέγχων: φύλακα, κἄν ἐγίγνετο πληγὴ τελευτῶσ᾽, οὐδ᾽ & κωλύσων παρῆν. εἷς γάρ τις ἦν ἕκαστος οὐξειργασμένος, κοὐδεὶς ἐναργής, ἀλλ᾽ ἔφευγε μὴ εἰδέναι.

ἦμεν

δ᾽ ἕτοιμοι

καὶ

μύδρους

αἵρειν

χεροῖν

καὶ πῦρ διέρπειν xal ϑεοὺς δρκωμοτεῖν τὸ μήτε δρᾶσαι μήτε toi Evverbévar τὸ πρᾶγμα βουλεύσαντι μήτ᾽ εἰργασμένωι. τέλος δ᾽, Br’ οὐδὲν ἦν ἐρευνῶσιν πλέον, λέγει

τις

νεῦσαι οὔτ᾽

εἷς

φόβωι

8 πάντας

ἐς

προύτρεψεν"

ἀντιφωνεῖν

008”

πέδον

οὐ

ὅπως

γὰρ

266

26:

κάρα

εἴχομεν

δρῶντες

270

καλῶς

πράξαιμεν. ἦν δ᾽ & μῦϑος ὡς ἀνοιστέον σοὶ τοὖργον εἴη τοῦτο κοὐχὶ Ἀρυπτέον. καὶ ταῦτ᾽ ἐνΐκα, κἀμὲ τὸν δυσδαΐμονα πάλος

Xo. Ko.

263 269 280

καϑαιρεῖ

πάρειμι

δ᾽ ἄκων

στέργει

γὰρ

τοῦτο

οὐχ

οὐδεὶς

τἀγαϑὸν

ἑκοῦσιν, ἄγγελον

λαβεῖν.

οἶδ᾽ κακῶν

ὅτι" ἐπῶν.

ἄναξ, ἐμοΐ tor μή τι καὶ ϑεήλατον τοὖργον 166° ἡ ξύννοια βουλεύει πάλαι. ~ . παῦσαι πρὶν ὀργῆς καί με μεστῶσαι λέγων, μὴ ᾽φευρεϑῆις ἄνους τε καὶ γέρων ἅμα. μὴ conj.: τὸ μὴ mss. 8 conj.: ὅς mss. xaí ue conj.: κἀμὲ mss. 42

27:

200

unpleasant shock for us all. For the body was out of sight - not entombed, but lightly covered with dust, as if by one who was avoiding pollution. And there was no visible sign that any wild beast or dog had come near or had torn it. There was a tumult of bitter words between us, with guard accusing

255

260

guard, and blows would have come in the end; there was no one to prevent

it. For every individual was the culprit, and none was convicted as each pleaded ignorance. And we were ready to take red-hot iron in our hands, to walk through fire and to swear oaths by the gods that we had neither done the deed nor conspired with anyone in its planning or execution. Finally, when we made no advance in our searching, one of us said something that made us all bow our heads towards the ground in fear; for we could neither

265

270

contradict him nor tell how we could prosper if we complied. What he said was that the deed must be reported to you and not concealed. This view prevailed, and to my misfortune the luck of the draw condemned me to

275

receive this privilege. And my presence here is as unwelcome to you as to me, ] know; for no one likes the bringer of bad news. CHORUS: Lord, the suspicion has been dawning on me for some time that this deed might perhaps be the work of the gods. CREON: Stop before your words quite fill me with wrath, or you will be

280

43

λέγεις γὰρ οὐκ ἀνεκτά, δαΐμονας λέγων πρόνοιαν ἴσχειν τοῦδε τοῦ νεκροῦ πέρι. πότερον ὑπερτιμῶντες óc εὐεργέτην ἔκρυπτον αὐτόν, ὅστις d&ugixfovas ναοὺς πυρώσων ἦλϑε κἀναϑήματα καὶ γῆν ἐκεΐ νων, καὶ νόμους διασκε δῶν ; M τοὺς κακοὺς τιμῶντας εἰσορᾶις ϑεούς; oun ἔστιν. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα καὶ πάλαι πόλεως

290

ἄνδρες μόλις φέροντες ἐρρόϑουν ἐμοΐ, κρυφῆι κάρα σεΐοντες, οὐδ᾽ ὑπὸ cuyo λόφον δικαΐως εἶχον, ὡς στέργειν ἐμέ. ἐκ τῶνδε τούτους ἐξεπίΐσταμαι καλῶς παρηγμένους μισϑοῖσιν εἰργάσϑαι τάδε. οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀνθρώποισιν οἷον ἄργυρος κακὸν νόμισμ᾽ ἔβλαστε- τοῦτο μαὶ πόλεις πορϑεῖ, τόδ᾽ ἄνδρας tEavfotnoiv δόμων, τόδ᾽ ἐκδιδάσκει καὶ παραλλάσσει ορένας χρηστὰς πρὸς αἰσχρὰ πράγμαϑ᾽ ἴστασϑαι βροτῶν" πανουργΐας δ᾽ ἔδειξεν ἀνϑρώποις ἔχειν καὶ παντὸς ἔργου δυσσέβειαν εἰδέναι. ὅσοι

82

χρόνωι

μισϑαρνοῦντες

ποτ᾽

ἀλλ᾽,

εἴπερ

εὖ

τοῦτ’

et

μὴ

ἴσχει

ἐπίστασ᾽,

τὸν

αὐτόχειρα

εὑρόντες

ἐκφανεῖτ᾽

οὐχ

"Ai6nc

ὑμὶν

ἥνυσαν

ἐξέπραξαν

ὡς

Ζεὺς ὅρκιος

τοῦδε ἐς

μοῦνος

δίκην.

ἔτ’

ἐμοῦ

ἐξ σοι

τοῦ

σέβας,

λέγω-

305

τάφου

ὀφϑαλμοὺς

ἀρκέσει,

ἐμούς,

moiv

ἄν

ζῶντες Xpeuactol τήνδε δηλώσηϑ᾽ ὅβριν, ἵν᾽ εἰδότες τὸ κέρδος ἔνϑεν οἰστέον τὸ λοιπὸν ἁρπάζητε, καὶ μάϑηϑ᾽ ὅτι οὖκ

ἐξ

ἅπαντος

δεῖ

τὸ

nepSafverv 44

300

τάδε

δοῦναι δέ

285

φιλεῖν.

310

exposed as no less foolish than old. For your words are intolerable when you say the gods are concerned for this corpse. Did they bury him because they held him in high esteem as a benefactor -- a man who came to burn their colonnaded temples, their votive offerings and their land, and to scatter its laws to the winds? Or do you see the gods honouring the wicked? It is impossible. No, even formerly there were men in the city who objected to this edict and muttered against me, tossing their heads in secret instead of keeping their necks properly under the yoke to my satisfaction. It is by

285

290

them, I know well, that these men have been suborned with bribes to do this

deed. For no such evil currency as money has ever arisen among men. This lays cities waste, this expels men from their homes, this trains and subverts honest characters to set themselves to shameful acts; and it teaches men to practise villainy and to be familiar with every deed of impiety. But all who perform such actions for hire ensure that they will sooner or later pay the penalty. Now, if Zeus still has reverence from me, be sure of this -- and I say it on oath: if you do not find the perpetrator of this burial and produce him before my eyes, death alone will not be enough for you, until you have been hung up alive and revealed this crime; so that in your future thievery you will know where profit is to be won, and learn that you should not love gain

45

295

305

310

En τῶν yàp αἰσχρῶν ἀτωμένους ἴδοις ἄν ou.

εἰπεῖν

Kp.

οὐκ

olo8a

καὶ

$u.

ἐν

τοῖσιν

ὠσὶν

Kp.

τί

δὲ

ou.

ὁ δρῶν

Kp.

ofp’,

$u.

οὔκουν

Kp.

καὶ

$u.

φεῦ"

τι δώσεις,

σ᾽

óc

ou.

οὕτως

νῦν

ὡς

λέγεις;

À

ont

ἀνιᾶι

λάλημα

τό

ταῦτ᾽

γ᾽

ἀνιαρῶς

ἴω;

τῆι

ψυχῆι

δάκνηι;

τὴν

ἐμὴν

λύπην

ὅπου;

τὰς

φρένας,

δῆλον

ἔργον

ἐπ’

mAefovac

À στραφεὶς

ῥυθμΐζεις

ἦ δεινόν, Ko.

λημμάτων τοὺς À σεσωμένους.

5°

ἐκπεφυκὸς

τοῦτο

ἀργύρωι

ὧι δοκεῖ

τὰ

τὴν

καὶ

προδούς, δοκεῖν.

μόμψευέ νυν τὴν δόξαν- ef δὲ ταῦτα φανεῖτέ μοι τοὺς δρῶντας, ἐξερεῖϑ᾽ τὰ δειλὰ κέρδη πημονὰς ἐργάζεται.

ἀλλ᾽

εὐρεϑείΐη

μὲν

μάλιστ᾽ - ἐὰν

320

ποτέ.

ψυχὴν

ψευδῆ

ἐγώ.

cT.

ποιήσας

γε

γε,

Bt’

315

μὴ ὅτι

δέ tot

ληφϑῆι τε καὶ μή, τοῦτο γὰρ τύχη κρινεῖ, οὐκ Éc8' ὅπως ὄψει σὺ δεῦρ᾽ ἀλθϑόντα με. καὶ νῦν γὰρ ἐκτὸς ἐλπΐδος γνώμης τ’ ἐμῆς

σωϑεὶς 320 321 323 324 326

ὀφεΐλω

ἄλημα τό γ᾽

conj.:

δειλὰ

ϑεοῖς

scholion conj.: τόδ᾽

ὧι δοκεῖ] νυν

τοῖς

ἥν δοκῆι νῦν

variant

πολλὴν

χάριν.

mss.

most

mss.

mss.

in 2 π88.:

46

δεινὰ

325

mss.

330

from every source. For you will see that by dishonest acquisitions more men are ruined than preserved. GUARD: Will you let me say something, or shall I simply turn and go? CREON: Do you not know that even now your words are offensive? GUARD: Are you hurt in your ears or in your spirit? CREON: Why are you trying to define where my pain lies? GUARD: The culprit offends your spirit, I offend your ears. CREON: Dear me, you are clearly a born chatterer. GUARD: Well, at least I was never the doer of this deed. CREON: You were, and, what is more, you had sold your life for money. GUARD: Oh! It is monstrous that one who guesses should guess wrong. CREON: You can keep making neat remarks about guessing; but if you do not show me the men who did these things, you will come to declare that base gains lead to sorrows.

315

320

325

[Exit Creon and attendants into the palace.| GUARD: Well, may he be found, first and foremost. But whether he is caught or not — fortune will decide that — you will certainly not see me coming here again. As it is, I have been saved beyond my hope and expectation, and owe the gods much gratitude.

[Exit by a parodos.]

47

330

Xo.

πολλὰ

τὰ

δεινὰ

ϑρώπου

τοῦτο

καὶ

πόντου

κοὐδὲν

δεινότερον

ἀν-

(στρ.

à

πέλει"

πολιοῦ

πέραν

χειμερίωι

νότωι

χωρεῖ, περιβρυχίοισιν περῶν ὑπ᾽ οἴδμασιν" ϑεῶν τε τὰν ὑπερτάταν, Γᾶν ἄφϑιτον, ἀκαμάταν, ἀποτρύεται, ἰλλομένων ἀρότρων ἔτος εἰς ἔτος, innefwi γένει πολεύων μουφονόων τε φῦλον Ópνΐϑων ἀμφιβαλὼν ἀγρεῖ καὶ 8npüv ἀγρΐων ἔϑνη πόντου τ᾽ εἰναλίαν φύσιν σπεΐραισι διχτυοκλώστοις περιφραδὴς ἀνήρ" κρατεῖ δὲ μηχαναῖς ἀγραύλου ϑηρὸς ὀρεσσιβάτα, λασιαύχενά 8° ἵππον ὀχμάζεται ἀμφιλόφωι ζυγῶι οὔρειόν

τ᾽

ἀκμῆτα

ταῦρον.

ἰλλομένων variant in ms. παλλομένων etc. mss.

πολεῦον &ypeT

most

mss.

conj.:

ἄγει

(ἀντ. 0

L:

εἰλομένων,

ἀπλομένων,

mss.

elvardfav 1 ms.: évadrfav others bxuéretari conj.: ἄξεται most mss. ἀμφιλόφωι ζυγῶι conj.: ἀμφίλοφον ζυγὸν ἀδμῆτα most mss.

48

588.

CHORUS: Wonders are many, and none more wonderful than man. This being goes with the storm-wind across the foamy sea, moving deep amid cavernous waves. And the oldest of the gods, Earth the immortal, the untiring, he wears away, turning the soil with the brood of horses, as year after year the ploughs move to and fro.

335

He ensnares and catches the thoughtless race of birds, the tribes of

wild animals and the creatures of the sea, in toils of woven nets, most ingenious man. And by cunning he masters the beast of the open country that roams the hills; and he breaks in the long-maned horse with a yoke across its neck, and the tireless mountain bull.

49

350

xal φϑέγμα xal dveudev φρόνημα καὶ ἀστυνόμους ὀργὰς ἐδιδάξατο, xal δυσαύλων πάγων ὑπαίΐϑρεια καὶ δύσομβρα φεύγειν βέλη, παντοπόρος ἄπορος ἐπ’ οὐδὲν ἔρχεται τὸ μέλλον: ἽΛιδα μόνον φεῦξιν οὖκ ἐπάξεται" νόσων δ᾽ ἀμηχάνων φυγὰς ξυμπέφρασται.

(στρ. 8

σοφόν

(ἄντ. β

τι

τέχνας τοτὲ

τὸ

ὑπὲρ μὲν

μηχανόεν

ἐλπίδ᾽

κακόν,

ἔχων

ἄλλοτ᾽

ἐπ᾽

νόμους γεραΐρων χϑονὸς ϑεῶν τ᾽ ἔνορκον δίκαν ὑψίπολις" ἄπολις ὅτωι τὸ

ξύνεστι

τόλμας

ἐσϑλὸν

μὴ

ἕρπει"

καλὸν

δαιμόνιον τέρας ἀμφινοῶ τόδε πῶς εἰδὼς ἀντιλογήσω,

τήνδ’ οὐκ εἶναι παῖδ᾽ ᾿Αντιγόνην. ὦ δύστηνος καὶ δυστήνου πατρὸς 357 367 368 375

370

χάριν-

μήτ᾽ ἐμοὶ παρέστιος γένοιτο μήτ᾽ ἴσον φρονῶν 8c τάδ’ Épbei. ἐς

355

Οἰδιπόδα,

ὑπαίΐϑρεια conj.: αἴϑρια mas. ποτὲ most mss. yepafpwv conj.: παρεΐρων mas. Epôor 1 ms. 50

375

And he taught himself speech and windlike thought and the spirit of civic order, and how to flee the arrows of frost that make for hard lodging out of doors, and the arrows of bitter rain; resourceful in all (resourceless

355 360

he goes to meet nothing that is to come). From death alone he will procure no refuge; but he has devised escapes from baffling illnesses. Subtle beyond hope is his power of skilled invention, and with it he comes now to evil, now to good. Respecting the laws of the land and the right of oaths sworn by the gods, he is a man of a lofty city; cityless is he who recklessly devotes himself to evil. Never may he be a guest at my hearth ora sharer of my thoughts, who does these things. Faced with a portent from the gods, I cannot tell how to deny what I

365 370 375

know, that this is the girl Antigone. [The Guard brings on Antigone by a parodos.] Unhappy daughter of Oedipus, daughter of an unhappy father,

51

380

τί

ποτ᾽;

οὐ

δή

που

σέ

γ᾽

ἀπιστοῦσαν

τοῖς Βασιλεΐοις ἀνάγουσι νόμοις κἀν ἀφροσύνηι καϑελόντες: Qu.

&5' ἔστ᾽ ἐκεΐνη tovpyov ἡ ᾿ξειργασμένη" τήνδ᾽ εἵλομεν ϑάπτουσαν. ἀλλὰ ποῦ Κρέων;

Xo.

85°

Kop.

τί

ou.

ἄναξ,

ἐμ

δ᾽

δόμων

ἐστί;

ἄψορρος

wofar

βροτοῖσιν

ets

δέον

ξύμμετρος

οὐδέν

ἐστ᾽

περᾶι.

προύβην

τύχηι;

ἀπώμοτον"

ψεύδει γὰρ ἡ 'nívoia τὴν γνώμην" ἐπεὶ σχολῆι ποϑ᾽ ἥξειν δεῦρ᾽ Gv ἐξηύχουν ἐγὼ ταῖς σαῖς ἀπειλαῖς αἷς ἐχειμάσϑην τότε. ἀλλ᾽, ἡ γὰρ εὐκτὸς καὶ παρ᾽ ἐλπίδας χαρὰ ἔοικεν ἄλληι μῆκος οὐδὲν ἡδονῆι, fixo, δι᾽ ὅρκων καΐπερ dv ἀπώμοτος, μόρην ἄγων τήνδ᾽, À καϑηιρέϑη τάφον κοσμοῦσα. κλῆρος δ᾽ ἐνϑάδ᾽ οὐκ ἐπάλλετο, ἀλλ᾽ ἔστ᾽ ἐμὸν ϑούρμαιον, οὐκ ἄλλου, τόδε. καὶ

νῦν,

ἄναξ,

τήνδ᾽

αὐτός,

ὡς

ϑέλεις,

λαβὼν

καὶ κρῖνε κἀξέλεγχ᾽ " ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἐλεύϑερος δίκαιός εἶμι τῶνδ᾽ ἀπηλλάχϑαι κακῶν. Ko.

ἄγεις

ou.

αὕτη

δὲ

τήνδε

τῶι

τὸν

ἄνδρ᾽

ἔϑαπτε'

382

ἀνάγουσι

383 384 387 392 395 396

κἀν

conj.:

conj.:

καὶ

τρόπωι

ἄγουσι

ἐν

πόϑεν

πάντ᾽

λαϑών;

ἐπίστασαι.

mss.

mss.

ἡ ᾿ξειργασμένη 1 ms.: ἐξειργασμένη others προὔΐἷβην variant in ms. L: προὔβη most mas. evutds conj.: ἐκτὸς mss. xa8nipé8n

conj.:

6'

omitted

1 ms.:

καϑευρέϑη

by

others 52

mss.

00

what is this? It cannot be that they are bringing you here because you are disobedient to the King’s laws and have been caught in an act of folly? GUARD: This is the one who carried out the deed. We caught her burying him. But where is Creon? CHORUS: Here he is, coming out of the house again at the right moment. [Enter Creon and attendants. | CREON: What is it? What has happened to make my arrival timely? GUARD: Lord, nothing should ever be forsworn by men; for afterthought belies intention. I could have sworn that I would be a long time coming here, after the tempest of threats which you hurled at me before. But, since joy that is prayed for and beyond hope is like no other pleasure in extent, I have come, although I had sworn oaths against it, bringing this girl, who was caught paying rites of burial. This time there was no drawing of lots; this windfall belongs to me and no one else. And now, lord, take her yourself and question and examine her as you wish; but I have a right to be entirely

free of these troubles. CREON: GUARD:

This girl you are bringing — how and where did you arrest her? She was burying the man. You know all.

53

385

395

Kp.

ἤ καὶ

ev.

ταύτην γ᾽ ἀπεῖπας.

Kp. ou.

nai

Evving

πῶς

ὁρᾶται;

ὀρϑῶς

d oic:

ὅν σὺ τὸν νεκρὸν σαφῆ λέγω;

κἀπίληπτος

805

ἠιρέϑη;

ἦν τὸ πρᾶγμ᾽. ὅπως γὰρ ἥκομεν τὰ δείν᾽ ἐκεῖν᾽ ἐπηπειλημένοι,

κόνιν

νέκυν,

λέγεις

ἰδὼν ϑάπτουσαν ἄρ᾽ ἔνδηλα xal

τοιοῦτον πρὸς σοῦ πᾶσαν

καὶ

σήραντες

μυδῶν

ἥ

κατεῖχε

τὸν

τε σῶμα γυμνώσαντες

εὖ,

410

καϑήμεϑ᾽ ἄκρων ἐκ πάγων ὑπήνεμοι, ὀσμὴν ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ μὴ βάληι πεφευγότες, ἐγερτὶ

κινῶν

xaxoiciv,

χρόνον

ἄνδρ᾽

εἴ

τάδ᾽

τις

ἦν

ἀνὴρ

τοῦδ᾽

ἐπιρρόϑοις

ἀφειδήσοι

τοσοῦτον

ἔστ᾽

πόνου.

ἐν αἰϑέρι

μέσωι κατέστη λαμπρὸς ἡλίου κύκλος xal xaüy' ἔϑαλπε" καὶ τότ᾽ ἐξαίφνης χϑονὸς τυφὼς ἀείρας σκηπτόν, οὐράνιον ἄχος, πΐμπλησι πεδίον, πᾶσαν αἰκίΐζων φόβην ὕλης πεδιάδος, ἐν δ᾽ ἐμεστώϑη μέγας αἰϑήρ' μύσαντες 8° εἴργομεν ϑείαν νόσον. καὶ

τοῦδ᾽

ἡ παῖς ὄρνιϑος

εὐνῆς

ἀπαλλαγέντος

ὀρᾶται, ὀξὺν

νεοσσῶν

ἐν

χρόνωι

κἀνακωκύει

πικρά,

φϑόγγον,

ὀρφανὸν

ὡς

ὅταν

βλέψηι

μακρῶι,

κενῆς

λέχος"

nd

ἰδὼν 1 ms.: ἴδον nost ἠιρέϑη variant in ms. αὖ

1

L:

εὐρέϑη

ms.

efpyouev conj.: εἴχομεν mss. .T1X0à conj.: πικρᾶς mss.

54

420

mas.

425

CREON: Do you know what you are saying? Do you mean it? GUARD: Yes, I saw this girl burying the corpse which you had said must not be buried. Am I speaking plainly and clearly? CREON: And how was she seen? Was she really caught in the act? GUARD: It happened in this way. When we arrived there, with those dreadful threats of yours in our ears, we wiped away all the dust that covered the corpse, stripped the damp body well, and sat on top of a hill to windward, taking care that the smell from the body should not reach us. Each man vigilantly kept his neighbour awake with a torrent of threats, in case anyone should neglect the task. This continued until the sun’s bright disc stood in mid-heaven and it was blazing hot. And then suddenly a whirlwind raised from the earth a dust-storm, a trouble in the sky, and filled the plain, spoiling all the foliage of its woodland; and the wide air was choked with it. We shut our eyes to keep out the god-sent plague. And when, after a long time, this had cleared, the girl was seen; and she uttered a piercing cry, the shrill note of a bird, as it cries when it sees, in its empty

55

405

410

415

420

425

οὕτω δὲ χαῦτη, ψιλὸν ὡς ὁρᾶι νέκυν, γόοισιν ἐξώιμωξεν, ἐκ δ᾽ ἀρὰς κακὰς ἠρᾶτο τοῖσι τοὖργον ἐξειργασμένοις. καὶ χερσὶν εὐϑὺς διψίΐαν φέρει κόνιν, Ex τ᾿ εὐκροτήτου χαλκέας ἄρδην πρόχου χοαῖσι τρισπόνδοισι τὸν νέκυν στέφει.

3t

χἠμεῖς ἰδόντες ἰέμεσϑα, σὺν δέ νιν ϑηρώμεϑ᾽ εὐθὺς οὐδὲν ἐκπεπληγμένην, καὶ tác τε πρόσϑεν tác te νῦν ἠλέγχομεν πράξεις: &tapvoc δ᾽ οὐδενὸς καϑίστατο, &u' ἡδέως ἔμοιγε κἀλγεινῶς ἅμα. τὸ μὲν γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐκ κακῶν πεφευγέναι ἥδιστον, ἐς κακὸν δὲ τοὺς φίλους ἄγειν ἀλγεινόν:

ἐμοὶ Ko.

σὲ

ἀλλὰ

πέφυκε δή,

σὲ

τἄλλα

τῆς τὴν

πάνϑ᾽

ἐμῆς

ἐς

LEL

πέδον

À

Av.

xal

φημὶ

Kp.

σὺ μὲν κομΐζοις ἄν ἔξω βαρεΐας αἰτίας

σεαυτὸν ἦι ἐλεύϑερον.

ϑέλεις,

σὺ

μῆκος

συντόμως"

6”

εἰπέ

ἤιδησϑα Av.

436 439 446 447 448

fiôn,

μοι,

κούκ

μὴ

κηρυχϑέντα τί

δ᾽

οὐκ

δεδρακέναι

κάρα,

pñis

δρᾶσαι

μὴ

λαβεῖν

σωτηρίας.

νεύουσαν

καταρνῆι

ἥσσω

τάδε;

ἀπαρνοῦμαι

μή

ἀλλὰ

τὸ

πράσσειν

ἔμελλον;

conj.:

ἤιϊιδειν

mss.

56

μή. ni

ἐμφανῆ

τάδε; γὰρ

ἅμ᾽ conj.: ἀλλ᾽ mss. τἄλλα πάνϑ᾽ conj.: ταῦτα máv8" some ταῦϑ'᾽ most σύντομα most mss. fiióno3a conj.: f(1)8e1« τὰ mss. fi6n

35

ἦν.

π88.,

πάντα

nest, the bed bereft of nestlings. So she, when she saw the corpse bare,

broke out in lamentation, and called down curses on those who had carried out the deed. And at once she brought thirsty dust in her hands, and lifting up a fine bronze ewer she paid her respects to the corpse with a threefold libation. On seeing this, we rushed forward and captured her at once - she was not at all alarmed - and we charged her with her former doings and her present ones. Her response was to deny nothing — a response which both pleased me and pained me at the same time. For it is very pleasant to be free of troubles oneself, but painful to bring trouble on one's friends. But everything else is less important to me than my own safety. CREON: You there, the one bowing her head towards the ground, do you admit or deny having done these things? ANTIGONE:

430

435

I did them; I do not deny it.

CREON: You charge. [Exit know that an ANTIGONE: I

can take yourself off wherever you wish, free of a serious Guard.] And you, tell me, not at length but briefly: did you edict had forbidden this action? knew it, inevitably. It was no secret.

57

445

Ko.

καὶ

δῆτ᾽

Av.

οὐ γάρ τί μοι Ζεὺς ἦν ὁ κηρύξας οὐδ᾽

ἐτόλμας

ἡ ξύνοικος

τοιούσδ᾽

ἐν

τούσδ᾽

τῶν

ὑπερβαίνειν

κάτω ϑεῶν

ἀνϑρώποισιν

νόμους;

τάδε,

“so

Δίκη

ὥρισεν

νόμους"

οὐδὲ σϑένειν τοσοῦτον ὠιόμην τὰ σὰ κηρύγμαϑ᾽ ὡς τἄγραπτα κἄσφαλῆ ϑεῦῶν νόμιμα δύνασϑαι ϑνητὸν ὄνϑ᾽ ὑπερδραμεῖν"

od γάρ τι viv ye κἀχϑὲς ἀλλ᾽ ἀεΐ chi ταῦτα, κοὐδεὶς οἶδεν ἐξ ὅτου

455

ποτε 'gávn.

τούτων ἀγὼ οὐκ ἔμελλον, ἀνδρὸς οὐδενὸς φρόνημα Sefoac’, ἐν ϑεοῖσι τὴν δίκην δώσειν. ϑανουμένη yàp ἐξήιδη, τί δ᾽ o0; κεῖ un où προυκήρυξας: ef δὲ τοῦ χρόνου πρόσϑεν ϑανοῦμαι, κέρδος abt’ ἐγὼ λέγω. ὅστις γὰρ ἐν πολλοῖσιν, ὡς ἐγώ, nanoic chi,

Xo.

55'

οὐχὶ

κατϑανὼν

κέρδος

φέρει;

οὕτως ἔμοιγε τοῦδε τοῦ μόρου τυχεῖν nap’ οὐδὲν ἄλγος’ ἀλλ᾽ dvo, ct τὸν ἐξ ἐμῆς μητρὸς ϑανόντ’ ἄϑαπτον τὐἠισχόμηντ νέκυν, μεΐνοις ἄν ἤλγουν’ τοῖσδε δ᾽ οὐκ ἀλγύνομαι. σοὶ δ᾽ εἰ δοκῶ νῦν μῶρα δρῶσα τυγχάνειν,

"85

σχεδόν

τι μώρωι

n

ἐδηλοῖ

τὸ

τῆς

449 452 454 460 462 467

πῶς

st

γέννημ᾽

παιδός"

ὄρους

1

αὖτ’

ὠμὸν

εἴκειν

...

téypanta

ἐξήιδη

ὀφλισκάνω,

6”

ἐξ

ὠμοῦ

οὐκ

πατρὸς

ἐπίσταται

κακοῖς.

ms.

τοιούσδ᾽ ὡς

μωρίαν

ὥρισεν 1

conj.: most

hioxóunv,

ms.:

conj.: ὥστ᾽

ἐξήιϊιδειν

of

τούσδ᾽

&ypanta

...

ὥρισαν

others

mss.

mss.

ἠνσχόμην,

ἰσχόμην, 58

ἠνεσχόμην

etc.

ass.

mss.

CREON:

And still you dared to transgress these laws?

ANTIGONE: Yes, for it was not Zeus who proclaimed that edict to me, nor did that Right who dwells with the gods below lay down such laws for mankind; and I did not suppose that your decrees had such power that you,

450 455

a mortal, could outrun the gods’ unwritten and unfailing rules. For their life

is not of today and yesterday but for ever, and no one knows when they first appeared. I did not intend, through fear of any man’s will, to make atonement before the gods for breaking these laws. For I naturally knew that I should die, and should have known it even if you had not proclaimed it. And if I am to die before my time, I call that a gain. For when someone lives amid many evils, as I do, how can he not find a gain in dying? So for me to meet this fate is a trivial grief. But if I had allowed [?] my own mother's son, after his death, to remain an unburied corpse, I should have grieved at that, as I do not grieve at this. And if 1 now seem to you to have acted foolishly, perhaps it is a fool who charges me with folly. CHORUS: Clearly the girl has a fierce spirit [?] inherited from a fierce father. She does not know how to yield to misfortune.

59

460

465

470

Kp.

ἀλλ᾽

ἴσϑι

tor

τὰ

σκλήρ᾽

ἄγαν

φρονήματα

πΐπτειν μάλιστα: καὶ τὸν ἐγκμρατέστατον σΐδηρον ὀπτὸν ἐκ πυρὸς περισμκελῆ ϑραυσϑέντα καὶ ῥαγέντα πλεῖστ᾽ ἄν εἰσίδοις"

σμιμρῶι

χαλινῶι

δ᾽

οἶδα

τοὺς

ϑυμουμένους

ἵππους καταρτυϑέντας οὐ γὰρ ἐκπέλει φρονεῖν μέγ᾽ ὅστις δοῦλός ἐστι τῶν πέλας. αὕτη δ᾽ ὑβρίζειν μὲν τότ᾽ ἐξηπίστατο νόμους

ὑπερβαΐνουσα

τοὺς

ἡμῖν

Ζηνὸς

ἀρκεΐου

ϑέλεις

Ko.

ἐγὼ

Av.

τί δῆτα ἀρεστὸν

μὲν

τι

μεῖζον

οὐδέν:

À κατακτεῖναΐί τοῦτ’

ἔχων

ἅπαντ᾽

μ᾽

ὁμαιμονεστέρα

494

ὀρϑὸν

conj.:

some

mss.

δρϑῶς

mss.

60

490

43$

ἁλών; ἔχω.

μέλλεις; ὡς ἐμοὶ τῶν σῶν λόγων οὐδέν, und’ &peo8cín noté:

486

#85

κυρεῖ,

αὐτή te xh ξύναιμος οὐκ ἀλύξετον μόρου xaxíotou* καὶ γὰρ οὖν κείνην ἴσον ἐπαιτιῶμαι τοῦδε βουλεῦσαι τάφου. wat νιν καλεῖτ᾽ - ἔσω γὰρ εἶδον ἀρτίως λυσσῶσαν αὐτὴν οὐδ᾽ ἐπήβολον φρενῶν. φιλεῖ δ᾽ ὁ ϑυμὸς πρόσϑεν ἠιρῆσϑαι μλοπεὺς τῶν μηδὲν ὀρϑὸν ἐν σκότωι τεχνωμένων. μισῶ γε μέντοι χῶταν ἐν κακοῖσί τις ἁλοὺς ἔπειτα τοῦτο καλλύνειν ϑέληι. Av.

86

προκειμένους"

ὕβρις δ᾽, ἐπεὶ δέδρακεν, Se δευτέρα, τούτοις ἐπαυχεῖν καὶ δεδρακυῖαν γελᾶν. ἦ νῦν ἐγὼ μὲν οὐκ ἀνήρ, αὕτη δ᾽ ἀνήρ, εἰ ταῦτ’ ἀνατὶ τῆιδε μεΐσεται κράτη. ἀλλ᾽ εἴτ᾽ ἀδελφῆς εἴϑ᾽ ὁμαιμονεστέρας

τοῦ παντὸς

75

$00

CREON:

But you may be sure that over-stubborn wills are those most liable

to fall; it is the strongest iron, baked to great hardness in the fire, that you

will most often see broken and shattered; and I know that hot-tempered horses have been brought to order with a small bit. There is no room for pride in one who is his neighbour's slave. This girl was already well versed in insolence when she transgressed the laws which had been laid down; and, when she had so acted, here was further insolence, to boast of these things and exult at having done them. Now I swear that she isa man andI am not, if she is to prevail in this and go unpunished. No, whether she is the child of my sister or of one more closely related to me than the whole circle of Zeus Herkeios, she and her sister shall not avoid the worst of deaths. ForindeedI hold her sister equally responsible for planning this burial. Summon her; I saw her inside just now, raving and not in command of her senses. [Exeunt attendants.| The mind is apt to convict itself of treachery in advance when people are plotting crooked deeds in the dark. And yet I also hate anyone who has been caught out in wickedness and then seeks to make a virtue of it. ANTIGONE: Do you want to do anything more than take me and kill me? CREON: No, nothing more. When I have that, I have all. ANTIGONE: Then why do you delay? There is nothing in your words that pleases me, and may there never be! And mine are no less displeasing to

61

475

480

485

490

495

500

οὕτω δὲ καὶ σοὶ τἄμ᾽ ἀφανδάνοντ᾽ ἔφυ. καΐτοι πόϑεν κλέος γ᾽ ἄν εὐκλεέστερον κατέσχον

À

τὸν

αὐτάδελφον

ἐν

τάφωι

τιϑεῖσα; τούτοις τοῦτο πᾶσιν ἀνδάνειν λέγοιτ᾽ ἄν εἴ μὴ γλῶσσαν ἐγμλήιοι φόβος. ἀλλ᾽ ἡ τυραννὶς πολλά τ᾽ ἄλλ᾽ εὐδαιμονεῖ κᾶξεεστιν αὐτῆι δρᾶν λέγειν 9’ d βούλεται. Ko.

σὺ

τοῦτο

μούνη

τῶνδε

Av.

ὁρῶσι

χοὖτοι,

Κρ.

σὺ

δ᾽

οὐκ

ἐπαιδῆι,

Av.

οὐδὲν

γὰρ

αἰσχρὸν

Κρ.

οὔκουν

Av.

ὅμαιμος

Ko.

πῶς

Av.

οὐ

μαρτυρήσει

Κρ.

εἴ

tot

σφε

Av.

οὐ

γάρ

τι

δοῦλος

Ko.

πορϑῶν

γε

τήνδε

ἂν.

ὅμως

8 γ᾽

Kp.

ἀλλ᾽

οὐχ

Av.

τίς

olôev

σοὶ

ὅμαιμος ἔκ

δῆτ᾽

τῶνδε τοὺς

τε

ἐξ ἀλλ᾽

"Aibnc

ὁ

τῶι

ἐγκμλήιοι δυσμενεῖ

conj.: 1 ms.:

519

τούτους]

ἴσους

520 521

ἴσος most mss. κάτωθεν variant

κακῶι

εὐαγῆ

515

δυσμενεῖ. ὥλετο.

ἀντιστὰς

νόμους

κάτωθεν

505 516

τῶι

δ᾽

χάριν; véxuc.

ἀδελφὸς

τοὺς

χρηστὸς

εἶ

τιμᾶις

ἴσου

σέβειν.

πατρός.

5 κατϑανὼν

γῆν:

φρονεῖς;

ϑανών;

ταὐτοῦ

δυσσεβῆ

τιμᾶις

εἰ

ὁμοσπλάγχνους

καὶ

ταῦϑ᾽

στόμα.

χωρὶς

καταντίον

ἐκείΐνωι

Ó

ὁρᾶις.

δ᾽ ὑπίλλουσι

χὠ

μιᾶς

Καδμείΐων

ὕπερ.

τούτους λαχεῖν

ποϑεῖ. ἴσον.

τάδε;

ἐγκλείσοι most mas. δυσσεβεῖ others

variant in

2

in ms. mas.: 62

L

κάτω

’στὶν

mss.

$21

you. Yet how could I have won a more glorious reputation than by giving burial to my own brother? These men would all say that this was pleasing to them if fear did not seal up their mouths. But monarchy has many privileges, not least that of doing and saying what it will. CREON: You are alone among these Cadmeans in taking this view. ANTIGONE: It is their view also, but they keep their mouths shut for you. CREON: And are you not ashamed to have different ideas? ANTIGONE: No; there is nothing shameful in loyalty to my own mother's sons. CREON: Was it not also your brother who was killed on the other side? ANTIGONE: Yes, a brother by the same mother and the same father. CREON: Then why do you pay a tribute which is disloyal in his sight? ANTIGONE: The dead man will not bear out that claim. CREON: He will if you make him level in honour with his enemy. ANTIGONE:

CREON: He defence. ANTIGONE: CREON: But wicked. ANTIGONE:

505

510

515

It was a brother who died, not a slave.

died seeking to lay waste this land, while the other died in its Nevertheless, Hades desires these rites. the good does not wish to receive the same portion as the Who knows that this is not lawful in the world below?

63

520

Kp.

οὗτοι

108’

ἂν.

οὗτοι

συνέχϑειν

Κρ.

κάτω vuv κεΐνους:

Xo.

καὶ

μὴν

οὐχϑρός,

οὐδ᾽

ἀλλὰ

ὅταν

ϑάνηι,

συμφιλεῖν

φίλος.

ἔφυν.

ἐλϑοῦσ᾽, ef φιλητέον, φίλει ἐμοῦ δὲ ζῶντος oOx ἄρξει γυνή. πρὸ

πυλῶν

φιλάδελφα

κάτω

νεφέλη

ὀφρύων

δ᾽

AS"

᾿Ισμήνη,

δάκρυ᾽

εἰβομένη"

ὅπερ

aluatócv

ῥέϑος αἰσχύνει, τέγγουσ᾽ εὐῶπα παρειάν. Ko.

σὺ δ᾽, f κατ᾽ οἴκους ὡς ἔχιδν᾽ ὑφειμένη λήϑουσά μ᾽ éEémives, οὐδ’ éuévIavov τρέφων δύ᾽ ἄτα κἀπαναστάσεις ϑρόνων, φέρ᾽ εἰπὲ δή μοι, καὶ σὺ τοῦδε τοῦ τάφου φήσεις μετασχεῖν, À "Eounr τὸ μὴ εἰδέναι;

Ic.

δέδρακα τοὖργον, εἴπερ ἥδ᾽ ὁμορροϑεῖ, καὶ ξυμμετίσχω καὶ φέρω τῆς αἰτίας.

Av.

ἄλλ’ οὔτ’

οὐκ ἐάσει τοῦτό y* ἡ δίκη σ᾽, ἐπεὶ) ἠϑέλησας οὔτ᾽ ἐγὼ ᾿κοινωσάμην.

To.

ἀλλ’

ἐν

κακοῖς

ξύμπλουν

τοῖς

ἐμαυτὴν

σοῖσιν

τοῦ

οὐκ

πάϑους

ποιουμένη.

Av.

ὧν τοὖργον ἽΑἸιδης xol κάτω ξυνίστορες. λόγοις δ᾽ ἐγὼ φιλοῦσαν οὐ στέργω φίλην.

Ic.

μήτοι, ϑανεῖν

Av.

μή

μοι

ποιοῦ

κασιγνήτη, τε σὺν σοὶ ϑάνηις

σὺ

σεαυτῆς"

μ᾽ ἀτιμάσηις τὸ μὴ οὐ τὸν ϑανόντα 8° ἁγνίσαι. κοινά,

ἀρχέσω

μηδ’

& μὴ

ϑνήισκουσ᾽

δάκρυ’

etBouévn

1

δάκρυα

ms.:

64

sui

᾽ϑιγες ἐγώ.

re

527

S40

αἰσχύνομαι

λειβομένη

most

others

CREON: An enemy is never a friend, even in death. ANTIGONE: |t is not my nature to join in hatred, but in love. CREON: Love them then, if you must, when you come to the world below. While I am alive no woman shall rule me. [Attendants bring Ismene out of the palace.| CHORUS: Here is Ismene before the doorway, shedding tears for love of her sister. A cloud upon her brow darkens her flushed face and wets her fair cheek. CREON: You who were lurking like a viper in the house and secretly draining my life-blood, while I had no idea that I was fostering two forces of destruction and deposition from my throne: tell me, will you too admit that you had a part in this burial, or will you swear that you knew nothing of it? ISMENE: The deed is mine, if she agrees. I accept and bear my portion of the blame. ANTIGONE:

525

530

535

No, justice will not allow you this. You did not consent, and I

gave you no share. ISMENE: But amid your troubles I am not ashamed to make myself your companion in misfortune. ANTIGONE:

Whose deed it was, Hades and the dead can testify. I do not

care for a friend who shows her friendship in words. ISMENE: No, sister, do not refuse me the right to die with you and pay tribute to the dead. ANTIGONE: Do not share my death, and do not lay claim to things in which you had no hand. My dying will suffice.

65

545

Io.

καὶ

tic

βίος

ἂν.

Κρέοντ᾽

ἐρώτα:

τοῦδε

Io.

τί

ἀνιᾶις

u'

ἂν.

ἀλγοῦσα

μὲν

Ic.

τί

dv

AV.

σῶσον

σεαυτήν-

οὐ

Ic.

οἴμοι

τάλαινα,

κμἀμπλάκω

Av.

σὺ μὲν γὰρ

Io.

ἀλλ᾽

ἂν.

καλῶς

Ic.

καὶ

ἂν.

ϑάρσει"

δῆτ᾽

δῆτ᾽

Ic.

σοῦ

γὰρ

νῦν

σ᾽’

civ,

ἀρρήτοις

σὺ

μὲν

τοῖς,

ἴση

νῶιν

σὺ

ὠφελουμένη;

ἔτ᾽

φϑονῶ

etaou

ἐγὼ γε

ὥστε

τοῖς

οὐ

γάρ

νοῦς

ποτ᾽,

τοῖς

σοὶ

Ic.

τί γὰρ

Ko.

ἀλλ’

ἥδε

Ic.

ἀλλὰ

κτενεῖς

γοῦν,

88”

μόνηι

γελῶ. ἐγώ;

μόρου;

δὲ κατϑανεῖν. τοῖς

ἡ

ἐμοῖς

ἐγὼ

λόγοις.

’δόκουν

᾿᾽ξαμαρτΐα.

À δ᾽

ἐμὴ

ϑανοῦσιν μὲν ἀφ᾽

ψυχὴ

πάλαι

ὠφελεῖν.

$66

ἀρτίως οὗ τὰ πρῶτ᾽

ἔφυ.

οὐδ᾽ ὅς ὅν βλάστηι μένει πράσσουσιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐξίσταται.

εἵλου

μοι

μέντοι

σὺν

τῆσδ᾽ μὴ

νυμφεῖα

κακοῖς

ἄτερ

πράσσειν

βιώσιμον;

λέγ᾽

οὐ γὰρ

ἔστ᾽

τοῦ

σαυτοῦ

τέκνου;

-548 551 567

φρονεῖν.

ὦναξ,

κακῶς

Κρ.

σοῦ

δ᾽

τὼ παῖδέ φημι τώδε τὴν ἄνουν πεφάνϑαι, τὴν δ᾽

σοὶ

ὑπεκφυγεῖν.

τοῦ

ἐστιν ζῆις,

ἐν

ὠφελοῖμ᾽

σ᾽

τοῖς

μὲν

φίλος;

κηδεμών.

ef γελῶ y’,

ἐπ᾽

μὴν

σὺ

οὐδὲν

δῆτ᾽, ἀλλὰ

λελειμμένηι

οὐκ

té8vnxev, Κρ.

μοι

βίος ... φΐλος] βίου ... πόϑος 1 ns. γελῶ y’ conj.: yedwt’ or γέλωτ᾽ mss. μέντοι 1 ms.: μέν σοι others 66

ἔτι.

κακά.

565

ISMENE: And what life can I desire, deprived of you? ANTIGONE: Ask Creon. He is the one you care for. ISMENE: Why do you hurt me like this, when it does you no good? ANTIGONE:

ISMENE: Then how might / still do you good, even now? ANTIGONE: Save yourself. I do not begrudge you your escape. ISMENE: O God, am I to be deprived of your fate? ANTIGONE: Yes; you chose to live, and I to die. ISMENE: But not before my words had been spoken. ANTIGONE: Your judgement seemed right to one party, mine to another. ISMENE: And yet the fault is equal for both of us. ANTIGONE: Take courage; you live, but my spirit perished long since, so that I might serve the dead. CREON: One of these girls, I think, has just shown herself insane, and the other has been so since birth. ISMENE:.

550

Indeed, if I mock you, I do so with pain.

555

560

Even such sense as people are born with, lord, never stays with

them when they are doing badly, but deserts them. CREON: Yours did, at least, when you chose to do evil deeds along with the wicked. ISMENE: How could I live my life alone, without her presence? CREON: Do not speak of her as present. She no longer exists. ISMENE: But will you kill the bride of your own son?

67

565

Ko.

ἀρώσιμοι

lc.

οὐχ

Kp.

κακὰς

Ic.

à φίλταϑ᾽

Κρ.

ἄγαν

Ic.

À γὰρ

Kp.

“aiding

Io.

δεδογμέν᾽,

Ko.

καὶ

ὥς

yàp γ᾽

ἐκείνωι

ἐγὼ

με

χἀτέρων

τῆιδέ

γυναῖκας Αἷμον, λυπεῖς

καὶ

ὁ παύσων

cof

γε

κομΐίζετ᾽

σ᾽

ἦν

ἡρμοσμένα.

ἀτιμάζει

πατήρ.-

καὶ

τὸ

σὸν

λέχος.

τῆσδε

τὸν

σαυτοῦ

γόνον;

τούσδε

κἀμοΐ.

τοὺς τήνδε

μὴ

δμῶες"

571

oTuyü.

σὺ

ἔοικε,

εἴσω,

yar.

τ’

υἱέσι ὥς

στερήσεις

ὡς

εἰσὶν

γάμους

κατϑανεῖν.

τριβὰς ἐκ

57:

ἔφυ.

δὲ

ἔτ’, τοῦδε

ἀλλά

viv

χρὴ

γυναῖκας εἶναι τάσδε μηδ᾽ ἀνειμένας. φεύγουσι γάρ τοι xol ϑρασεῖς, ὅταν πέλας ἤδη τὸν "Aib6nv εἰσορῶσι τοῦ βίου. Xo.

εὐδαΐμονες οἷσι κακῶν ἄγευστος αἰών" οἷς γὰρ & σεισϑῆι ϑεόϑεν δόμος, &tas οὐδὲν ἐλλεΐπει, γενεᾶς ἐπὶ πλῆϑος Épmov: ὥστε ποντίας ἁλὸς οἶδμα, δυσπνόοις ὅταν Θρήισσηισιν ἔρεβος ὕφαλον ἐπιδράμηι πνοαῖς, μυλίνδει βυσσόϑεν κελαινὰν ϑῖνα, καὶ δυσανέμωι

572

Αἴμων

573

με

575

ἔφυ)

1

some

mss.

π8.:

ye

ἐμοΐ

ms.

576

Io.]

χορός

587

ὥστε

conj.:

591

δυσανέμωι

others L

most

mss.

ὅμοιον

conj.:

ὥστε

mss.

δυσάνεμον 68

mss.

5M

(στρ.

559]

CREON:

Others have furrows that can be ploughed.

ISMENE:

Not with the fitness of his marriage to her.

CREON:

I do not like an evil wife for my son.

ISMENE: CREON: ISMENE: CREON: ISMENE: CREON:

Dearest Haemon, how your father wrongs you! You weary me, you and your marriage. Will you really deprive your son of this bride? Hades is the one who will stop this marriage. It seems to be resolved that she must die. Resolved both for you and for me. Waste no more time, slaves;

take them inside. From now on they must be women, and not let loose. For

even the bold run away when they see that Hades is already close to their lives. [Attendants take Antigone and Ismene into the palace.] CHORUS: Happy are they whose life has no taste of evils. For, when the gods make a house to tremble, all manner of disaster attends its members, visiting the whole company of the race; just as the swell of the open sea, when it runs before a cruel Thracian wind across the Stygian depths, churns the black sand from the bottom, and the cliffs to leeward roar with

69

570

575

580

585

590

στόνωι

βρέμουσιν

ἀντιπλῆγες

ἀκταί.

ἀρχαῖα πήματα οὐδ᾽

τὰ Λαβδακιδᾶν οἴκων ὁρῶμαι φϑιτῶν ἐπὶ πήμασι mímTOvt', ἀπαλλάσσει γενεὰν γένος, ἀλλ᾽ ϑεῶν τις, οὐδ᾽ ἔχει λύσιν. νῦν γὰρ ἐσχάτας ὑπὲρ ῥίζας 8 τέτατο φάος κατ᾽ αὖ νιν goivia ϑεῶν τῶν λόγου τ’

ἐν

Οἰδίπου

(ἀντ. à 53:

ἐρείΐπει

δόμοις,

so!

νερτέρων ἀμᾶι xomíc, ἄνοια καὶ φρενῶν ᾿Ερινύς.

τεάν, Ζεῦ, δύνασιν τίς ἀνδρῶν ὑπερβασίΐα κατάσχοι; τὰν οὔϑ᾽ Ünvos αἱρεῖ mo9' ὁ ἐπαντογήρωςτ οὔτε Peuv ἄκματοι μῆνες, ἀγήρως δὲ χρόνωι δυνάστας κατέχεις ᾿Ολύμπου μαρμαρόεσσαν αἴγλαν. τό τ᾿ ἔπειτα καὶ τὸ μέλλον xai τὸ πρὶν ἐπαρκέσει νόμος ὅδ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἐφέρπει ϑνατῶν

βιότωι

592

βρέμουσιν

595

φϑιτῶν

600

ὅ conj.:

602

κοπίς

πάμπολυς

1 ms.:

conj.:

βρέμουσι

φϑιμένων

omitted

conj.:

ἐκτὸς

xóvic

by

(στρ. f 6t!

61!

ἄτας.

δ᾽

others

mss.

mss. mss.

oSte ϑεῶν ἄκματοι conj.: odt’ &néuator οὐδ᾽ ἐφέρπει conj.: οὐδὲν ἕρπει mss. πάμπολυς conj.: πάμπολις mss.

70

ϑεῶν

mss.

pain at the storm. Ancient are the sorrows that I see in the house of the children of

595

Labdacus, sorrows falling on dead men’s sorrows. One generation does not release another; a god overthrows it, and it has no deliverance. For now that light which was spread over the last root in the house of Oedipus is being cut down by the bloody knife of the gods below - by folly of speech and a Fury in the mind. Zeus, what human transgression can check your power? -- the power

that sleep, the all-ensnaring [?], never masters, nor the unwearied months of the gods; while you, a potentate unaged in time, possess the glittering brightness of Olympus. Hereafter and for the future, as in the past, this law shall hold; and it does not come upon men's lives in its greatest force without disaster.

71

610

ἃ

yàp

δὴ

πολύπλαγκτος

ἐλ-

(ἀντ. αὶ

πὶς πολλοῖς μὲν ὄνησις ἀνδρῶν, πολλοῖς δ᾽ ἀπάτα κουφονόων ἐρώτων.

61t

εἰδότι δ᾽ οὐδὲν ἕρπει πρὶν πυρὶ ϑερμῶι πόδα τις προσαύσηι. σοφίαι γὰρ ἔκ του κλεινὸν ἔπος πέφανται, τὸ κακὸν δοκεῖν ποτ᾽ ἐσϑλὸν τῶιδ᾽ ϑεὸς

ἔμμεν ἄγει

πράσσει

ὅτωι πρὸς

δ᾽

621

φρένας &tav:

ὀλίγιστον

χρόνον

ἐκτὸς

ἄτας.

δδε μὴν Αἵμων, παΐδων τῶν σῶν νέατον γέννημ᾽ - ἄρ᾽ ἀχνύμενος τῆς μελλογάμου τάλιδος ἥκει μόρον "Αντιγόνης, ἀπάτης λεχέων ὑπεραλγῶν; Kp.

AIMQN

τάχ᾽ εἰσόμεσϑα μάντεων ὑπέρτερον. ὦ rai, τελείαν ψῆφον ἄρα μὴ κλυὼν τῆς μελλονύμφου πατρὶ λυσσαΐνων πάρει; ἢ σοὶ μὲν ἡμεῖς πανταχῆι δρῶντες φίλοι; πάτερ,

σός

χρηστὰς

εἶμι,

καὶ

ἀπορϑοῖς,

ἐμοὶ γὰρ οὐδεὶς μεΐζων φέρεσϑαι

625

ὀλίγιστον

628

τῆς

632 637

ἀξιώσεται

αἷς

μοι

γνώμας

ἔγωγ᾽

ἀξιώσεται σοῦ καλῶς

conj.:

μελλογάμου

σύ

ἐφέψομαι. γάμος ἡγουμένου.

ὀλιγοστὸν Pollux:

mss.

omitted

μελλογάμου νύμφης others μλυὼν conj.: κλύων mss. conj.:

á£íoc

ἔσται 72

ἔχων

by

most

2

mss.,

mss.

τῆς

(For far-ranging hope is a boon to many men, but to many a delusion born of thoughtless desires.) It comes to one who knows nothing until he burns his foot on hot fire. Wisely has the famous saying been revealed from some source, that one day the bad seems good to a man when a god is leading his mind to disaster. For the briefest time does he live without disaster. Here is Haemon, last of your sons. Has he come grieving for the fate of Antigone, his intended bride, distraught at his frustrated hope of marriage? CREON: We shall soon know, better than seers could tell. [Enter Haemon by a parodos.] My son, is it possible that you have heard the decree appointed for your bride and have come in a frenzy of rage against your father? Or do I keep your loyalty however I may act? HAEMON: Father, I am yours. To me your judgements are good and upright, and I shall follow them. No marriage will be regarded by me as a greater: prize than your good guidance.

73

615 620 625

630

635

οὕτω γάρ, ὦ παῖ, χρὴ διὰ στέρνων ἔχειν, γνώμης πατρώιας πάντ᾽ ὄπισϑεν dotévar.

Ko.

τούτου

γὰρ

οὕνεκ᾽

ἄνδρες

εὔχονται

644

γονὰς

xatnxóouc φύσαντες ἐν δόμοις ἔχειν, ὡς καὶ τὸν ἐχϑρὸν ἀνταμυνώνται κακοῖς καὶ τὸν gfAov τιμῶσιν ἐξ ἴσου πατρΐ. ὅστις

δ᾽

ἀνωφέλητα

φιτύει

64

τέκνα,

τί τόνδ᾽ ἄν εἴποις ἄλλο πλὴν αὐτῶι πόνους φῦσαι, πολὺν δὲ τοῖσιν ἐχϑροῖσιν γέλων; μή νύν ποτ᾽, ὦ mai, τὰς φρένας γ᾽ ὑφ᾽ ἡδονῆς γυναικὸς ψυχρὸν

οὕνεκ᾽

ἐκβάληις,

παραγκάλισμα

τοῦτο

εἰδὼς

ὅτι 65:

γΐγνεται,

γυνὴ κακὴ ξύνευνος ἐν δόμοις. τί γὰρ yévoit’ ἄν ἕλκος μεῖζον À φίλος κακός; ἀλλὰ πτύσας ὡσεΐ τε δυσμενῆ μέϑες τὴν παῖδ᾽ ἐν "Aibou τήνδε νυμφεύειν tivi. ἐπεὶ γὰρ αὐτὴν εἷλον ἐμφανῶς ἐγὼ πόλεως ἀπιστήσασαν ἐμ πάσης μόνην, ψευδῆ γ᾽ ἐμαυτὸν οὐ καταστήσω πόλει, ἀλλὰ κτενῶ. πρὸς ταῦτ᾽ ἐφυμνείΐτω Δία ξύναιμον: εἶ γὰρ δὴ τά y” ἐγγενῆ φύσει ἄκοσμα ϑρέψω, κάρτα τοὺς ἔξω γένους. ἐν

τοῖς

γὰρ

olnetoroiv

χρηστός, φανεῖται xal τοῦτον ἄν τὸν

645 648

φιτύει γ᾽

τά 659 668 - 71

2

conj.: mss.:

ὅστις

omitted

most

by

mss.

others

1' or τάδ᾽ mss. 662 by conj.

74

eu

ἀνὴρ

κἀν πόλει δίκαιος fv: ἄνδρα ϑαρσοίην ἐγὼ

φυτεύει

γ᾽ conj.: τά placed after

ἔστ᾽

65!

6 $i

CREON: Yes, my son, this should be the resolution in your heart, to set yourself in all things behind your father's judgement. It is for this that men pray to have obedient children born to them in their homes, so that they

640

may requite their father's enemy with evils and honour his friend as much as he. But when a man begets useless children, you cannot say that he has bred anything but troubles for himself and much laughter for his enemies. Never then, my son, for the sake of pleasure, discard your good sense on account of a woman. You should know that this is a cold object for a man's embraces: an evil woman as bedfellow in his home. For what greater wound could there be than an evil friend? No, spit this girl out like an enemy and let her marry someone in the house of Hades. For, since have caught her, alone of all the city, in open disobedience, I will not make

645

650

655

myself a liar before the city; I will kill her.

So, then, let her keep harping on the Zeus of kindred! If I am to foster indiscipline in my blood-relations, I shall certainly do so in those outside my family. For any man who acts rightly within his household will also be seen to do his duty in the city. And 1 would rely on this man both

75

660 662 668

μαλῶς μὲν ἄρχειν, ed δ᾽ ἄν ἄρχεσϑαι ϑέλειν, δορός τ᾽’ ἄν ἐν χειμῶνι προστεταγμένον μένειν δίκαιον κἀγαϑὸν παραστάτην.

$6

ὅστις

66;

δ᾽

ὑπερβὰς

À

νόμους

βιάζεται

ἢ τοὐπιτάσσειν τοῖς κρατοῦσιν ἐννοεῖ, οὐκ ἔστ᾽ ἐπαΐνου τοῦτον ἐξ ἐμοῦ τυχεῖν" ἀλλ᾽ ὅν πόλις στήσειε, τοῦδε χρὴ κλύειν καὶ σμικρὰ καὶ δίκαια καὶ τἀναντία. ἀναρχΐας γὰρ μεῖζον οὐκ ἔστιν κακόν" αὕτη

πόλεις

ὄλλυσιν,

ἥδ᾽

ἡμῖν λέγειν

Al.

μέν,

ef μὴ

τῶι

φρονούντως

667 672

ἀναστάτους

xpatóvouci(v)

672

γὰρ] δὲ 2 mss., συμμάχου conj.:

687

κεκλέμμεϑα,

λέγεις

δοκεῖς

πέρι.

πάτερ, ϑεοὶ φύουσιν ἀνϑρώποις φρένας πάντων ὅσ’ ἔστι κτημάτων ὑπέρτατον. ἐγὼ 6” ὅπως σὺ μὴ λέγεις ὀρϑῶς τάδε οὔτ’ ἄν δυναΐμην μήτ᾽ ἐπισταΐμην λέγειν" γένοιτο υέντἄν ydtépws μαλῶς ἔχον.

664 674 684

χρόνωι

ὧν

νοεῖ

2

mss.

Stobaeus συμμάχηι

χρημάτων most mss. xétépus 1 ns.: χἀτέραι 76

67)

66:

οἴκους τίϑησιν, ἦδε συμμάχου δορὸς τροπὰς κματαρρήγνυσι" τῶν δ᾽ ὀρϑουμένων OUITEL τὰ πολλὰ σώμαϑ᾽ ἡ πειϑαρχΐα. οὕτως ἀμυντέ᾽ ἐστὶ τοῖς κοσμουμένοις, κοῦτοι γυναικὸς οὐδαμῶς ἡσσητέα" κρεῖσσον γάρ, εἴπερ δεῖ, πρὸς ἀνδρὸς ἐκπεσεῖν, κούκ dv γυναικῶν ἥσσονες καλοΐμεϑ᾽ ἄν. Xo.

871

or 1

σὺν

ms.,

μάχηι χἀτέρωι

mss. others

675

to rule well and to submit willingly to being ruled, and, when stationed in

670

the storm of battle, to remain a loyal and brave comrade to the man at his

671

side. But whoever transgresses, violating the laws or planning to dictate to his rulers, this man can win no praise from me. No, anyone whom the city may set in office must be obeyed in matters great and small, just and less just. For there is no greater evil than disobedience: it is this that destroys

663 665 667 672

cities, this that makes houses desolate, this that breaks up allied ranks in

675

rout. But lives. Thus be beaten man; and

680

CHORUS:

when men succeed, it is obedience that most often saves their the appointed rules must be upheld, and we must on no account by a woman. Better to fall from power, if fall we must, before a at least we would not be called women’s inferiors.

To us, unless we have been tricked by age, you seem to be

speaking wisely in what you say. HAEMON: Father, the good sense which the gods implant in men is the

greatest of all the world’s possessions. I could not say - and I hope I may never be capable of saying — in what way your words are wrong. Still, other

77

685

σὺ δ᾽ οὐ πέφυκας πάντα προσκοπεῖν ὅσα λέγει τις ἢ πράσσει τις M ψέγειν Byer. τὸ γὰρ σὸν ὄμμα δεινὸν ἀνδρὶ δημότηι «

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.

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.

.

.

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.

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.

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.

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λόγοις τοιούτοις οἷς σὺ μὴ τέρψηι κλύων" ἐμοὶ δ᾽ ἀκούειν ἔσϑ᾽ ὑπὸ σκότου τάδε, τὴν παῖδα ταύτην ol” ὀδύρεται πόλις, πασῶν γυναικῶν ὡς ἀναξιωτάτη κάκιστ᾽

ἀπ᾽

ἔργων

εὐκλεεστάτων

φϑίνει"

ἥτις τὸν αὑτῆς αὐτάδελφον ἐν φοναῖς πεπτῶτ᾽ ἄϑαπτον μήϑ᾽ ὑπ᾽ ὠμηστῶν κυνῶν elao” ὀλέσϑαι μήϑ᾽ Sr’ olwvav τινος" οὐχ ἦδε χρυσῆς ἀξία τιμῆς λαχεῖν; τοιάδ’ ἐρεμνὴ σῖγ᾽ ὑπέρχεται φάτις. ἐμοὶ δὲ σοῦ πράσσοντος εὐτυχῶς, πάτερ, οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲν κτῆμα τιμιώτερον. τί γὰρ πατρὸς ϑάλλοντος εὐκλείας τέκνοις ἄγαλμα μεῖζον, À τί πρὸς παΐδων πατρί; μὴ νῦν ὅν ἦϑος μοῦνον ἐν σαυτῶι φόρει óc pñis ‘ou, κοὐδὲν ἄλλο, τοῦτ᾽ ὀρϑῶς ἔχειν. ὅστις γὰρ αὐτὸς À φρονεῖν μόνος δοκεῖ

794

ἢ γλῶσσαν ἥν οὐκ ἄλλος À ψυχὴν ἔχειν, οὗτοι διαπτυχϑέντες GpBnoav κενοΐ. ἀλλ᾽ πόλλ᾽

ἄνδρα, αἰσχρὸν

κεῖ

τις

οὐδὲν

ἦι

σοφός,

καὶ

τὸ

μὴ

τὸ

AL

μανϑάνειν

τείνειν

ἄγαν.

δρᾶις παρὰ ῥείΐϑροισι χειμάρροις ὅσα δένδρων ὑπεΐκει, Ἀλῶνας ὡς ἐκσώιξεται, 688 700

σὺ

δ’ οὐ πέφυκας variant in ms. σὺ) δ’ οὖν πέφυκα mss. ὑπέρχεται conj.: ἐπέρχεται mss. 78

L:

σοῦ

(or

σοῖ

or

words might also be good. You are not in a position to watch out for all that men say or do, or all their complaints. For your eye brings fear to a citizen the kind of words that you will not like to hear. But I can hear in the darkness how the city mourns for this girl, saying that she, who deserves it least of all women, is dying the worst of deaths for the most glorious of deeds. For, when her own true brother lay slaughtered and unburied, she did not leave him to be devoured by scavenging dogs or by any bird. Does she not deserve to win golden honour? Such are the dark words that spread in secret. For me, father, there is no possession more precious than your well-being. What greater treasure can there be for sons than a father’s glowing reputation, or for a father than that of his sons? Do not, then, keep only one idea in your heart, that what you say, and nothing else, is right. For if anyone thinks that he alone is wise, or that he has such powers of speech and thought as no other man, such people, when spread open, are always seen to be empty. But even if a man is wise, it is no shame for him to learn much and not to be over-rigid. You have seen how, beside wintry torrents, those trees which yield save even their twigs, while those

79

695

700

705

710

τὰ δ᾽ ἀντιτείνοντ᾽ αὐτόπρεμν᾽ ἀπόλλυται. αὔτως δὲ ναὸς ὄστις ἐγκρατῆ πόδα τεΐνας ὑπεΐκει μηδέν, ὑπτίοις κάτω στρέψας τὸ λοιπὸν σέλμασιν ναυτίλλεται. ἀλλ᾽ εἶκε ϑυμοῦ καὶ μετάστασιν δίδου. γνώμη γὰρ εἴ τις x&m' ἐμοῦ νεωτέρου

πρόσεστι,

φήμ᾽

ἔγωγε

φῦναΐ τιν’ ἄνδρα εἰ δ᾽ οὖν, φιλεῖ καὶ τῶν λεγόντων Xo.

Kp.

of

τηλικοΐδε

724

πάντ’ ἐπιστήμης πλέων" γὰρ τοῦτο μὴ ταύτηι ῥέπειν, εὖ καλὸν τὸ μανϑάνειν.

καὶ

πρὸς

Κρ.

ἔργον

Αι.

οὔ

Κρ.

οὐχ

Al.

οὔ φησι

Kp. Al.

γάρ

τἄν

τοὺς

κελεύσαιμ᾽

ἥδε

yàp

εὐσεβεῖν

Θήβης

τῆσδ᾽

πόλις

γὰρ ἡμῖν

ἀμὲ

δρᾶις

τόδ᾽

τὴν

τἄργα

718

ϑυμῶι

most

721

τιν᾽

conj.:

725

διπλῆι

727

πρὸς} ὑπ’ 2 mas. o0 τἄν conj.: οὐδ’

εἰς

τοὺς

ἄγαν

ἐρεῖ; νέος;

mss.

conj.:

τὸν

mss. διπλᾶι

most

ἄν

mss. 80

κακούς.

λεώς.

τάσσειν ὡς

731

vdowrs

ὁμόπτολις

εἴρηκας

σκοπεῖν.

σέβειν;

ἐπείΐληπται

χρὴ

φύσιν;

ἐγὼ νέος,

ἀκοσμοῦντας

101818’

ὡς

ἢ

μᾶλλον

χρὴ

ἐστι

δ᾽

ef

11:

δὴ

τηλιμοῦδε

δίκαιον"

χρόνον

τὸν

διδαξόμεσϑα

ἀνδρὸς

τὸ μὴ

μηδὲν οὐ

731

πολὺ

ἄναξ, σέ t’ εἰκός, εἴ τι καίριον λέγειν, μαϑεῖν, σέ τ᾽ αὖ τοῦδ᾽ - εὖ γὰρ εἴρηται διπλῆι.

φρονεῖν Al.

πρεσβεύειν

mss.

73:

which hold out are destroyed root and branch. And just so he who keeps the rigging of his ship taut and gives it no play capsizes the ship and sails thereafter with benches on the underside. No, cease from your anger and allow yourself to change. For, if I, as a younger man, may also offer an opinion, I say that much the best thing is for a man to be burn completely full of understanding; but otherwise -- and it does not usually turn out in that way — it is also good to learn from those who speak rightly. CHORUS: It is fair that you, lord, should learn from him, if he says anything useful; and you too should learn from the King. There have been good words spoken on both sides. CREON: Shall men of my age be taught wisdom by one of his? HAEMON: Nothing that is not right; and, if I am young, you should consider my actions, not my age. CREON: Is it an ‘action’ to honour those who misbehave? HAEMON: I would not urge that one should show honour to the wicked. CREON: Is she not afflicted with that malady? HAEMON: The community of this city of Thebes says no. CREON: Shall the city tell me what orders to give? HAEMON: You see? You.sounded all too young in saying that.

81

715

720

725

730

735

Kp.

ἄλλωι

γὰρ

À

Al.

πόλις

γὰρ

οὐκ

Ko.

οὐ

At.

καλῶς

Kp.

δδ᾽,

Al.

εἴπερ

Ko.

ὦ παγκάκιστε,

διὰ

At.

où

σ᾽

Ko.

ἁμαρτάνω

Al.

οὐ

Kp.

ὦ μιαρὸν

Al.

οὗ

xdv

ἕλοις

ἥσσω

Kp.

ὁ γοῦν

λόγος

σοι

Al.

καὶ

κἀμοῦ

Κρ.

γυναικὸς

Αι.

βούλει

λέγειν

Kp.

ταύτην

wot’

Al.

ἥδ᾽

Ko.

À κἀπαπειλῶν

Al.

τίς

τοῦ

χρή

ἔσϑ᾽

ἐρήμης ὡς

γὰρ

σοῦ

σύ"

δίκαιά

γάρ,

ὧν

με

747

oS t&v

ἔστ᾽

conj.:

placed

νομΐζεται; ἄρχοις

μόνος.

σοῦ

γὰρ

προκήδομαι.

ἰὼν

ἐμὰς

ἀρχὰς

γε

γε

dpa;

σέβων;

τὰς

γυναικὸς

746

πατρί.

ἐξαμαρτάνονθϑ᾽

ϑεῶν

πατῶν.

αἰσχρῶν

ἐμέ.

πᾶς

ὑπὲρ

κεΐνης

ὅδε.

καὶ

ϑεῶν

τῶν

μὴ

καὶ

ὡς

καὶ

ὧδ᾽

ϑανοῦσ᾽

most

οὐκ 749

πρὸς

κλύειν;

ζῶσαν

γαμεῖς.

ὀλεῖ

τινά.

ϑρασύς;

κενὰς

γνώμας

λέγειν;

mss.

dv by

or οὐκ conj.

82

ἄν γ᾽

74$ 756

LE.

μηδὲν

ἔτι

ἐπεξέρχηι

ἀπειλὴ

νερτέρων.

κώτιλλέ

λέγων

ἔσϑ᾽

7485

ὕστερον.

τῶν

τι οὐκ

οὖν

δίκης

δούλευμα

after

ἑνός.

συμμαχεῖ.

καὶ

ye

Eos?”

γῆς

τιμάς

conj.:

ἀνδρός

xSovéc;

γυναικὶ

οὖν ϑανεῖται,

δ᾽

ἄρχειν

τῆι

σέβεις,

γε

σὺ

τὰς

ἦϑος

τῆσδ᾽

ἡ πόλις ἄν

ἔοικε,

γυνὴ

γὰρ

γ᾽

ue

ἥτις

κρατοῦντος

736 756- 7

'uol

mss.

757 751

CREON: Must I rule this land to please anyone but myself? HAEMON: It is no city that belongs to one man.

CREON: Is the city not held to belong to its ruler? HAEMON: You would do well as monarch of a desert. CREON: It seems he is fighting on the woman's side. HAEMON: If you are a woman. It is you that I care for. CREON: You utter villain, putting your father on trial! HAEMON: Do I not see you at fault in what is right? CREON: Am I at fault in upholding my authority? HAEMON: You are not upholding it when you trample on the prerogatives of the gods. CREON: You vile character, giving way to a woman! HAEMON: Well, you will never find me giving way to what is shameful. CREON: All your words, at least, are spoken for her sake. HAEMON: And for your sake and mine and that of the gods below. CREON: You woman’s slave, do not cajole me! HAEMON: Do you wish to speak and then hear no reply? CREON: You can never marry her while she lives. HAEMON: She will die, then, and in dying she will destroy another. CREON: Does your insolence extend even to threats? HAEMON: What threat is there in speaking against empty decrees?

83

740

745

749 756 757 750

Ko.

κλαΐων

φρενώσεις,

Αι.

εἰ

Κρ.

ἄληϑες; ἀλλ᾽ οὐ τόνδ᾽ "Ολυυπον, Tod’ χαΐρων ἔτι ψόγοισι δεννάσεις ἐμέ.

μὴ

πατὴρ

ἄγετε

τὸ

At.

Xo.

ἦσϑ᾽,

μῖσος,

παρόντι

ὧν

φρενῶν

εἶπον

ὡς

ϑνήισκηι

ἄν

κατ᾽

αὐτὸς σ᾽

οὐκ

Suyat’

mAncía

τῶι

κενός. εὖ

φρονεῖν.

754

ὅτι,

754

αὐτίκα

764

vuupiuwt.

οὐ δῆτ᾽ ἔμοιγε, τοῦτο μὴ δόξηις ποτέ, οὔϑ᾽ ἥδ᾽ ὀλεῖται πλησία, σύ τ᾽ οὐδαμὰ τοὐμὸν προσόψει κρᾶτ᾽ ἐν ὀφϑαλμοῖς ὁρῶν, ὡς τοῖς ϑέλουσι τῶν φίλων μαΐνηι ξυνών.

76:

ἀνήρ, ἄναξ, βέβηκεν ἐξ ὀργῆς ταχύς" “νοῦς δ᾽ ἐστὶ τηλικοῦτος ἀλγήσας βαρύς.

Κρ.

δράτω, φρονεΐτω μεῖζον À κατ᾽ ἄνδρ᾽ ἰών" τὼ δ᾽ οὖν κόρα τώδ᾽ οὐκ ἀπαλλάξει μόρου.

Χο.

ἄμφω

Ko.

οὐ

Xo.

μόρωι

Κρ.

ἄγων ἔρημος ἔνϑ᾽ ἄν ἦι βροτῶν στίβος κρύψω πετρώδει ζῶσαν ἐν xatüpuxi,

γὰρ

τήν

αὐτὼ

ye δὲ

“-

φορβῆς

μὴ

καὶ

κατακτεῖναι

BiyoUoav*

ποίΐωι

“Ὁ

τοσοῦτον

καΐ

4

ὡς

ope

εὖ

γὰρ

νοεῖς; οὖν

βουλεύηι

ἄγος

μόνον

m

λέγεις.

κτανεῖν;

,

773

προϑεΐς.

ὅπως uiaoua πᾶσ᾽ ὑπεκφύγηι πόλις. κάἀκεϊ τὸν “Αιδην, ὅν μόνον σέβει ϑεῦῶν, αἰτουμένη που τεύξεται τὸ μὴ ϑανεῖν, ἢ γνώσεται γοῦν ἀλλὰ τηνικαῦϑ᾽ ὅτι

755 ἄν conj.: ἄν mss. 759 ἔτι conj.: ἐπὶ mss. 769-70 τὼ ... 166" ... αὐτὼ αὐτὰ mss. 84

conj.:

τὰ

...

τάδ᾽

.-.

CREON: You will regret this — preaching about sense when empty of sense yourself.

HAEMON:

If you were not my father, I should have said that you were out

of your senses. CREON: Indeed? By Olympus above us, I'll have you know that you will live to regret insulting me with your reproaches. Bring the vermin here, so that she may be killed in the presence of her bridegroom, before his very eyes.

755 758 760

[Exeunt attendants into the palace.] HAEMON: Oh no, do not imagine that she will die in my presence, or that you will ever set eyes on my face again. Rave on, then, in the company of any friends who are willing to endure it.

765

[Exit Haemon by a parodos.} CHORUS: The man has gone, lord, in angry haste. At his age the heart grows bitter when hurt. CREON: Let him go to perform impossible deeds, to dream impossible

plans. He will not rescue these two girls from death. CHORUS: Do you really mean to kill them both? CREON: Not the one who played no part; you are right. CHORUS: By what kind of death do you intend to kill the other? CREON: I shall take her where men's feet do not tread and bury her alive in a cave in the rock, providing just enough food for expiation, to avoid pollution of the whole city. And then, by praying to Hades, the only god she reveres, she will perhaps succeed in escaping death; or else she will at

85

770

775

πόνος Xo.

περισσός

ἐστι

τἄν

"Aido0ou

σέβειν.

"Ἔρως ἀνίκατε μάχαν, "Ἔρως ὅς ἐν κτήμασι πίπτεις, 8c ἐν μαλακαῖς παρεϊιαῖς νεανΐδος ἐννυχεύεις, φοιταῖς

δ᾽

ὑπερπόντιος

&v

(otp. 0

τ’

ἀγρονόμοις αὐλαῖς" xat σ᾽ οὔτ᾽ ἀϑανάτων φύξιμος o09' ἀμερίων σέ y” ἀνϑρώπων, ὁ δ᾽ ἔχων μέμηνεν.

785

οὐδεΐς, 230

σὺ καὶ δικαΐων ἀδίκους φρένας παρασπᾶις ἐπὶ λώβαι" σὺ καὶ τόδε νεῖκος ἀνδρῶν ξύναιμον ἔχεις ταράξας" νικᾶι δ᾽ ἐναργὴς βλεφάρων ἵμερος εὐλέκτρου νύμφας, τῶν μεγάλων πάρεδρος ϑεσμῶν" ἄμαχος γὰρ ἐμπαΐει

ϑεὸς

(ἀντ. a

ἐν

ἀρχαῖς got

᾿Αφροδΐτα.

νῦν δ᾽ ἤδη ᾽γὼ καὐτὸς ϑεσμῶν ἔξω φέρομαι τάδ᾽ ὁρῶν, ἴσχειν δ᾽ οὐκέτι πηγὰς δύναμαι δαμρύων, τὸν παγκοΐτην ὅϑ᾽ ὁρῶ ϑάλαμον τήνδ᾽ ᾿Αντιγόνην ἀνύτουσαν. Av.

789

dpaté μ᾽, ὦ γᾶς τὰν νεάταν ὁδὸν

σέ

799- 800

γ᾽

conj.:

ἐμπαΐει

πατρίας

én’

conj.:

700

πολῖται,

mss.

ἐμπαΐζει

86

mss.

aos

(στρ. ?

least learn, however late, that it is wasted labour to revere that which Hades’ keeping. CHORUS: Love unconquered in battle, Love, despoiler of wealth; you pass your nights on a girl’s soft cheeks, who range across the seas through shepherds’ lonely dwellings; no immortal can escape you, nor among short-lived men; and your possessor runs mad.

isin

780

who and any

785 790

By you even the righteous have their minds perverted to crime for their ruin; and it is you who have stirred up the kindred strife between these men. Victorious is the enticement that gleams in the eyes of anubile bride,

enticement

enthroned

in

power

beside

the

mighty

laws;

795

for

irresistible blows are dealt by the goddess Aphrodite.

800

[Attendants bring Antigone out of the palace.] And now at this no longer restrain my chamber that is the ANTIGONE: See me,

sight even I am carried beyond due limits, and can welling tears, as I see Antigone passing to the bridal resting place for all. citizens of my fatherland, taking my last road,

87

805

otetxovoav, véatov δὲ péyγος λεύσσουσαν ἀελίου,

κοὔποτ᾽

αὖἦϑις,

ἀλλά

u*

ὁ παγ-

κοίτας "A15ac ζῶσαν ἄγει τὰν 'Axépovtoc ἀκτάν, οὔϑ᾽ ὑμεναίων ἔγκληρον, οὔτ᾽ ἐπὶ νυμφεΐοις πώ μέ τις Buvos ὅuvnoev, ἀλλ’ ᾿Αχέροντι νυμφεύσω. Xo.

οὔκουν κλεινὴ κἄπαινον ἔχουσ᾽ ἐς τόδ᾽ ἀπέρχηι κεῦϑος νεκύων; οὔτε φϑινάσιν πληγεῖσα νόσοις οὗτε ξιφέων ἐπίχειρα λαχοῦσ᾽, ἀλλ᾽ αὐτόνομος, ζῶσα μόνη δὴ ϑνητῶν ᾿Αΐδην καταβήσηι.

Av.

ἤκουσα δὴ λυγροτάταν ὀλέσϑαι τὰν Φρυγίαν ξέναν Ταντάλου Σιπύλωι πρὸς ἄXpoi, τὰν κισσὸς ὡς ἀτενὴς πετραΐα βλάστα δάμασεν" xaí νιν ὄμβροι τακομέναν, ὡς φάτις ἀνδρῶν, χιών τ᾽ οὐδαμὰ λείπει, τέγγει δ᾽ ὑπ᾽ ὀφρύσι παγἈλαύτοις δειράδας" ἄι ue δαι-

814-15 817

ἐπὶ νυμφείοις conj.: ἐπινυμφίδιός οὔκουν conj.: οὐκοῦν mss. μᾶπαινον conj.: καὶ ἔπαινον mss.

828

ὄμβροι

conj.:

$’ most mss. 831 831-2 παγκλαύτους

ὄμβρωι

ms.

L

most

mss.

815

(ἄντ.

a 625

mss.

looking my last on the light of the sun, as never again. Hades, who lays all to rest, is bringing me alive to the shore of Acheron. No wedding procession is mine, no bridal song has ever been sung for me; Acheron will be my bridegroom.. CHORUS: Have you not, then, won renown and praise as you depart for that cavern of death? You were not struck down with deadly sickness nor paid out with the wages of the sword; you alone among mortals will descend by your own law, alive to the house of Hades. ANTIGONE: I have heard that the most pitiful of deaths befell our Phrygian guest, the daughter of Tantalus, upon the peak of Sipylus; for like insistent ivy, a growth of stone overcame her; and neither rain, so men report, nor snow ever leaves her sorrowing form: beneath her ever-

weeping brows her flanks are wet with tears. Most like hers is the rest to

89

810 815

820

825 830

μων Xo.

ὁμοιοτάταν

ἀλλὰ

ϑεός

ἡμεῖς

toi δὲ

κατευνάζει.

xal

ϑεογεννής,

βροτοὶ

καὶ

835

ϑνητογενεῖς"

καΐτοι φϑιμένηι μέγα κμἀκοῦσαι τοῖς ἰσοϑέοις oóyxAnpa λαχεῖν «

.

.Ψ

e

cwoav ἂν.

e

.Φ

e

.

κἄπειτα

e

e

e

e

e

ἰὼ Διρκαῖαι τ᾽

ϑεῶν

πατρώιων,

(otp. 8

πας

ξυμμάρτυρας

θή-

εὐαρμάτου

φΐλων

>

ἄνδρες.

κρῆναι

Bac οἵα

e

ϑανοῦσαν.

οἴμοι, γελῶμαι" τί με, πρὸς οὐκ οὐλομέναν ὑβρίΐζεις, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπίφαντον; ὦ πόλις, ὦ πόλεως πολυκτήμονες

e

ἄλσος,

ὄμμ᾽

ἄκλαυτος,

ἔμ-

8.5

ἐπικτῶμαι

οἵοις

νόμοις,

πρὸς Éoyua τυμβόχωστον ἔρχομαι τάφου ποταινίου" ἰὼ δύστανος, Τοῦτ᾽

ἐν

μέτοικος Χο.

προβᾶσ᾽

οὔτ᾽

οὐ

οὐ ϑανοῦσιν.

én’

ὑψηλὸν μέγα

βροτοῖσιν

ἐς

ἔσχατον Δίκας

conj.:

οὐλομέναν others

2

μέγ’

ἔγκληρα

καὶ

conj.:

mss.,

ϑράσους,

conj.:

conj.:

κἄπειτα

νεκροϊῖσιντ

βάϑρον

κἀκοῦσαι

σύγμληρα

ἔρμα

ζῶσιν,

ἐν

ἀκοῦσαι mss.

ἔπειτα ὀλλυμέναν

ἔργμα

most

90

mss.

mss. 2

mss.,

ὀλ(λ)ομέναν

which the god is bringing me. CHORUS: But she was a goddess and of the race of gods, while we are human and of mortal race. And yet it is a great thing for a dead woman even to have it said that she shared the fate of demigods in life and afterwards in death. ANTIGONE: Oh, this is mockery! Why, by the gods of our fathers, do you insult me not when I am dead, but to my face? O city, o wealthy men of the city! Ah, springs of Dirce and precinct of Thebes, home of fine chariots, I have you, at least, to bear witness how I go bereft of friendly tears - by what laws I go -- to the heaped barrow-prison of my unique tomb. Ah, wretched as I am to dwell not among the living. not among the dead. CHORUS: Advancing to the limit of daring, you stumbled with your foot.

91

835

850 855

προσέπεσες, πατρῶιον δ᾽ Av.

Xo.

Av.

ὦ τέκνον, ποδί" ἐκτίνεις tiv’ ἄϑλον.

Oa,

Evavoas &Ayeivotétas ἐμοὶ uepfuvac, πατρὸς τριπόλιστον οἶκτον τοῦ τε πρόπαντος ἁμετέρου πότμου κλεινοῖς Λαβδακίδαισιν. ἰὼ ματρῶιαι. λέκτρων ἄται κοιμήματά τ᾽ αὐτογέν vnt' ἐμῶι πατρὶ δυσμόρου ματρός, οἵων ἐγώ 108’ ἃ ταλαΐφρων ἔφυν" πρὸς os ἀραῖος, ἄγαμος ἅδ᾽ ἐγὼ μέτοικος ἔρχομαι. ἰὼ δυσπότμων μασΐγνητε γάμων κυρήσας, Savav ἔτ᾽ οὖσαν κατήναρές uc.

(avr. à

ass

"ET

σέβειν μὲν εὐσέβειά τις, κράτος δ᾽, ὅτωι κράτος μέλει, παραβατὸν οὐδαμᾶι πέλει" σὲ δ᾽ αὐτόγνωτος ὥλεσ᾽ ὀργά. ἄκλαυτος, og

τάνδ᾽ mobi

&

ἄφιλος,

ταλαΐφρων

ἑτοΐμαν conj.:

πατρῶϊιαι

3

87!

&vuuévai-

(én,

ἄγομαι

ὁδόν. πολύ

or

πολύν

mss.

mes.

κοιμήματά τ’ 1 ms.: xoiufuat^ & ταλαΐφρων conj.: ἀταλαίΐφρων others

92

others 1 ms.,

ταλαΐφρων

child, against the high pedestal of Right. But perhaps your ordeal is the payment of a debt from your father.

ANTIGONE: You touch on my most painful thought, recalling my manifold grief for my father and for the entire destiny that adheres to us, the famous house of Labdacus. Ah, the calamity of a mother’s bed, the ill-fated mother’s incestuous embraces with my father — from what parents was I born, their wretched daughter! To them I go thus, accursed, unwedded, to share their home. Ah, my brother, maker of a fatal marriage, in your

870

death you have destroyed me while I yet live. CHORUS: Piety is piety, perhaps; but breach of authority cannot be tolerated by one in whom authority resides. Your self-willed temper has

destroyed you. ANTIGONE: Unwept, friendless, without marriage-song I am led, in my misery, on this journey that lies before me. No longer, wretched one, am I

93

875

οὐκέτι

vor

τόδε

λαμπάδος

ἱερὸν CAT

ὄμμα ϑέμις ὁρᾶν ταλαΐναι. τὸν δ᾽ ἐμὸν πότμον ἀδάκρυτον δεὶς φίλων στενάζει. Κρ.

&p'

Yor’

ἀοιδὰς

ὡς οὐδ᾽

καὶ

γόους

ἄν εἷς παύσαιτ᾽

οὐ-

πρὸ

ἄν,

τοῦ

ϑανεῖν

εἰ ἐχρεῖ᾽

À λέγειντ; 64)

οὐκ ἄξεϑ᾽ ὡς τάχιστα; καὶ κατηρεφεῖ τύμβωι περιπτύξαντες, ὡς εἴρηκ᾽ ἐγώ, ἄφετε μόνην, ἔρημον, εἴτε χρῆι ϑανεῖν εἴτ᾽ ἐν τοιαύτηι ζῶσα τυμβεύειν στέγηι. ἡμεῖς

γὰρ

μετοικίας ἂν.

dyvoi δ᾽

τοὐπὶ

οὖν

τῆς

τήνδε ἄνω

τὴν

μόρην"

στερήσεται.

ὦ τύμβος, ὦ νυμφεῖον, ὦ κατασκαφὴς οἴκησις αἰεΐφρουρος, οἷ πορεύομαι πρὸς τοὺς ἐμαυτῆς, ὧν ἀριϑμὸν ἐν νεκροῖς πλεῖστον δέδεκται Φερσέφασσ᾽ ὀλωλότων * ὧν λοισϑία “yo καὶ κάκιστα δὴ μακρῶι κάτειμι, πρΐν μοι μοῖραν ἐξήκειν Biov. ἐλθοῦσα μέντοι κάρτ᾽ ἄν ἐλπΐσιν τρέφω φΐλη μὲν ἥξειν natpi, προσφιλὴς δὲ oot, μῆτερ, φίλη δὲ oof, κασΐγνητον xápa* ἐπεὶ ϑανόντας αὐτόχειρ ὑμᾶς ἐγὼ ἔλουσα κἀκόσμησα x&nituufB touc χοὰς ἔδωκα“ νῦν δέ, Πολύνεικες, τὸ σὸν δέμας περιστέλλουσα τοιάδ᾽ ἄρνυμαι. [καΐτοι σέ γ᾽ εὖ 'ríunca τοῖς φρονοῦσιν

887

ἄφετε

1

χρῆι

ms.:

ἀφεῖτε

conj.:

888

τυμβεύσει

904

σέ γ᾽

1

ms.,

εὖ conj.:

yon

or

ἀφῆτε

mss. τυμβεύει

σ᾽

ἐγὼ 94

mss.

some

others

LEE

401

εὖ.

permitted to see this holy eye of light. But my fate calls forth no tears, and no friend mourns for it. CREON: Do you not know that no one facing death would ever cease to utter songs and cries of woe if it were of any use to utter them [?]? Take her away at once and encase her in her vaulted tomb, as I have instructed; then leave her alone, deserted, to choose whether she wishes to die or to

885

remain buried alive in that grim abode. Our hands are clean as regards this girl; but in any case she will be deprived of her dwelling in the upper world. ANTIGONE: Tomb, bridal chamber, hollowed dwelling-place of my eternal prison, where I go to join my kindred, of whom the greatest number have perished and been received by Persephone among the dead. Last of these, and dying the worst death by far, I shall pass below, before the due term of my life has come. Yet as I go I nounsh a strong hope that my coming will be welcome to my father, welcome to you, my mother,

895

welcome to you, my own brother. For, when you died, with my own hands

I washed and dressed you and poured libations at your graves. But now, Polynices, for shrouding your body, this is my reward.

[And yet, to right-thinking people, I did right to honour you. For

95

905

οὐ γάρ wot’ οὔτ᾽ ἄν ef τέκνων μήτηρ ἔφυν, οὔτ᾽ εἴ πόσις μοι κατϑανὼν ἐτήκετο, Bar πολιτῶν τόνδ᾽ ἄν ἠιρόμην πόνον. τίνος νόμου δὴ ταῦτα πρὸς χάριν λέγω; πόσις μὲν ἄν μοι κατϑανόντος ἄλλος ἦν, καὶ παῖς dn” ἄλλου φωτὸς εἰ τοῦδ᾽ AunAanov: μητρὸς

δ᾽

ἐν

“Αϊδου

καὶ

πατρὸς

τ:

κεκευϑότοιν,

οὐκ ἔστ᾽ ἀδελφὸς ὅστις ἄν βλάστοι ποτέ. τοιῶιδε μέντοι σ᾽ ἐκπροτιμήσασ᾽᾽ ἐγὼ νόμωι, Κρέοντι ταῦτ᾽ ἔδοξ᾽ ἁμαρτάνειν

καὶ

δεινὰ

καὶ

νῦν

ἄλεκτρον,

τολμᾶν,

ὦ κασίγνητον

ἄγει

διὰ

με

χερῶν

ἀνυμέναιον,

οὕτω

odte

του

μέρος λαχοῦσαν οὔτε παιδείΐου ἀλλ᾽ ὧδ᾽ ἔρημος πρὸς φίλων ἡ ζῶσ᾽

els

ποίαν τί

ϑανόντων

χρή

με

Βλέπειν, τὴν

5°

ἂν

οἵδ’

ἐς

εὐσεβοῦσ᾽

οὖν

τάδ’

ϑεοὺς

ἐκτησάμην;

ἐν ϑεοῖς

ἁμαρτάνουσι,

μὴ πλεΐω

δρῶσιν

ἔτι τῶν ψυχῆς

αὐτῶν ῥιπαὶ

ἀνέμων αὑταὶ τήνδε γ᾽ ἔχουσιν.

929

aStat

conj.:

most

αὐταὶ

καλά,

41:

ἡμαρτηκότες"

À καὶ

ἀνη(ι)ρόμην

ἔτι

ἐπεί γε δὴ

πάϑοιεν

907

41}

δίκην;

ἐστὶν

ξυγγνοῖμεν

λαβὼν

γάμου

κατασκαφάς -

δαιμόνων

δύστηνον

$i

τροφῆς» δύσμορος

αὐδᾶν ξυμμάχων,

ef μὲν

παϑόντες

Xo.

τὴν

τίν᾽

δυσσέβειαν

ἀλλ᾽ εἰ

ἔρχομαι

παρεξελθοῦσα

κάρα.]

ἐκδίκως

mas.

mss. 96

κακὰ

ἐμέ. 4}

never, if I had been the mother of children, or if mouldering in death, would I have taken on this citizens. To what law do I defer in saying this? My could have another, and a child by another man if I

my husband had been task in defiance of the husband being dead, I had lost a child; but, as

910

my mother and father are hidden in the house of Hades, no brother could

ever be born again. Such was the law by which I singled you out for honour; but to Creon I seemed to be doing wrong in this and acting as a reckless criminal, my own brother.]

915

And now he leads me like this, a prisoner in his hands, deprived of

bridal bed and wedding song, having had no portion of marriage or the raising of children; instead I go thus, unhappy one, bereft of friends, alive to the hollow place of the dead. And what divine law have I transgressed? Why should I look to the gods any more in my misery - what ally should I

invoke -- when for my piety I stand convicted as impious? Well, if this is good in the eyes of the gods, I shall learn by experience that I have done wrong; but if these are doing wrong, may they experience no greater evils than they are unjustly visiting on me. CHORUS: Still this girl is subject to the same buffeting from the same stormy spirit.

97

920

925

930

Kp

τοιγὰρ τούτων τοῖσιν ἄγουσιν κλαύμαϑ᾽ ὑπάρξει βραδυτῆτος ὕπερ. οἴμοι,

ϑανάτου

τοῦπος

ἀφῖκται.

τοῦτ᾽

ἐγγυτάτω

ϑαρσεῖν οὐδὲν παραμυϑοῦμαι μὴ οὐ τάδε ταύτηι κατακυροῦσϑαι. ὦ γῆς θήβης ἄστυ πατρῶιον xal ϑεοὶ προγενεῖς, ἄγομαι δὴ κοὐκέτι μέλλω. λεύσσετε, θήβης οἱ κοιρανίδαι, τὴν βασιλειδῶν μούνην λοιπήν,

940

οἷα πρὸς οἵων ἀνδρῶν πάσχω τὴν edoeBiav σεβΐσασα. Xo

ἔτλα

καὶ

ἀλλάξαι

Δανάας

δέμας

κρυπτομένα

δ᾽

οὐράνιον

ἐν χαλκοδέτοις ἐν

τυμβήρει

(στρ. a

φῶς

αὐλαῖς"

ϑαλάμωι

κατεζεύχϑη.

καΐτοι «xal» γενεᾶι τίμιος, ὦ παῖ, παῖ, καὶ Ζηνὸς ταμιεύεσκε γονὰς χρυσορύτους. ἀλλ᾽ ἃ μοιριδίΐα τις δύνασις δεΐνα" οὔτ’ &v νιν ὄλβος ot’ “Αρης, οὐ πύργος, οὐχ ἀλΐκτυποι κελαιναὶ νᾶες ἐκχφύγοιεν. τοιγὰρ 1 ms.: τοιγάρτοι others δὴ ᾿γὼ most mss. βασιλειδῶν conj.: BaciA(6a most xal conj.: omitted by mss. ὄλβος

conj.:

ὄμβρος

mss.

98

945

mss.

950

CREON: That means that her escort will smart for their slowness. ANTIGONE: Alas, that word comes very close to death. CREON: I can give you no encouragement to believe that this sentence is not being thus carried out. ANTIGONE: O Theban land, city of my fathers, and o my ancestral gods, they are taking me away; the time has come. Lords of Thebes, behold me, sole remnant of your royal house; behold how I am treated, and by what manner of men, for doing reverence where reverence was due. [Attendants take Antigone away by a parodos.] CHORUS: The fair Danae too endured separation from heaven’s light in her bronze dwelling: she was hidden and confined in a tomb-like chamber. And yet, child, child, she was of noble birth, and held in her keeping the

liquid gold of Zeus’s seed. But fearful is the power of fate; neither wealth nor war can escape it, nor a city wall, nor black sea-buffeted ships.

99

935

950

ζεύχϑη

δ᾽

ὀξύχολος

παῖς

ὁ Δρύαντος,

᾿Ηδωνῶν βασιλεύς, κερτομΐοις ὀργαῖς, &x Διονύσου πετρώδει κατάφαρκτος ἐν δεσμῶι. οὕτω τᾶς μανίας δεινὸν ἀποστάζει ἀνϑηρόν τε μένος. κεῖνος ἐπέγνω μανίαις Vaóuv τὸν ϑεὸν ἐν κερτομίαις γλώσσας. παύεσκε μὲν γὰρ ἐνϑέους γυναῖκας eSidv τε πῦρ, φιλαύλους τ᾽ ἠρέϑιζε Μούσας.

955 961 962 966 975 980

παρὰ δὲ κυανέαιν σπιλάδοιν διδύμας ἁλὸς ἀκταὶ Βοσπορίαι τἦδ᾽ ὃ OEpninüvt Σαλμυδησσός, Tv” ἀγχίπολις "Apnc δισσοῖσι Φινεΐδαις εἶδεν ἀρατὸν ἕλκος τυφλωϑὲν ἐξ ἀγρίας δάμαρτος, ἀλαὸν ἀλαστόροισιν ὄμμάτων κύκλοις, ἀραχϑέντων ὑφ᾽ atuatnpaic χεΐρεσσι καὶ κερκΐδων ἀκμαῖσιν.

(στρ. 8

κατὰ δὲ Ἀλαῖον,

(ἄντ.β

τακόμενοι μέλεοι μελέαν πάϑαν ματρὸς ἔχοντες &vuugeÓtou yovév:

ἃ δὲ σπέρμα

μὲν

ἀρχαιογόνων

δεύχολος

1 ms.:

ὀξυχόλως

μανίας

975

most

κερτομίοις xvavéaiv mss.

most

others

mss.

2 mss. σπιλάδοιν

γλώσσας

conj.:

conj.:

κυανέων

ἐγχέων

ἀραχϑέντων

conj.:

ἀραχϑὲν

ἀνυμφεύτου

conj.:

ἀνύμφευτον

100

mss.

γλώσσαις

πελαγέων

mss.

mes.

πετρῶν

And confined was the wrathful son of Dryas, the King of the Edonians, for his mocking anger, enclosed by Dionysus in a rocky prison.

955

Thus the dreadful fervid strength of madness drained from him. He came to know the god whom he had assailed in his madness with words of mockery. For he had tried to restrain the god-inspired women and the Bacchanalian fire, and had challenged the tuneful Muses.

And by the Dark Rocks are [?] the shores of the Bosporus, shores of twin seas, and [?] Thracian Salmydessus, where Ares, the city’s neighbour, saw the accursed wound dealt by a savage wife, blinding the two sons of Phineus, quenching the eyeballs that cried for vengeance when mauled by her bloody hands and her shuttles’ points. Pining in grief they wept for their grievous suffering, sons:of an ill-wedded mother; but she traced her descent from the ancient line of the

101

975 980

ἄντασ’

'Epex9e5áv,

τηλεπόροις

δ᾽

ἐν

ἄντροις

τράφη ϑυέλλαισιν ἐν πατρώιαις, Βορεὰς ἅμιππος ὀρϑόποδος ὑπὲρ πάγου, ϑεῶν παῖς: ἀλλὰ κἀπ’ ἐκείναι Μοῖραι μακμραίωνες ἔσχον, ὦ παῖ.

LE

ΤΕΙΡΕΣΙΑΣ

Θήβης

ἄνακτες,

ἥκομεν

κοινὴν

δύ᾽

ἐξ ἑνὸς BAétovte’ τοῖς αὕτη κέλευϑος ἐκ προηγητοῦ δ᾽

ἐστίν,

ὦ γεραιὲ

ὁδόν,

τυφλοῖσι πέλει.

PT]

Kp.

τί

Te.

ἐγὼ

Ko.

οὗκουν

πάρος

Te.

τοιγὰρ

δι᾽

Κρ.

ἔχω πεπονϑὼς

μαρτυρεῖν

Te.

φρόνει

αὖ νῦν

Ko.

τί

Te.

γνώσηι, τέχνης σημεῖα τῆς ἐμῆς xAvüv. els γὰρ παλαιὸν Sänov ὀρνιϑοσμκόπον Tcov, ἵν᾽ ἦν yor. παντὸς olwvoÿ λιμήν, ἀγνῶτ᾽ ἀκούω φϑόγγον dpviswv, κακῶι Ἀκλάζοντας ofotoui καὶ βεβαρβαρωμένωιϊι" καὶ σπῶντας ἐν χηλαῖσιν ἀλλήλους φοναῖς ἔγνων: πτερῶν γὰρ ῥοῖβδος οὐκ ἄσημος ἦν.

διδάξω,

δ’

εὐθὺς

καὶ γε

ἐστίν;

δεῖσας

τῶι

σῆς

ὀρϑῆς

βεβὼς

δὲ

od

ὡς

Τειρεσία,

γὰρ

μάντει

998

τήνδε

conj.:

τὸ

ἐμπύρων

Ἀλύων

πόλιν.

ὀνήσιμα.

ἐπὶ

ἐγὼ

φρενός.

ναυκληρεῖς

ξυροῦ σὸν

an τύχης.

ppioow

στόμα.

ἐγευόμην ἐκ δὲ ϑυμάτων ἀλλ᾽

RA

μλυών

πιϑοῦ.

ἀπεστάτουν

βωμοῖσι παμφλέκτοισιν: "Hoaictoc οὐκ ἔλαμπεν, μα,

νέον;

mss. 102

ἐπὶ

σποδῶι

100

10}!

children of Erechtheus, and had been reared in distant caves amid her father’s storm-winds, a daughter of Boreas to run with horses above the steep hill, a child of gods. Yet she too, child, was assailed by the long-lived Fates. [Enter Tiresias by a parodos, led by a boy.} TIRESIAS: Lords of Thebes, we have come on a shared path. two seeing with the eyes of one; for it is thus, with the help of a guide, that the blind must walk. CREON: What is your news, aged Tiresias? TIRESIAS: I shall tell you, and you must obey the prophet. CREON: Well, I have not neglected your advice in the past. TIRESIAS: That is why you have steered the city on a straight course. CREON: I can testify from experience to the help you give. TIRESIAS: Take note that you are treading once more on a knife-edge of fortune. CREON: What do you mean? How 1 shudder at your words! TIRESIAS: You will learn when you hear the tokens that belong to my craft. As I took my place in the ancient seat of augury, where I had a gathering-place for every kind of bird, I heard the unfamiliar noise of birds shrieking in evil and unintelligible frenzy. And I realised that they were tearing each other with murderous talons; for the whirring of their wings was all too expressive. At once in fear I made trial of burnt offerings at a blazing altar. But Hephaestus did not shine forth from the sacrifice:

103

985

990

995

1000

1005

μυδῶσα

κηκὶς

κἄτυφε

μηρΐων

κἀνέπτυε,

χολαὶ

ἐτήκετο,

καὶ

διεσπεΐροντο,

petapofor

xal

καταρρυεic

1010

μηροὶ καλυπτῆς ἐξέκειντο πιμελῆς. τοιαῦτα παιδὸς τοῦδ᾽ ἐμάνϑανον πάρα φϑίνοντ᾽ ἀσήμων ὀργίων μαντεύματα" ἐμοὶ γὰρ οὗτος ἡγεμών, ἄλλοις δ’ ἐγώ. καὶ ταῦτα τῆς σῆς ἐκ φρενὸς νοσεῖ πόλις" βωμοὶ γὰρ ἡμῖν ἐσχάραι τε παντελεῖς πλήρεις ὑπ’ οἰωνῶν τε καὶ κυνῶν βορᾶς τοῦ δυσμόρου πεπτῶτος Οἰδίπου γόνου. x&it' οὐ δέχονται ϑυστάδας λιτὰς ἔτι Seoi nap’ ἡμῶν οὐδὲ μηρίων φλόγα, οὐδ᾽ Bpvis εὐσήμους ἀπορροιβδεῖ βοάς, ἀνδροφϑόρου βεβρῶτες αἵματος λίβος. ταῦτ᾽

οὖν,

τοῖς

πᾶσι

ἐπεὶ

δ᾽

τέκνον,

κοινόν

dudptni,

ἄβουλος

οὐδ᾽

φρόνησον"

ἔστι

οὐκέτ᾽

ὅστις

ἐς

ἔστ’

ἀνὴρ

εὖ τοι φρονήσας εὖ λέγω" τὸ μανϑάνειν δ᾽ ἥδιστον εὖ λέγοντος εἰ κέρδος λέγοι.

néAnt τοι

φέροι

conj.: some conj.:

1

ms.,

λίπος

mss.

mss. σοι

mas.

λέγει

γὰρ

some,

104

1025

κακὸν

πεσὼν ἀκεῖται μηδ᾽ ἀκίνητος πέλει. aó8a5ía toi σκαιότητ᾽ ὀφλισκάνει. ἀλλ᾽ εἶκε τῶι ϑανόντι, μηδ᾽ ὀλωλότα κέντει" τίς ἀλκὴ τὸν 9avóvt' ἐπικτανεῖν;

AfBos

1026

τοὐξαμαρτάνειν"

κεῖνος

ἄνολβος

ἀνϑρωποῖσι

1015

φέρει

some

103!

instead wet slime oozed from the thigh-bones onto the embers, and smoked and sputtered, and the gall was sprayed high in the air, and the dripping thighs lay bare of their covering of fat. I learned from this boy of these abortive prophecies from unrevealing rites; for he is my guide, as I am other men’s. And it is your counsel that has brought this sickness on the city. For our altars and hearths have been defiled, every one, by birds and dogs, with carrion from the son of Oedipus who lies in miserable death. And hence the gods no longer accept sacrificial prayers from us, nor blazing thigh-bones, nor does any bird scream out intelligible cries, for they have consumed a stream of dead man’s blood. Consider these things then, my son. Error is common to all mankind; but, when one errs, that man is no longer thoughtless or luckless who remedies the evil he has incurred and does not remain immovable. Stubbornness merits charges of stupidity. But give way to the dead, and do not stab a fallen man. Where is the prowess in rekilling the dead? I have taken good thought and my words are good; and it is most pleasant to learn from one whose words are good if he speaks for your profit.

105

1010

1015

1020

1025

1030

Ko.

ὦ πρέσβυ, τοξεύετ’᾽

πάντες ἀνδρὸς

ὥστε

τοξόται

σκοποῦ

τοῦδε,

κοὐδὲ

μαντικοῖς

Enpautos ὑμῶν εἶμι, τῶν δ᾽ ὑπαὶ γένους ἐξημπόλημαι κἀμπεφόρτισμαι πάλαι. κερδαΐνετ᾽, ἐμπολᾶτε τἀπὸ Σάρδεων ἤλεκτρον, εἰ βούλεσϑε, καὶ τὸν ᾿Ινδικὸν χρυσόν: τάφωι δ᾽ ἐκεῖνον οὐχὶ κρύψετε. οὐδ’ εἰ ϑέλουσ’ ol Ζηνὸς αἰετοὶ βορὰν φέρειν νιν ἁρπάζοντες ἐς Διὸς ϑρόνους, οὐδ᾽ ὥς, μίασμα τοῦτο μὴ τρέσας, ἐγὼ ϑάπτειν παρήσω κεῖνον" εὖ γὰρ οἶδ᾽ ὅτι ϑεοὺς

μιαΐνειν

οὔτις

ἀνϑρώπων

σϑένει.

πΐπτουσι δ᾽, ὦ γεραιὲ Τειρεσία, xol πολλὰ δεινοὶ πτώματ’ aToyo'

αἰσχροὺς Te.

οἶδεν

Ko.

τί

TE.

ὅσωι

Kp.

Bowinep,

TE.

ταύτης

Ko.

où

Te.

καὶ

Κρ.

τὸ

1035 1036 1037

λέγουσι

τοῦ

Loss

βροτῶν ὅταν λόγους

κέρδους

χάριν.

φεῦ"

ἄρ᾽

1034

καλῶς

Lowi

ἀνθρώπων

χρῆμα;

ποῖον

κράτιστον οἶμαι, σὺ

μέντοι

βούλομαι

μὴν

τὸν

λέγεις,

μαντικὸν

γὰρ

τις, τοῦτο

ἄρα

πάγκοινον

κτημάτων μὴ

νόσου

μάντιν

ψευδῆ πᾶν

λέγεις; 105!

εὐβουλΐα;

φρονεῖν

τῆς

φράζεται

πλεΐστη πλήρης

ἀντειπεῖν

με

βλάβη. ἔφυς. κακῶς.

ϑεσπίζειν

φιλάργυρον

λέγων.

γένος.

μαντιμοῖς conj.: μαντιμῆς mss. ὑμῶν conj.: ὑμῖν mss. δ᾽ omitted κἀκπεφόρτισμαι most mss. τἀπὸ conj.: τὰ πρὸς ms. L, τὸν πρὸ or others

106

by τὸν

1

ms. πρὸς

CREON: Old man, you are all like archers shooting at me as your target, and I am not left untried even by the seers among you; no, by their tribe 1 1035 have long been traded and treated as merchandise. Make your profits. trade, if you will, in the electrum of Sardis and the gold of India; you will

not hide that man in a grave. Not even if Zeus’s eagles choose to seize him andcarry him as food to the throne of Zeus, not even then, trembling at that pollution, will I allow him to be buried. For I know well that no man has the power to pollute the gods. Even the very wise among mortals suffer shameful falls, aged Tiresias, when they speak shameful words fairly for the sake of profit. TIRESIAS: Alas! Does any man know, does any man consider CREON: Consider what? What is this truism you are uttering? TIRESIAS: — how much the best of possessions is good counsel? CREON: As much, I suppose, as foolishness is the greatest bane. TIRESIAS: Yet you are infected with that malady. CREON: I do not wish to answer the seer with rudeness. TIRESIAS: But that is what you are doing, in saying that 1 prophesy falsely. CREON: Well, the whole tribe of seers is fond of money.

107

1040

1045

1050

1055

Te.

τὸ

δ᾽

ἐκ

τυράννων

Κρ.

ἄρ᾽

τε.

οἶδ᾽

ἐξ ἐμοῦ

Κρ.

σοφὸς

σὺ μάντις,

Te.

Bpoers

ve

Ko.

iver,

μόνον

Te.

οὕτω

Ko.

ὡς

Te.

ἀλλ᾽

οἶσϑα

ταγοὺς

ὄντας

γὰρ

ἤδη

ἀλλὰ

καὶ

᾽μπολήσων

λέγων;

σώσας

δοκῶ

φιλῶν.

φρενῶν

φράσαι.

τὸ

ἁμιλλητῆρας

ἐν οἷσι

τῶν

σὸν

τὴν

κάτισϑι

τρόχους

1069

λέγων.

μέρος.

ἐμὴν

φρένα.

μὴ πολλοὺς

ἡλίου

αὐτὸς

πόλιν.

τἀδικεῖν

"nt κέρδεσιν

ἴσϑι

σῶν

φιλεῖ.

λέγηις

ἔχεις

διὰ

δὲ μὴ

εὖ γέ τοι

ἄν

τήνδ’

τἀκίνητα

γὰρ

μὴ

αἰσχροκέρδειαν

ἔτι

τελῶν

196:

ἐκ σπλάγχνων

ἕνα

νέκυν νεκρῶν ἀμοιβὸν ἀντιδοὺς ἔσηι, ἀνϑ᾽ ὧν ἔχεις μὲν τῶν ἄνω βαλὼν κάτω, ψυχήν γ᾽ ἀτίμως ἐν τάφωι κατοικίσας,

ἔχεις

δὲ τῶν

κάτωϑεν

ἐνϑάδ’᾽

αὖ σχεϑών,

197

ἄμοιρον, ἀκτέριστον, ἄνόσιον νέκυν’ ὧν οὔτε σοὶ μέτεστιν oÛte τοῖς ἄνω ϑεοῖσιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ σοῦ βιάζονται τάδε. τούτων σε λωβητῆρες ὑστεροφϑόροι

λοχῶσιν

"Ai650u

tv τοῖσιν καὶ ταῦτ’

λέγω:

1065 1069

Sedv

1075

'Epivóec,

αὐτοῖς τοῖσδε ληφϑῆναι κακοῖς. ἄϑρησον ef κατηργυρωμένος

φανεῖ

ἀνδρῶν

xal

γὰρ,

γυναικῶν

οὐ μακροῦ σοῖς

δόμοις

τρόχους conj.: τροχοὺς γ᾽ conj.: τ᾽ mss. σχεϑών

conj.:

1078

τριβῆι

2

mss.

ϑεῶν

mss. 108

τριβή,

κωκύματα.

mss. κατοικίσας

others

1070

χρόνου

1

ms.:

κατώικισας

TIRESIAS:

And that of kings loves dishonest gain.

CREON: Do you know that the man you speak of is your ruler? TIRESIAS: I know it; for it is through me that you saved this city and possess it. CREON:

TIRESIAS:

CREON: TIRESIAS:

You are a

skilful seer, but fond of doing wrong.

You will drive me to reveal the secrets locked in my breast.

1060

Unlock them, only without speaking for gain. Indeed, 1 think it will be so — as far as you

are concerned.

CREON: Be sure that you will not trade on my resolve. TIRESIAS: Then be you fully sure that you will not accomplish many rapid cycles of the sun before you have rendered up an offspring from your own loins, a corpse in exchange for corpses, because you have thrust below one of those above, arrogantly lodging a living creature in a tomb, and have kept here one of those below, a corpse dispossessed, dishonoured, impure. These are not your concern, nor that of the gods above; you do them violence in treating them thus. For this there are savage spirits of punishment lying in wait for you, the Furies of Hades and of the gods, to see you caught up in these same evils. And look whether I speak these words for money; for the time is not far off when this will be made clear by the shrieking of men and women in your house. [Hatred convulses all the

109

1065

1070

1075

1080

[ἔχϑραι ὅσων

δὲ πᾶσαι

σπαράγματ᾽

A ϑῆρες,

ἀνόσιον

ἢ τις

ὀσμὴν

συνταράσσονται À

κύνες

πτῆνος

olwvés,

ἑστιοῦχον

πόλεις

108

καϑήγνισαν

φέρων

ἐς πόλιν.

τοιαῦτά σου, λυπεῖς γὰρ, ὥστε τοξότης ἀφῆκα ϑυμῶι καρδίας τοξεύματα βέβαια, τῶν σὺ ϑάλπος οὐχ ὑπεκδραμῆι.-

ὦ παῖ, τὸν xal τὸν

σὺ δ᾽

ἡμᾶς

ἄπαγε

πρὸς

1065

δόμους,

ἵνα

ϑυμὸν οὗτος ἐς νεωτέρους ἀφῆι, γνῶι τρέφειν τὴν γλῶσσαν ἡσυχαϊιτέραν νοῦν τ᾽ ἄμεΐνω τῶν φρενῶν ὧν νῦν φέρει.

Xo.

ἀνήρ, ἄναξ, βέβηκε δεινὰ 9eoníoac: ἐπιστάμεσϑα δ᾽, ἐξ ὅτου λευκὴν ἐγὼ τήνδ᾽ ἐκ μελαΐνης ἀμφιβάλλομαι τρίχα, μή πώ ποτ᾽ αὐτὸν ψεῦδος ἐς πόλιν λακεῖν.

Ko.

ἔγνωκα καὐτὸς xai ταράσσομαι φρένας" τό τ᾿ εἰκαϑεῖν γὰρ δεινόν, ἀντιστάντα dti πατάξαι ϑυμὸν ἐν δεινῶι πάρα.

Xo.

εὐβουλΐας

Κρ.

τί

Χο.

ἐλθὼν ἄνες,

δῆτα

δεῖ,

χρὴ

παῖ

Μενοικέως,

δρᾶν;

κόρην μὲν κτίσον δὲ

ἔχϑραι

1081 1090

καϑήγισαν 2 mss. ἡσυχαιτέραν 2 mss.: ὧν conj.: À mss.

1091

ἀνήρ

1098

λαβεῖν]

conj.:

ἐχϑραὶ

ἀνήρ

λαχεῖν

πεΐσομαι

δ’

mss. ἦσυχωτέραν

mss.

1 ms.,

Κρέον 110

1098

δὲ

tAaBeivt.

ἔκ κατώρυχος στέγης τῶι προκειμένωι τάφον.

1080 1089

conj.:

pére,

1099

most

others

ἐγώ. 1100

cities whose mangled bodies have received their funeral ntes from dogs or wild beasts, or from some winged bird which has brought an impure smell to the city with its hearths.] Such, since you provoke me, are the arrows for your heart which I have shot at you, like an archer, in my anger arrows surely aimed, whose sting you will not evade. Boy, take me home, so that he may direct his anger at younger men, and learn to keep a quieter tongue and a better mind than the mind which now he bears.

1085

1090

[The boy leads Tiresias away.] CHORUS: The man has gone, lord, after making dreadful prophecies. And | know that, ever since I first bore this white hair in place of black, he has never yet uttered a false prophecy to the city. CREON: I know it too and my mind is troubled. To yield is terrible, but it is a terrible prospect to stand firm and so bring down the blows of ruin upon my spirit.

CHORUS:

1095

Wise counsel is needed, son of Menoeceus .

CREON: What should I do, then? Tell me and I will obey. CHORUS: Go and release the girl from the underground chamber, and

furnish the unburied body with a tomb.

111

1100

Kp. Xo. Ko.

καὶ

ταῦτ᾽

ἐπαινεῖς,

ὅσον

γ᾽,

ϑεῶν

ποδώκεις

οἴμοι"

μόλις

τὸ δρᾶν’ Xo.

δρᾶ

vuv

Κρ.

ὧδ’

ὡς

ἄναξ,

τάχιστα" τοὺς

ἔχω

δοκεῖ

παρεικαϑεῖν;

συντέμνουσι

κακόφρονας

μέν,

ἀνάγκηι τάδ᾽

καὶ

καρδΐας

δ᾽

γὰρ

Βλάβαι. ἐξίσταμαι

δ᾽

οὐχὶ

δυσμαχητέον.

ἐλϑών,

μηδ᾽

ἐπ’

ἄλλοισιν

ἄν:

tr’

ἵτ’᾽,

στείχοιμ᾽

1165

τρέπε.

ὁπάονες,

οἵ τ’ ὄντες οἵ τ’ ἀπόντες, ἀξίνας χεροῖν ὁρμᾶσϑ᾽ ἁλόντες Etc ἐπόψιον τόπον. ἐγὼ δ᾽, ἐπειδὴ δόξα τῆιδ᾽ ἐπεστράφη, αὐτός τ᾽ ἔδησα καὶ παρὼν ἐκλύσομαι. δέδοικα γὰρ μὴ τοὺς καϑεστῶτας νόμους ἄριστον ἦι σώιζοντα τὸν βίον τελεῖν. Xo.

πολυώνυμε, Καδμεΐας ἄγαλμα καὶ Διὸς βαρυβρεμέτα

νύμφας

1116

(στρ. 0 1116

γένος, κλυτὰν ὅς ἀμφέπεις ᾿Ιταλΐαν, μέδεις δὲ παγκοΐἵΐνοις 'EAcuciv iac

Δηοῦς

ἐν κόλποις,

Βακχᾶν ματρόπολιν ναϊιετῶν παρ᾽ ὑγροῖς

1124

ὦ Βακχεῦ, θΘήβαν

᾿Ισμηνοῦ ῥεΐϑροις ἀγρίου ἐπὶ σπορᾶι δράκοντος"

τ’

1102 1105 1108

δοκεῖ conj.: δοκεῖς mss. καρδίαι most mss. Tr’ ἴτ᾽’ 1 ms.: ἴτ᾽ most others

1115 1123

ἄγαλμα νύμφας conj.: νύμφας ἄγαλμα mss. ναιετῶν παρ᾽ ὑγροῖς conj.: ναΐων παρ᾽ ὑγρὸν ῥείϑροις conj.: ῥέεϑρον most mss.

1124

112

1125

most

m8t

CREON: [5 this really your advice? You think I should yield? CHORUS: Yes, lord, and with all speed; for the swift-footed Plagues of the gods overtake the imprudent. CREON: Alas, it is hard, but I abandon my resolve and obey. I must not 1105 fight vain battles with necessity. CHORUS: Go, then, and do these things. Do not entrust them to others. CREON: I shall go just as I am. Go, servants, go, each and every one; take picks in your hands and run to the higher ground. Since I have had this 1110 change of purpose, I, the one who bound her, shall release her in person. For I fear it may be best to keep to the established laws until the end of one’s life.

[Creon and attendants leave by a parodos.] CHORUS: God of many names, glory of a Cadmean bride and child of 1115 deep-thundering Zeus, you who cherish renowned Italy and hold sway in the hospitable vale of Eleusinian Deo; dweller, o Bacchus. in the 1120 Bacchants’ mother-city of Thebes, by the flowing streams of Ismenus, on 1125 the ground seeded by the fierce serpent.

113

of δ’ ὑπὲρ διλόφου πέτρας στέροψ λιγνύς, ἔνϑα Κωρύκιαι στείχουσι νύμφαι BaxyfSec, Κασταλίΐας τε vaya: καΐ oe Nuoaîuv ὀρέων μισσήρεις ὄχϑαι χλωρά τ᾽ ἀκτὰ πολυστάφυλος πέμπει, ἀμβρότων ἐπέων εὐαζόντων, Θηβαΐας ἐπισκοποῦντ᾽ &yurde>

Brune

(ἀντ. q

1139

1135

τὰν ἐκ πασᾶν τιμᾶις ὑπερτάταν πόλεων ματρὶ σὺν xepauviatκαὶ νῦν, óc βιαίΐας ἔχεται πᾶάνδαμος πόλις ἐπὶ νόσου, μολεῖν

ὑπὲρ

καϑαρσΐωι

κλειτὺν

ποδὶ

(στρ.

1140

Παρνασΐζαν

À στονόεντα

1195

πορϑμόν.

(ἄντ. 8

ἰὼ πῦρ πνειόντων χοράγ᾽ ἄστρων, νυχίων φϑεγμάτων ἐπίσκοπε, παῖ Ζηνὸς γένεϑλον, προφάνηϑ᾽, ὦναξ, σαῖς ἅμα περιπόλοις θυΐαισιν, af σε μαινόμεναι πάννυχοι χορεύουσι τὸν ταμίαν "Ἴακχον.

1146

στεΐχουσι πνειόντων

1147

νυχίων

1149

Ζηνὸς conj.: Διὸς mss. προφάνηϑ᾽, ὦναξ conj.: προφάνηϑι θυΐαισιν conj.: ϑυιάσιν mss.

1129

1150 1152

νύμφαι conj.:

1 ms.:

καὶ

β

conj.: νύμφαι πνεόντων mss.

vuxtwv

114

1150

στείχουσι

mas.

var fais

m88.

others

And above the crests of the double rock the flash of the pitch-flame has beheld you (where move the Bacchanal Corycian nymphs), and the Castalian stream. And you come from the ivy-clad slopes of the Nysaean hills, and the green shore with its richly clustered vines, visiting the ways of Thebes, as the divine chants resound with the cry ‘euhoe!’.

1130 1135

That is the city you honour above all others, you and your mother whom the lightning consumed. And now, when the whole community is 1140 gripped by a grievous sickness, come with cleansing foot over the 1145

Parnassian height or over the moaning strait. Ah, dance-leader of the fire-breathing stars, warden of the voices in

the night, son born to Zeus, appear, lord, with your attendant Thyiads, who dance in night-long frenzy for you, their patron, Iacchus!

115

1150

ΑΓΓΕΛΟΣ

Κάδμου πάροικοι καὶ δόμων ’Augiovos, οὐκ ἔσϑ᾽ ὁπηιοῦν otdvt’ & ἀνϑρώπου Biov οὔτ᾽ αἰνέσαιμ᾽ ἄν οὔτε μεμψαΐμην ποτέ. τύχη γὰρ ὀρϑοῖ καὶ τύχη καταρρέπει

τὸν

εὐτυχοῦντα

τόν

τε

καὶ μάντις οὐδεὶς τῶν Κρέων γὰρ ἦν ζηλωτός,

σώσας

μὲν

λαβών

τε

ἐχϑρῶν χώρας

δυστυχοῦντ᾽

ἀεί,

καϑεστώτων βροτοῖς. ὡς ἐμοί, ποτέ"

τήνδε

Kadyefav

παντελῆ

τί

5”

αὖ

Ay.

τεϑνᾶσιν’"

Xo.

καὶ

Ay.

Αἵμων

Xo.

πότερα

AY.

αὐτὸς

τίς

τόδ᾽ οἱ

ἄχϑος δὲ

μοναρχΐαν,

ὄλωλεν’

τίς

ὁπηιοῦν

1164

ηὄϑυνε

conj.:

1166

ἄνδρες

Athenaeus:

1167

line

supplied by mss.

δ᾽

ὁποῖον εὔϑυνε by

1165

1170

φέρων;

ϑανεῖν.

ὁ κεΐμενος;

λέγε.

αἰἱμάσσεται.

οἰκεΐας

πατρὶ

1156

conj.:

δ᾽

À πρὸς

αὑτοῦ,

ἥκεις

αἴτιοι

αὐτόχειρ

πατρώιας πρὸς

βασιλέων

cüvtrec

φονεύει,

1160

χϑόνα,

ηὔὄϑυνε ϑάλλων εὐγενεῖ τέκνων σπορᾶι. καὶ νῦν ἀφεῖται πάντα" τὰς γὰρ ἡδονὰς ὅταν προδῶσιν ἄνδρες, οὐ τίϑημ’ ἐγὼ civ τοῦτον, ἀλλ᾽ ἔμψυχον ἡγοῦμαι vexpóv. πλούτει τε γὰρ κατ᾽ οἶκον, εἶ βούλει, μέγα, καὶ ch τύραννον σχῆμ᾽ ἔχων" ἐὰν δ᾽ ἀπῆι τούτων τὸ χαίρειν, τἄλλ᾽ ἐγὼ καπνοῦ σκιᾶς οὐκ ἄν πριαΐμην ἀνδρὶ πρὸς τὴν ἡδονήν. Χο.

1155

μηνΐσας

1175

χερός; φόνου.

mss. mss.

ἀνδρὸς Athenaeus

116

most and

mss.,

ἄνδρα

Eustathius:

Eustathius omitted

[Enter Messenger by a parodos.| MESSENGER: Dwellers by the house of Cadmus and of Amphion, there is no state of human life that [I would ever praise or reproach. Fortune sets up and fortune topples the happy and the unhappy of their day, and there is no prophet for the conditions of men’s lives. Creon was enviable once, by my reckoning: he had saved this land of Cadmus from its enemies, had

1155 1160

gained absolute sovereignty over the realm, and governed it, while blessed as the father of noble children. And now all has been lost. For when a man forfeits his pleasures, I do not count him as living; I regard him as a breathing corpse. Amass great wealth in your house if you will; live in the style of a king; but if happiness is gone from these things, then beside that pleasure I would not buy the rest from a man at the price of a vapour’s shadow. CHORUS: What is this new grief that you deliver for the royal house? MESSENGER: Some are dead, and those who live are responsible for their death. CHORUS: And who is the killer, who the corpse? Tell us. MESSENGER: Haemon is dead, and his blood has been shed by no stranger's hand. CHORUS: His father's hand or his own? MESSENGER: He killed himself, in anger with his father for a murder.

117

1165

1170

1175

Xo.

ὦ μάντι,

Ay.

ὡς

Xo.

καὶ μὴν δρῶ τάλαιναν Εὐρυδίκην ὁμοῦ, δάμαρτα τὴν Κρέοντος - ἐκ δὲ δωμάτων fito. κλυοῦσα παιδὸς À τύχηι περᾶι-

ὧδ᾽

todmos ἐχόντων

ὡς

ἄρ᾽

τἄλλα

ὀρϑὸν

Avucac.

βουλεύειν

πάρα. 1180

ΕΥ̓ΡΥΔΙΚΗ͂

ὦ πάντες πρὸς

ἄστοΐ,

ἔξοδον

τῶν

λόγων

στεΐχουσα,

ἐπηιοϑόμην

Παλλάδος

ϑεᾶς

1165

ὅπως ἱκοΐμην εὐγμάτων mpoonyopos: καὶ τυγχάνω τε κλῆιϑρ᾽ ἀνασπαστοῦ πύλης χαλῶσα, xaí ue φϑόγγος οἶκε ΐου κακοῦ βάλλει 61” ὥτων: ὑπτΐα δὲ κλίνομαι δεΐσασα πρὸς δμωαῖσι κἀποπλήσσομαι.

Ay.

1182

1195 1197

1190

ἀλλ᾽

ὅστις

ἦν

ὁ μῦϑος

αὖϑις

εἴπατε"

κακῶν

γὰρ

οὐκ

ἄπειρος

οὖσ᾽

ἀκούσομαι.

ἐγώ, φίλη δέσποινα, καὶ παρὼν ἐρῶ κοὐδὲν παρήσω τῆς ἀληϑείΐίας ἔπος. τί γάρ σε μαλϑάσσοιμ᾽ ἄν ὧν ἐς ὕστερον ψεῦσται φανούμεϑ᾽; ὀρϑὸν ἀλήϑει᾽ def. ἐγὼ δὲ σῶι ποδαγὸς éonóunv πόσει πεδίον én’ ἄκρον, ἔνϑ᾽ ἔκειτο νηλεὲς κυνοσπάρακτον σῶμα Πολυνεΐκους ἔτι’ καὶ τὸν μέν, αἰτήσαντες ἐνοδίαν ϑεὸν Πλούτωνά τ’ ὀργὰς εὐμενεῖς κατασχεϑεῖν, λούσαντες ἀγνὸν λουτρόν, ἐν νεοσπάσιν ϑαλλοῖς ὅ δὴ ᾿λέλειπτο συγκατήιϑομεν, xAvotoa conj.: κλύουσα mss. mss. ἀλήϑει᾽ conj.: À ἀλήϑει᾽ mss. πεδίων én’ ἄκρων most mss. 118

περᾶι

1195

1200

πάρα

CHORUS: O prophet, how true your words have proved! MESSENGER: So matters stand, and on this basis you must plan for the future. CHORUS: Look, I see the unhappy Eurydice, Creon's wife, near at hand. She is coming from the house, either by chance or on hearing the name of her son.

1180

(Enter Eurydice from the palace.] EURYDICE: Men of the whole city, I caught your words as I was going towards the entrance in order to visit the goddess Pallas with prayer and supplication. Just as I was unfastening the bolted gate to open it, my ears were struck by tidings of misfortune for the family, and in terror I fell back into the arms of my handmaids and fainted. But say again what the report was; for I shall hear it as one not unaccustomed to misfortune. MESSENGER: Dear mistress, I shall speak as an eye-witness and withhold no syllable of the truth. Why should I comfort you with words which would afterwards be exposed as false? The truth is always best. Ι accompanied your husband as a guide to furthest part of the plain, where Polynices’ body, torn by dogs, still lay unpitied. We prayed the Wayside Goddess and Pluto to be merciful and restrain their anger; we tended the body with pure rites of washing;

we burned him - what was

left - with newly plucked branches; and, when we had raised a lofty

119

1185

1190

1195

1200

καὶ

τύμβον

χώσαντες,

Sp9dxpavov

αὖϑις

πρὸς

olnefac

χϑονὸς

λιϑόστρωτον

κόρης

νυμφεῖον Αϊδου κοῖλον εἰσεβαΐνομεν. φωνῆς 5' ἄπωϑεν ὀρϑίων κωκυμάτων κλύει τις ἀκτέριστον ἀμφὶ παστάδα, καὶ δεσπότηι Κρέοντι σημαΐνει μολών. τῶι δ᾽ ἀϑλίας ἄσημα περιβαίνει βοῆς

1203

ἕρποντι

1216

μᾶλλον

ἄσσον,

οἰμώξας

δ᾽

ἔπος

{nor δυσϑρήνητον" ὦ τάλας ἐγώ, ἄρ᾽ εἰμὶ μάντις; ἄρα δυστυχεστάτην κέλευϑον ἕρπω τῶν παρελθουσῶν ὁδῶν; παιδός με σαΐνει φϑόγγος. ἀλλὰ πρόσπολοι, {t’ ἄσσον ὠκεῖς, καὶ παραστάντες τάφωι ἀϑρήσαϑ᾽, &puóv χώματος λιϑοσπαδῆ δύντες πρὸς αὐτὸ στόμιον, ef τὸν Αἵμονος

φϑόγγον

[τάδ᾽

cuvínu'

ἐξ ἀϑύμου

À ϑεοῖσι

κλέπτομαι.

δεσπότου κελεύσμασιν͵

ἠϑροῦμεν: ἐν δὲ λοισϑίωι τυμβεύματι τὴν μὲν κρεμαστὴν αὐχένος nate fSouev, βρόχωι μιτώδει σινδόνος καϑημμένην,

τὸν

δ᾽

ἀμφὶ

εὐνῆς καὶ

πατρὸς

ὡς

χωρεῖ

πρὸς

αὐτὸν

περιπετῆ τῆς

καὶ

σφε,

οἷον

ἔσχες;

ἔξελϑε,

ἔργα

ὁρᾶι

ὦ τλῆμον,

νοῦν

μέσσηι

ἀποιμώζοντα

ὁ δ᾽

τὸ

τέκνον,

δύστηνον

σε

μιτρώδει some mss. λάχος conj.: λέχος

mss. 120

1225

Low

καλεῖ"

εἴργασαι’

συμφορᾶς

ἱκέσιός

λάχος.

οἰμώξας,

pu send

1222 1225

φϑορὰν

κἀνακωκύσας

τῶι

1220

προσκεΐμενον,

κάτω

στυγνὸν

ἔργον

ἐν

1215

τίνα

διεφϑάρης; λίσσομαι.

1230

burial-mound of his native earth, we next went towards the maiden's

1205

hollow, stone-floored bridal-room of death. From a distance one of us heard the sound of shrill wailing at the unhallowed nuptial chamber. and came to tell our master Creon. And he, as he drew nearer, perceived an indistinct noise of pitiful shouting, and he groaned and uttered words of bitter distress: ‘Wretch that I am, am I a prophet? Am I taking the unhappiest path I ever took? My son's voice greets me. Servants, move quickly nearer; stand by the tomb and look. after penetrating the stones drawn up to seal the mound and reaching the actual entrance, to see if I

1210

1215

recognise my son's voice or if the gods are deluding me.' [Thus, on the orders of our despondent master,] We looked, and in the depths of the tomb we saw the girl hanging by the neck, suspended by a woven noose of fine linen, while the youth was clinging to her, his arms about her waist. crying out for the loss of his departed bride and for his father's deeds and his miserable fortune. His father. on seeing him, uttered a dreadful cry,

1220

1225

went in towards him and called to him with a shriek: ‘Unhappy boy, what a deed you have done! What came into your mind? What disaster destroyed your reason? Come out, child, I beg you in supplication!’ The boy, glaring

[ΣΙ

1230

τὸν

δ᾽

ἀγρίοις

πτύσας

ὄσσοισι

παπτήνας

ὁ παῖς,

κοὐδὲν

ἀντειπών,

ξίφους

προσῴπωι

ἔλει

διπλοῦς

πατρὸς

xvóbovtag*

φυγαῖσιν

αὐτῶι

ἤμπλακ᾽᾽ εἶϑ

χολωϑεΐς,

ὥσπερ

πλευραῖς

μέσσον

ἤρεισε

Ex δ᾽ ὁρμωμένου

εἶχ᾽,

ὁ δύσμορος ἐπενταϑεὶς

ἔγχος"

ἐς

δ’

123:

ὑγρὸν

ἀγκῶν᾽ Er’ ἔμφρων παρϑένον προσπτύσσεται, κἀκφυσιῶν δεεῖαν ἐμβάλλει ῥοὴν λευκῆι

παρειᾶι

κεῖται

δὲ

τέλη

λαχὼν

δεΐξας ὅσωι

Xo.

τί

ἐν

τοῦτ’

δείΐλαιος

ἄν

νεκρῶι, ἔν

γ᾽

τὴν

ἀνδρὶ

νυμφικὰ

“Arbou

δόμοις,

πρόσκειται

εἰπεῖν

te8áuBnx'*

τὰ

1206

&BovAfav

εἰκάσειας;

πρὶν

καὐτὸς

σταλάγματος.

περὶ

ἀνϑρώποισι

μέγιστον

φρούδη,

Ay.

goivíou

νεκρὸς

κακόν.

ἡ γυνὴ

ἐσϑλὸν

ἢ

ἐλπίσιν

δὲ

πάλιν κακὸν

λόγον.

1245

βόσκομαι

ἔχη τέκνου κλυοῦσαν ἐς πόλιν γόους οὐκ ἀξιώσειν, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὸ στέγης ἔσω δμωαῖς προϑήσειν πένϑος οἰκεῖον στένειν. γνώμης

Xo.

οὐκ

οἶδ᾽

δοκεῖ

Ay.

γὰρ

ἀλλ᾽

οὐκ

ἐμοὶ

ἄπειρος,

δ᾽

προσεῖναι

εἰσόμεσϑα

οὖν

xh

μή

τι

καλύπτει

δόμους

rapaotefxovtes”

τῆς

ἄγαν

ms.:

τ᾽

ἄγαν

σιγὴ

πολλὴ

καὶ

καρδίαι

ἐστί

ἁμαρτάνειν.

1251

βαρὺ

βοή.

κατάσχετον ϑυμουμένηι,

εὖ

που

παρϑένωι

γὰρ

οὖν

σιγῆς

λέγεις"

βάρος.

1237

παρϑένον

1238

κμἀκφυσιῶν conj.: καὶ φυσιῶν mss. 1 ms.: ἐμβάλει 2 mss., ἐκβάλλει ἐν γ᾽ conj.: ἐν or εἶν mss. nAvoddav conj.: κλύουσαν mss. 122

1241 1247

1

γάρ

À

μάτην

κρυφῆι

καὶ

ὥσϑ᾽

others

ἐμβάλλει others

1255

at him with wild eyes, spitting in his face and making no reply, drew his two-edged sword. His father rushed out in flight and he missed his aim. Then the wretched boy, enraged with himself, pressed his body down 1235 upon the sword, just as he was, plunging half its length into his side. While still conscious, he clasped the maiden in a feeble embrace, and coughed up a fast stream of flowing blood which sprinkled her white cheek. And he 1240 lay, corpse enfolding corpse, achieving his marriage rites, poor boy, in the house of Hades, and showing mankind how true it is that folly is the worst

evil that can befall a man. [Exit Eurydice into the palace. |

CHORUS:

What would you take this to mean? The lady has gone again,

1245

without saying a word, good or bad. MESSENGER: I too am surprised, but I nourish the hope that, on hearing of her son’s pain, she will not think it proper to utter laments before the city, but will set her private grief before her handmaids indoors, for them

to mourn. She is not untried in wisdom, that she should go astray. 1250 CHORUS: 1 do not know. To me, at least, excessive silence seems no less ominous than a vain tumult of grief. MESSENGER: Well, I shall enter the house and find out, in case she is 1255 indeed hiding some suppressed secret in her anguished heart. For you are right: there is something ominous even in excessive silence. [Exit Messenger into the palace.]

123

xo.

xal μὴν 88° ἄναξ αὐτὸς toner μνῆμ᾽ ἐπίσημον διὰ χειρὸς ἔχων, εἰ ϑέμις εἰπεῖν, οὐκ ἀλλοτρίαν ἄτην ἀλλ᾽ αὐτὸς ἁμαρτών.

1264

ἰὼ

(στρ,

φρενῶν

δυσφρόνων

στερεὰ

ϑανατόεντ᾽.

ὦ κτανόντας ϑανόντας ὦμοι

ἐμῶν

τε καὶ

βλέποντες ἄνολβα

Xo.

οὐδὲ

οἴμ᾽,

do

ἐμφυλίους.

βουλευμάτων.

lo παῖ, νέος véwi αἰαῖ αἰαῖ, ἔϑανες, ἀπελύϑης, ἐμαῖς

«

ἁμαρτήματα

σαῖσι

ξὺν

1265

μόρωι,

δυσβουλίαις.

ἔοικας

Sve

τὴν

δίκην

ἰδεῖν.

1270

οἴμοι» ἔχω μαϑὼν δείλαιος: ἐν δ’ ἐμῶι κάραι ϑεὸς τότ᾽ ἄρα τότε μέγα βάρος δικὼν ἔπαισεν, ἐν δ᾽ ἔσεισεν &áyp(aic ὁδοῖς, οἴμοι,

φεῦ AY.

λακπάτητον

φεῦ,

ἰὼ πόνοι

ἀντρέπων

βροτῶν

χαράν.

δύσπονοι.

ὦ δέσποτ᾽, óc ἔχων τε καὶ κεκτημένος, τὰ μὲν πρὸ χειρῶν τάδε φέρων, τὰ δ᾽ ἐν ἔοικας ἥκειν καὶ τάχ᾽ ὄψεσϑαι κακά. ὥμοι

1

ms.:

af af af

most

ἰώ μοι

1275

δόμοις

others

mss.

δικὼν conj.: ἔχων some mss., μ᾽ ἔχων most λαξπάτητον most ms8., λεωπάτητον some ἄγγελος 1 m8.: ἐξάγγελος 1 ms., οἰκέτης others 124

1208

CHORUS: Here comes the King himself with a clear token in his hands -- a disaster not caused, if we may say it, by a stranger, but through his own fault.

{Enter Creon by a parodos, accompanied by attendants bearing the body of Haemon.] CREON: δ, faults of a mind deluded, faults hardened and dealing death! It is a kindred killer and victim that you behold. Omoi for my unlucky

1260

1265

counsels! δ, my son, meeting a recent and untimely death, aiai, aiai, you died, you departed, not by your own folly but by mine. CHORUS:

Oimoi,

all too late, it seems,

you

have

seen

what

is right!

CREON: Oimoi, I have learnt it in misery! Then, then did a god, throwing a great weight, strike me on the head and hurl me into rough paths, oimoi, overturning my happiness and trampling it under foot. Pheu pheu, id, the pains of mankind beyond pain!

1270 1275

[Enter Messenger from the palace.] MESSENGER: Master, you seem like one with goods both present and in store: you have come bearing these griefs in your arms, but will soon see others in the house.

125

1280

Κρ.

τί

65°

Ay.

γυνὴ

ἐστὶν

τέϑνηκε,

δύστηνος

Ko.

αὖ

κάκιον

τοῦδε

ἄρτι

ἔκ

κακῶν

παμμήτωρ

νεοτόμοισι

ἔτι;

νεκροῦ,

πλήγμασιν.

tà ἰὼ

(ἀντ. à δυσκάϑαρτος

τί μ᾽

ἄρα

"Aió60u

λιμήν,

τί uw’ ὀλέκεις;

1205

ὦ κακάγγελτά μοι προπέμψας ἄχη, τίνα ϑροεῖς λόγον; αἰαῖ, ὀλωλότ᾽ ἄνδρ᾽ ἐπεξειργάσω. τί φήις, mai, τίν᾽ αὖ λέγεις μοι νέον, αἰαῖ αἰαῖ, σφάγιον ἐπ᾽ ὀλέϑρωι γυναικεῖον ἀμφικεῖσϑαι μόρον; Αγ.

δρᾶν

πάρεστιν’

Κρ.

οἴμοι, μαμὸν τόδ᾽ ἄλλο τίς ἄρα, τίς με

ἔχω μὲν τάλας, φεῦ _ 1281

ἐκ

1282

Ay.

od

δ᾽ μᾶτερ

φεῦ

conj.:

μυχοῖς

ἔτι.

Evavta ἀϑλία,

ἀρτίως

1295

τέκνον,

προσβλέπω νεκρόν. φεῦ τέκνον.

1306

À mss.

conj.:

ἐξάγγελος

1286

ὦ conj.:

1289

ὦ παῖ

1290

af af af nost oss.

1299

τὰν

δ’

ἐν

δεύτερον βλέπω τάλας. πότμος ἔτι περιμένει;

ἐν χείρεσσιν τὰν

νέον

γὰρ

1290

2

mss.,

οἰκέτης

others

ἰὼ mss.

most

mas.

λόγον

conj.:

most

τήνδ᾽

tiv’

mss.

1 ms.,

126

ad

conj.:

τάδ᾽

τίνα

2 mss.,

mss.

τόνδ᾽

most

CREON:

What worse evil is yet to follow upon evils?

MESSENGER: Your wife is dead, the true mother of this corpse, wretchedly killed by fresh sword-blows. CREON: 16 id, unappeasable haven of Hades, why, why are you destroying me? Herald with your harsh tidings of pain, what words are you speaking? Aiai, you have killed a dead man over again! What are you saying, boy? What is the new message you bring, aiai aiai, of a wife’s violent death, death upon death besetting me? [The palace doors open and a tableau is brought into view showing Eurydice's body. | MESSENGER: You may see; it is no longer hidden indoors. CREON: Oimoi, here, unhappy man, I see a second grief! What fate, then, what fate is still left for me? I have just held my son pitifully in my arms, and I behold her, a corpse, before my eyes. Pheu pheu, wretched mother! Pheu, her son!

1285 1290

1295 1300

Ay.

+85’ X&

ὀξύϑηκτος

.

Môe

βωμία

πέριξ

+

ὁ. D

λύει κελαινὰ βλέφαρα, κωκύσασα μὲν τοῦ πρὶν ϑανόντος Μεγαρέως κλεινὸν

αὖϑις

δὲ

τοῦδε,

πράξεις Ko.

ἐφυμνήσασα

αἰαῖ atat, ἀνέπταν φόβωι. ἔπαισέν

Ay.

τις

τῶι

ἐγώ,

δειλαΐαι

δὲ

δὲ

σοὶ

λάχος,

κακὰς

παιδοκτόνωι.

μ᾽

οὐκ

ἀνταΐαν

ξἴφει;

atat,

1310

συγκέκραμαι

δύαι.

ὡς αἰτίαν γε τῶνδε κάἀκε ἵνων ἔχων πρὸς τῆς ϑανούσης τῆσδ᾽ ἐπεσκήπτου ποΐωι

δὲ

Ay.

παΐσασ᾽

κἀπελύετ᾽ ὑφ᾽

παιδὸς

"map

τόδ᾽

1305

(στρ.8 τί

ἀμφιϑήκτωι

δεΐλαιος

Κρ.

Ko.

λοΐσϑιον

ἐν

φοναῖς

αὐτόχειρ

ἤισϑετ᾽

μόρων.

τρόπωι;

αὑτήν,

ὀξυκώμυτον

ὅπως πάϑος.

ὦμοι μοι, τάδ᾽ οὐκ ἐπ᾽ ἄλλον βροτῶν ἐμᾶς ἁρμόσει ποτ᾽ ἐξ αἰτίας. ἐγὼ γάρ σ᾽ ἐγώ σ᾽ Exavov, ὦ μέλεος, ἐγώ,

gáu'

ἔτυμον.

ἰὼ

χορὸς

À ἄγγελος

1303

λάχος

conj.:

1310

alai

conj.: most

most

λέχος φεῦ

1325

mes. mss.

1313

μόρωι

1314

κἀπελύετ᾽

conj.:

κἀπελύσατ᾽

1319

σ᾽

conj.:

Exavov

1322

τάχιστ᾽

Exavov

ἐκποδών,

mss.

φεῦ

mss.

conj.:

τάχος

mss. 128

most

(στρ.Y

1320

πρόσπολοι,

ἄγετε μ᾽ ὅ τι τάχιστ᾽, ἄγετέ μ’ τὸν οὐκ ὄντα μᾶλλον À μηδένα. 1301

1315

mss.

mss.

MESSENGER:

At the altar, pierced with a keen-edged sword [7],

she let her eyelids fall in darkness, after lamenting for the glorious fate of Megareus who died before, and again for the fate of this man, and finally

charging you, the killer of your sons, with your evil deeds. CREON: Aiai aiai, my spirit leaps with fear! Why has someone not struck me to the heart with a two-edged sword? Miserable that I am, aiai, and steeped in miserable anguish! MESSENGER: Yes, you were denounced by the woman who lies here as responsible both for this son's death and for the other's. CREON: And what was the manner of her violent passing? MESSENGER: With her own hand she struck herself in the belly when she had learned of her son's lamentable fate. CREON: Ómoi moi, this can never be removed from my guilt and assigned to any other man. It was I, it was I who killed you, I, truth to tell. ἰδ, servants, lead me with all speed, lead me out of sight,

existence is nothing!

129

a man whose

1305 1310

1315

1320 1325

Xo.

κέρδη παραινεῖς, ef τι κέρδος ἐν κακοῖς" βράχιστα γὰρ κράτιστα r&v ποσὶν κακά.

Ko.

{tw

ἴτω,

φανήτω &uoí,

ὁ κάλλιστ᾽

tepufav

ὕπατος

ὅπως Xo.

(ἀντ,κα

μόρων Tto

ἄγων &uap

μέλλοντα ταῦτα“ πράσσειν: μέλει

Ko.

ἀλλ’

ἐρῶ

Xo.

μή νυν προσεύχου οὐκ ἔστι ϑνητοῖς

Κρ.

ἄγοιτ᾽

ἄν

ἄλλ’ τῶν γὰρ

μέν,

εἰσΐζδω. προκειμένων τι χρὴ τῶνδ’ ὅτοισι χρὴ μέλειν.

ταῦτα

μάταιον

Xo.

πότερον

ἴδω,

λέχρια

t&v

πότμος

δυσκόμιστος

πολλῶι

τὸ

συγκατηυξάμην.

ἄνδρ᾽

χεροῖν, φρονεῖν

ἐκποδών,

πᾶι

κλιϑῶ.

τὰ δ᾽

1340

+t’) γ᾽ most mss.

1345

γὰρ

μοι

zh

εὐδαιμον ΐας

χορός

1341 1343

κρατί

139

εἰσήλατο.

1337

most

πάντα

ἐπὶ

ἔχων conj.: ἐμῶν mas. Χο. conj.: ἄγγελος most mss.:

(dvr. y

ἀκὼν κατέκανον, μέλεος: οὐδ’ ἔχω

1330 1334

2

1334

μηδέν" ὡς πεπρωμένης συμφορᾶς ἀπαλλαγή.

ὅς, ὦ παῖ, σέ τ᾽ ody σέ τ᾽ αὖ τάνδ’, Guor πρὸς

na

ἁμέραν"

Tto,

μηκέτ᾽

ὧν

ἔχων

ἄγγελος

mss. most

others

κματέκανον

conj.:

κατέκτανον

mss.

σέ τ’ αὖ τάνδ’ conj.: ὅς of τ’ adtav mss. πρὸς conj.: ὅπαι πρὸς most mes. πρότερον mss. ἨἈλιϑῶ conj.: καὶ 9 most mss. tdv conj.: τάδ᾽ ἐν most mss.

130

most

CHORUS:

Your instructions are good, if there is any good amid evils. The

briefer the better for the evils set before us. CREON: Let it come, let it come, let it appear, that fairest of fates for me,

1330

which brings my last day. Let it come, let it come, supreme fate, that I may

never look upon another dawn. CHORUS: These things lie in the future. We must take action for the tasks 1335 that confront us. The future is ordered by those who should order it. CREON: But what I want was summed up in my prayer. CHORUS: Then do not pray for anything. Mortals have no escape from predestined misfortune. CREON: Lead out of sight, please, a foolish man, who killed you, my son, 1340 unwittingly, and you too, omoi, wretch that I am! I do not know which to look upon or where to find support. For what is in my hands is all amiss, 1345 while there an unbearable fate has leapt on my head. [Eurydice’s body is drawn back. Messenger and attendants enter the palace

with Haemon's body, leading Creon.] CHORUS:

Wisdom is by far the foremost part of happiness; and towards the

131

πρῶτον

ὑπάρχει

χρὴ

δὲ

τά γ᾽

εἰς

μηδὲν ἀσεπτεῖν" μεγάλοι δὲ λόγοι μεγάλας πληγὰς τῶν ὑπεραύχων ἀποτεΐσαντες γήραι τὸ φρονεῖν ἐδίδαξαν. 1349

γ᾽

1

ms.:

τ᾽

others

132

ϑεοὺς 1350

gods there must be no impiety. Grand words of proud men are punished with great blows, and this, in old age, teaches wisdom. {The Chorus leaves by parodos.]

133

1350

SOURCES OF READINGS This list is to be used in conjunction with Dawe’s Teubner Edition, and includes only those readings of the present edition which are not to be

found in Dawe’s text or apparatus.

108: 138:

ὀξεξκυτόνωι τὰ τοῦδ’ otey&tni

241:

Blaydes. Wecklein. Jacobs.

352: ἀμφιλόφωι Kayser. t&ypanta Aug Ὁ. 587: ἐφέρπει West. Brown.

904-15 εὖ

121-2: πληρωϑῆναι Semitelos. 156: παῖς West after Hermann. 252: τίς Keck. 288: ff mss. (1).

383: ὅμοιον

x&v Brown. 454: ὡς del. Seidler. 613:

οὐδ’

Brown. 614: πάμπολυς Musgrave. 632: κλυὼν 755: ἄν Platt. 817: οὔκουν Denniston; κἄπαινον 838: κἄπειτα Brown. 840: οὐλομέναν Jacobs.

del.

Brown

Arndt.

916:

after

Lehrs

preceding

and

lacuna

others. marked

904: by

σέ y’

Brown.

962: γλώσσας Reiske. 966: Blaydes. 998: κλυών West. 1034: uavtixoic Semitelos.

xvavéaiv σπιλάδοιν Semitelos, 1022: AíBoc Blomfield. 1035: ὑμῶν Broadhead.

1070:

σχεϑών

ὑγροῖς

1124:

ῥείϑροις

West.

1219

1282:

Ay.

Brown.

1123:

Blaydes del.

early

Hartung.

after Hartung.

Meineke.

1225:

edd.

134

λάχος

1182: Bergk.

xdAvovoa

NOTES ‘PROLOGUE’, 1-99 The audience are looking at an open space, probably circular, in front of a

building. The space is the orchestra or dancing area, where Chorus and actors will perform (probably with a raised stage at the back for the actors), and the building is the skené or scene-building, which in this play will represent the palace of Thebes. It probably has a single doorway in its centre; and the orchéstrà can also be reached by side-entrances, called parodoi or eisodoi, to left and right. The play begins when two actors emerge by the central door. Their masks show that they are portraying young girls. The dramatist’s first need now is to set the scene. The audience must be told the names of the two figures it sees (1, 11); and it must be told that Thebes has just repulsed the Argive attack (15-16), that Eteocles and Polynices have killed each other (12-14, 55-7), and that Creon has issued an edict forbidding the burial of Polynices (7-8, 21-36). It must also be reminded of certain relevant events in the remoter past — the pollution caused by Oedipus (2) and the deaths of Oedipus and Jocasta (49-54). Euripides would have conveyed this information through a formal ‘prologue speech’ detached from the ensuing drama. Soph. conveys it through an intensely dramatic confrontation

between

the

two

sisters,

so

that

the

exposition

is

inseparable from the depiction of their contrasting characters, and the action is well under way by the time that all the facts have been revealed. Thus we learn of the edict, not from a bald report, but through Antigone’s sense of outrage at it, and this outrage will provide both the mainspring of the action and the keynote of her character. By contrast, when Ismene talks of the deaths of her relatives (12-14, 49.57), the tone is merely pathetic, with none of Antigone’s active passion. By the end of the scene the difference betwecn the sisters, evident from the first, has sharpened into open conflict and mutual incomprehension. Ismene

cannot share what she sees as reckless folly; Antigone cannot tolerate what she sees as disloyalty to the dead. Antigone is now estranged from her ‘closest of kindred’ (1), the one person in whom she could confide, and is thus wholly alone. as she will remain until her death. The scene has an obvious parallel in that between Electra and Chrysothemis at El. 938-1057; but the fact that that scene comes late in its play, when we are already well acquainted with the sisters and their situation, must make a 135

difference to our reactions. While Electra’s proposal is more shocking in itself than Antigone’s, we have been brought to a deep sense of the intolerable plight which provokes it; and Chrysothemis, by her unfeeling opportunism, has forfeited the right which Ismene has to be taken seriously as an adviser. Why is Antigone so convinced that she must try to bury Polynices at all costs? We cannot help asking, but this scene hardly provides an answer (for good discussions see Levy, Machin 242-5). She bursts on the scene with her resolve fully formed, and lets us see nothing of any decision-making process. To the wholly reasonable arguments of Ismene (see Introd. p.8) she replies mainly with unargued assertions of duty to her dead brother. The only traces of argument that we see (she will have more time to please the dead than the living, 74-6; the gods honour the dead, 77; the unburied dead are not honoured by their fellows in the Underworld, by implication from 25) read more like rationalisations than reasons. The one constant factor in all she says is her sense that she must honour her dead brother; for her this obligation is axiomatic and absolute or, to putit another way, it is a defining feature of her characterisation, without which she

would not be Sophocles’ Antigone. (At Aesch. Sept. 1026-53 and Eur. Phoen. 1645-71, passages which should show how early readers of Ant. understood her motivation, it seems similarly intuitive and emotional.)

The ‘Sophoclean hero’ seldom deals in balanced arguments or conditional obligations. Each of the seven plays except Trach. (and also Aesch. PV) revolves largely round an unalterable commitment (not necessarily a moral obligation) which is integral to the very existence of a central figure (cf. Introd. p. 3); But, if the instinctive quality of Antigone's resolve is characteristic of her ‘heroic’ status, it is also characteristic of Greek religious impulses in general. A belief about the gods or the after-life need not be prior to, and serve to explain, a religious practice; it may rather be a secondary, perhaps improvised answer to a question such as ‘why do we treat the dead as we do?’. The primary causal factor will then lie simply in the emotions that death and the dead evoke. This is one reason whyit is wrong to take an idea expressed in one work (such as the idea that the dead must be buried if they are to be admitted to the Underworld, expressed at Iliad 23.71-4), use it as evidence for what ‘the Greeks believed’, and apply it to the interpretation of a work in which it does not occur (cf. Kitto 147-8). 1 Sister ... self: a notoriously untranslatable line (cf. Steiner 209-14); lit. (in so far as any rendering can be 'lit.") ‘common self-sister head of Ismene’, where ‘common’ means ‘having parents in common’, 'self-sister' is a strengthened form of ‘sister’ used adjectivally, and ‘head of Ismene’ is a curious but nol uncommon type of periphrasis, apparently evoking the individual mor vividly than the bare name would do. It is difficult for the translator to avoid 136

‘giving a tone of subjective sentiment with words like ‘dear’, but, though the line is passionately spoken, Antigone is not speaking about her emotions but about the physical fact of kinship. Kinship is what matters to Antigone (Knox (1964) 76-82). 73: For Oedipus see Introd. pp. 3-4. Here Antigone seems to believe that pollution resulting from his crimes has produced a finite stock of evils to be visited on his descendants. Zeus might have spread these over several generations, but instead is concentrating them all into the lifetime of Antigone and Ismene. The grammar here is very difficult and uncertain; more lit. perhaps ‘do you

know what of the evils from Oedipus that Zeus is not bringing to pass ...΄. #5: The impassioned torrent of negatives is a textbook example of 'characterisation by style’ in Greek tragedy. 4no pain, no calamity [2]: The Greek has ‘nothing either painful or without calamity’, which is clearly nonsense, but no convincing emendation has been proposed. I have given what must be the general sense. For até, ‘calamity’ - a frequent word in this play — see on 582-625. 7 And now: Creon's edict is seen as one of the evils which stem from Oedipus, probably because of the dishonour it brings on his family, and not because Antigone already foresees that it will lead to her death. 8thegeneral: Creon appears to have served as Eteocles’ general in the recent war (cf. 1162), and perhaps has not yet claimed kingship, as he does at 170-4. But Antigone never does call him King. 10 the evils of our enemies: Does this mean ‘evils caused by our enemies’ (i.e. Creon; cf. Winnington-Ingram (1980) 135 n. 55), 'evils appropriate to enemies of Thebes’ or ‘evils such as we might wish on our enemies’? The last is perhaps best; cf. Kells 48-52. We have no reason to assume that Antigone is any less capable than Teucer (Aj. 1177) or Electra (El. 1487-90) of wishing that an enemy's body should lie unburied. our own people: clumsy translation, but less misleading than 'friends' would be. A philos can be anything from a close relative to a political ally (cf. Knox (1964) 80-2, noting the importance of the different senses of the word in this play). Here Antigone means Polynices, though Ismene does not realise this. 13-14 two... two... one ... double: Greek tragedy often makes play with numerals in this way, to accentuate pathos or paradox. 16 this present night: The play's action, then, begins before dawn, like that of Aesch. Ag. (though there was no means of indicating this scenically in the Greek theatre). Some have taken the Greek to mean ‘last night’, but see Bradshaw 203-4. 137

18 1 knew it well: For the (very human) illogicality cf. Εἰ. 1017f. The insistent, loaded questions of 7-10, then, were not seeking information, Antigone had to express her indignation at the edict before she could describe it coherently. the gates of the courtyard: The outer gate of a Greek house led intoa courtyard, off which the living quarters opened. 19 so that you alone might hear: Note: (a) Characters in Greek tragedy (unlike those in comedy) never show any awareness of the audience; so it is not felt incongruous for the sisters to enter the presence of several thousand spectators in order to be alone. (b) In Soph., when the Chorus is present,its presence is never ignored; accordingly he is able to exploit its absence ina Prologue (cf. OC 82-3), as also at Aj. 815-65. (c) Antigone and Ismene have more freedom to leave the house than Electra (E/. 516-18), and perhaps more than most well-born women of the fifth century, but Soph. still finds it worth while to give them a reason for doing so (see on 579, 1183-9). For the use of ‘proper places’ in this play see Taplin (1984). 20 in turmoil: The Greek has a very rare word, and it is uncertain whether the

primary reference of the metaphor is to dark colour or to a stormy sea. some report: or perhaps ‘something you are about to say’. 21-2: Antigone still cannot give the news straightforwardly, without an indignant rhetorical question (cf. Denniston 79). 22 worthy ... unworthy: The Greek has words for ‘honour’ and ‘dishonour’. Thisis the crucial point for Antigone. Every man hopes for honourable burial to seta seal on his life and achievements; to deny him this is to pay him the ultimate insult of declaring his life and achievements worthless (see Introd. pp.63). 23 they say: See on 899. 23-4 with due observance of propriety and custom [?]: text quite uncertain. I have translated Jebb's text (σὺν δίκης χρήσει δικαίαι xai νόμον ), but thisis a mere makeshift. 25 to be honoured by the dead below: For this idea cf. Aesch. Cho. 345-62; Knox (1964) 91-2. 26 wretched corpse: lit. 'corpse which died wretchedly' (cf. 467, 515). The equil wretchedness of Eteocles' death does not concern Antigone since he has at least received his due of burial rites. Note the variation 'Eteocles ... corpse of Polynices' (as at Aesch. Sept. 1007, 1013): one brother has been treated asa person, the other as an object. 29-30 they must leave ... prey: Antigone is not quoting Creon's words (E. Fraenkel, Museum Helveticum 17 (1960), 238-9) but expressing the revulsion which she feels, and which we are to share, at such treatment of a human body (cf. Kitto 148-9, Segal 157). The idea of leaving a corpse to be eaten by birds 138

(and dogs) is common from Homer on (as is the phrase ‘unwept, unburied’),

but it is here given added bitterness by the evocation of the vultures’ feelings (‘treasure-house’ is a startling metaphor), as though Creon’s purpose were to gratify them. 30 is difficult, perhaps corrupt; see Dawe (1978) 99f., but also Dawe (1982) 235 for second thoughts. I doubtfully follow Kamerbeek’s interpretation: ‘as they eye him with a view to the gratification of « their desire for > food’. 31-4: Creon has already proclaimed the edict (it does not matter to whom or

where), but it is not yet known to all the citizens. This enables Soph. to present it first through Antigone’s mouth and then through his. 2 for me, I tell you: It is not often in Greek tragedy that we are invited to assess a speaker’s motivation and character from such implicit clues as this. There is a note of fierce pride here; Antigone

takes the decree as a personal insult,

assuming without hesitation that she, at least, could not possibly be expected to obey it. 3 murder: a strong word, not normally used for execution of a criminal. public stoning: a standard form of punishment for an offence against the whole community. in the city: as opposed to a less public execution outside it. 38 noble ... base ... lofty: Like ‘noble’ and ‘base’ in archaic English, many words in Greek can refer either to moral character or to social class, and Antigone exploits this here. The word kake, flung down as a challenge at the end of her speech, combines ‘bad’, ‘cowardly’ and 'low-born'.

4 What knots can I tie or untie?: i.e. ‘what good can I do by any type of action?'; the metaphor has no more specific reference. 42 Whatever do you mean?: lit. ‘Where ever are you in thought?’ (cf. Εἰ. 390). The variant not would give ‘Where ever are you going in thought?” (cf. E]. 922); but see Müller. 43 lifting the body: In some versions of the myth she does lift it, sometimes with the help of Polynices’ wife Argeia (Petersmann 83). Such a version may or may not have been known to Soph. In any case, the body must clearly be moved if it is to be buried properly, and this is why Ismene's help is needed. 45 and yours, if you will not: the subject of a battle between R. D. Dawe and S. L. Radt at Mnem. 24 (1971), 293-5, 26 (1973), 127-39; see also Dawe (1978) 100-2 for second thoughts, and Dawe (1982) 235 for rejection of the view of Müller and Kamerbeek. 1 doubtfully follow Jebb and Radt in supposing that Antigone at first means to say simply ‘I certainly wish to bury my own brother’ but then, prompted by the thought that he is also /smene's brother, interrupts 139

herself with an illogical parenthesis. The only viable alternative, I think, is Dawe's former idea of reading καὶ foroù to give ‘even if you do not wish «him to be your brother>. 46: Some scholars, ancient and modern, delete this line (see Dawe locc. cit.), but this would eliminate the word ‘brother’ and so leave Antigone apparently calling Polynices ‘my corpse and yours’ in 45. The two-line speech amid the stichomythia (line-by-line dialogue) marks a crucial revelation; see Jebb for parallels. 49-68: Ismene feels the shames and misfortunes of the family as keenly a Antigone, but for her these are reasons for bowing to the inevitable and trying to preserve the last survivers. And who will say that she is wrong? 50-2: Kamérbeek may be right to punctuate differently, giving ‘perished ... asa result of self-discovered crimes, when he had struck ...’; though it is Oedipus: self-blinding, rather than his death, that resulted directly from the discovery of his crimes. 50 shunned and despised: According to traditional Greek values, illustrated clearly by OT and OC, even an involuntary act could be a crime, and even an underserved misfortune could incur scorn and shame.

51 himself ... his own ... self-: heavily emphasised by threefold auto-. The fact that Oedipus brought his ruin on himself makes the shame all the greater. 53-4 Then ...: In OT and in Homer (Odyssey 11.277-80) Jocasta (or Epikaste)

hangs herself some time before Oedipus's death. In Stesichorus (a recently discovered fragment), Aeschylus (Sept. 926-31) and Eur. Phoen. she survive much longer. Soph. here seems to be compromising between the two versions, perhaps hinting that she hanged herself because her son and husband was dead (compare the suicides of Haemon and Eurydice). Other commentators seek to reconcile the wording here with the version of OT and Homer, but see CQ 34 (1984), 280 n. 129.

54 a twisted noose: See on 1283. 55-7: The paradoxes involved in the mutual fratricide are explored in language which defies natural translation, as often in Aesch. Sept. For ‘Thirdly... two ... one' see on 13-14. 59-60 unlawfully ... decree or power of a king: Ismene's words conflate law

(nomos; see on 449), voting (which should imply democratic procedure), kingship and power. Perhaps it is all one to her (Kamerbeek); but such conflations are not uncommon in tragedy. 61-2 that we are women

...: For the propriety of this see Introd. p. 8).

69-77: Antigone reacts to Ismene’s reasonable words with cold anger. She now sees the burial of Polynices as a privilege which Ismene has forfeited (d. 538-9). 140

71 Be what you please: or perhaps ‘Have what sentiments you please’, reading ὁποία (see Pearson (1928) 179); but I prefer Jebb’s note. 12-6: Antigone implicitly accepts Ismene's argument that it will be fatal to defy Creon, but is undeterred by this. 72 It will be fine ...: According to accepted Greek values it would in general be ‘fine’ to die in defence of a brother’s honour. Whether it would be ‘fine’ for a woman to die so in circumstances such as these is another question, which most Greeks might well have found difficult to answer. 73 a loved one with a loved one: For philos see on 10. The Greek need not imply that Antigone loved Polynices as an individual beyond the love she owed him as a brother; but see Winnington-Ingram (1980) 130. 14 guilty of a lawful crime: The Greek fuses two contrary ideas, combining a rather undignified

word

for

‘act criminally’

with

hosios,

‘sanctioned

by

divine law’. Clearly Antigone is being sarcastic and does not acknowledge any actual guilt.

74-5 [ shall have to spend more time ...: The argument has a sophistic or perhaps Platonic air (cf. Phaedo 107c). For the element of rationalisation see Levy 140-1.

A more frequent version of the idea reverses the moral: life is short,

death long, so let us enjoy life while we may (see Pearson on fr. 572). 80-1 make a burial mound: She no longer talks of moving the body (43), but the raising of a full-scale mound is itself an impractical plan (cf. 90), which she never completes. 83 life: For the text see Dawe (1978) 44. 86-7: Antigone's anger has been mounting steadily towards this outburst, which implies that she already hates Ismene for her refusal to help (but ‘much’ is not textually certain). She sees the burial as a noble deed (cf. 502-4) which should not be concealed as though it were shameful; and, perhaps, refuses to accept any favours at all from Ismene. But she cannot seriously mean what she says (any more than Electra means that Chrysothemis should betray her, El. 1033) if she hopes to carry out the burial at all. 88 hot: i.e. eager, passionate. chilling: The burial should chill her heart with fear; and ‘the thought of the dead has helped’ (Jebb). 90 If you will even have the power: Antigone will be punished if she attempts the burial and, as Ismene rightly thinks, will not even succeed in the attempt. Others render ‘If you will also have the power’ (as well as the wish), but this is less convincing. 93-4: Still harsher and more unfair than 86-7. And it is Ismene's very reasonableness that has provoked this outburst (Kamerbeek). 141

94 called: For the text see Dawe (1978) 102. The ms. text is supposed to mean ‘thou wilt justly be subject to the hatred of the dead’ (Jebb), but this is very difficult. 95 me and my folly: For this bold expression see Long 107-9. ‘Folly’ is sarcastic, as is ‘evil’ in 96. 99 your dear ones: or rather ‘your relatives’ (philos untranslatable again; see on 10), alluding to Ismene herself. Others take the words to mean, or include, ‘rightly loving to your brother’ (cf. Eur. 17 610), but this would hardly be compatible with what Ismene has said so far.

FIRST CHORAL

SONG

(‘Parodos’, 100-61)

The Chorus consists of elders of Thebes, summoned to hear Creon: proclamation (159-61; cf. 33-4). For its role and character see Burton 85-90. Like the great majority of songs in Greek tragedy, and all the songs in thi play, this one consists of strophic pairs — that is, pairs of stanzas so designed that the first stanza in each pair (the strophe) corresponds exactly in its metrical patterns with the second (the antistrophe). (Sometimes there is also an unpaired stanza, the epode, acting as a coda to the whole, as at 876-82.) This song is unique, however, in that each strophe and each antistrophe is followed by a passage in anapaests (a metre delivered in a mode between song and speech, probably by the Chorus-leader alone). Elsewhere this pattern occurs only in exchanges between Chorus and actor (as at 806-38). With a sudden contrast characteristic of Soph. we pass from the darkness of the ‘Prologue’ (16) to the bright light of day (strongly emphasised in 100-5) and from private anguish and impending doom to public rejoicing and celebration of victory. The heroic exploits which epic poets loved to celebrate are to furnish the background to the play's action, as they do in so many tragedies (e.g. Trach., Aesch. Ag., Eur. Med.); and the song is full of echoes of earlier poetry (set Davidson), especially of Aesch. Sept. (Else 35-40). As we know from that play, the battle on the previous day, even if it meant disaster for the royal house, meant salvation for Thebes, and most of the Argive attackers were monsters of reckles impiety. The moral drawn by the Chorus - that impiety and aggression are punished by Zeus - is traditional and comforting;

but the audience has already

seen enough to suspect that the issues of the play will be less simple. Thus there is strong dramatic irony, resting not on the audience's prior knowledge of the myth (as in OT and elsewhere), but on preparation by the dramatist. 100 Ray of the sun: The same two words begin Pindar's ninth Paean, composed for Thebes. 142

101 of the seven gates: a standard epithet, but highly relevant here; see on 141-7. 104-5 Dirce: one of the two rivers of Thebes (the other being Ismenus, 1124). 109 making ... to rush: According to 15f. the Argives left at night, but Soph. is more concerned here with dawn as an image for deliverance than with exact timing. 106-7 the man of the white shield: collective singular, referring to the Argive army. They carried white shields as a badge (Aesch. Sept. 90, Eur. Phoen. 1099), doubtless because argos means ‘white’. 106 from Argos [?]: I have translated the ms. text, which gives the required sense but is a syllable too short. Conjectures include "1vaxóeev (Mekler), ‘from the Inachus’ (the river of Argos). 109 whistling: The breath of the galloping horses whistles past their bits (cf. Aesch. Sept. 122-3). Mss. and edd. are divided between ‘swifter’ (or ‘sharper’) and ‘sharply piercing’. Lloyd-Jones 12-15 shows that the former will not do, as a bridle (or bit) is used to check a horse’s pace, not to increase it; but, by the same token, nor will the latter, for a ‘sharply piercing bit’ could not be used as a metaphor for compulsion where the compulsion is for rapid flight. 110-14: I have followed Jebb’s text. Others follow the mss. in 110 and mark a lacuna before 112, to give e.g. ‘Polynices, sent out through quarrelsome disputes, him; «and he» ...' (cf. Pearson (1928) 180, Kamerbeek). But, among other objections, the passive 'sent out' (or 'led out', but not ‘setting out’) does not fit Polynices. 110-11 disputes of Polynices: a play on the name (as at Aesch. Sept. 577, 658, 829f.), which suggests ‘man of much strife’ (neikos). 111 was led forth: lit. ‘rose’. The metaphor is a standard one, but ‘the choice of word suits the image of an eagle soaring’ (Jebb). 112 with shrill cries: echoing phrases used by Homer of Hector going into battle (Iliad 17.88) and of vultures (/liad 16.429); note also Aesch. Ag. 48. 113 hovered over the land: The ms. text gives ‘flew over «the border?- to the land', but see Dawe (1978) 102-3. 114 covering it: not ‘covered’; see Müller, Dawe loc. cit.

snow-white wing: alluding to the white shields (106). 117-19 ravening ... surrounded: lit. something like ‘gaping in a circle round the seven-gated entrance with spears [or spearsmen]’. The Greek is elaborately impressionistic and barely translatable, figurative language appropriate to the eagle being interspersed with literal description of the army. 120 and was gone: A short, simple word marks the suddenness of the Argive departure. 123 the fire of pine torches: lit. ‘piny Hephaestus’, the name of the fire-god poetically representing fire itself. 143

124-6 To such a pitch ...: The general sense is that the Argives fled because the battle was too fierce for them. 125-6 the serpent’s adversary: For the text see Jebb (but note also the objections of Housman III 1096-7). A serpent is used as the symbol of Thebes (1) because the Thebans claimed descent from a snake or ‘dragon’ (see on 1124-5); (b) because of the way in which a fight between an eagle and a snake is used by Homer at Iliad 12.200-7. There the snake bites the eagle, which flees, and this is a sign that the Trojan attack on the Greek camp will fail at the last. 127 boasts of a proud tongue: strongly reminiscent of Aesch. Sept. , where ‘boast’is a key word; see Kamerbeek. 131 brandished fire: a thunderbolt, which Zeus brandishes and then hurls. 133 one: We expect a plural, but Soph. has slid into the singular as he is already thinking specifically of Capaneus. 131-2 at his goal upon our ramparts: lit. ‘at the topmost balbides’. Balbides were posts with a rope stretched between, marking the starting line and sometime (what matters here) the finishing line of a race (so Jebb). The metaphor would be less odd if such a rope were also used in high-jump or pole-vaulting exercises, but there is no evidence. 134-7: The man described is the notorious blasphemer Capaneus, one of the Seven, who boasted that he would sack Thebes even against the will of Zeus, bore on his shield an image of a torch-bearer (according to Aesch. Sept 432-4), and was dashed to his death by a thunderbolt as he surmounted the wall. 134 with a crash: The Greek expresses the hardness of the earth as Capaneus

struck against it.

|

136 revelling: The Greek describes Capaneus as a Bacchant (see on 963-4), bul the metaphor is not a strong or specific one (see Davidson 48). 136-7 had breathed ... winds: Capaneus, or his hatred, is described as a storm-wind, with an echo of a description of Ares at Aesch. Sept. 343. 138-9 His fortunes ...: Text uncertain, as the mss. are in a confused state, but general sense clear. 139-40 Ares: He was responsible for the evils of war in general; and, accordingto Aeschylus, as Capaneus defied Zeus, so his companion Eteoclus defied Ares ( Sept. 465-9). The fact that Ares was regarded as an ancestor of the Thebans is less likely to be relevant. 140 right-handed: cf. Pind. Οἱ. 9.111. Most edd. read the variant 8&1 d0¢1p0¢, 9 that fates are assigned by ‘great Ares, striking, a right-hand trace-horse’ (i.e. helper in time of crisis), but the mixed metaphor is harsh and ‘striking’ badly needs adverbial qualification. 144

141-7; The outcome of the battle is summarised in slightly simpler language. For the seven champions see Introd. p. 4). The special fate of one of them, Amphiaraus, who was swallowed by the earth according to other accounts, is ignored here. 143 offerings ... Zeus who routs enemies: After a battle it was usual for the victors to strip their dead opponents of armour and weapons and to hang these on a

stand, called a trophy (tropaion), as a dedication to Zeus Tropaios, Zeus who turns back enemies. 144 except for: i.e. ‘except in the case of’. Since both Eteocles and Polynices were killed, there could be no victory in their case. 151 let forgetfulness follow: lit. “experience forgetfulness’. The Greek is odd, probably corrupt. 153 Bacchus: For Dionysus and his connection with Thebes see on 1115-54. 153-4 who shakes the ground: The word is applied elsewhere to Poseidon as god of earthquakes, but Dionysus simply makes the ground shake as he or his followers dance. 155-61: The entrance of a character is often (especially in this play) announced by the Chorus-leader in anapaests, but elsewhere these unequivocally form part of an act (‘episode’), not of an ode. Here the unique structure of this ode means that ode and act are dovetailed together. 156 the son of Menoeceus, newly proclaimed [?]: ‘proclaimed’ or the like is missing

from the ms. text, and there may be a longer lacuna. The name ‘Creon’, which the mss. do have, should probably not be there; see West (1984) 183. New rulers were notoriously unpredictable and harsh; cf. Aesch. PV 35, 149-51.

158 putting in motion: lit. ‘rowing’, a bold metaphor expressive of Creon’s energy. But the easier ἑλίσσων, ‘revolving’ (conj. Johnson), may well be right. 159 special; A technical term for an extraordinary meeting, implying that the elders met regularly on other occasions.

FIRST ‘EPISODE? (162-331) We have seen something of Antigone and her motivation; we are now to see something of Creon and his, before the two are brought face to face. His proclamation shows us how he behaves when acting purely on principle (162-222); then the scene with the Guard shows how he behaves when he finds himself opposed, but before he knows who his opponent is (223-31). Antigone is not named in this act, but is by no means forgotten, and the tension between our knowledge of her role and the ignorance displayed by characters and Chorus 145

makes for constant suspense and dramatic irony. 162-210: Creon probably enters by a parodos and not from the palace (cf. 33, ‘heis coming here’; Calder 393), but I do not think he is in armour, as coming

straight from the battlefield (or this would be alluded to). We need not ask exactly where he has been.

His first speech shows him at the height of his confidence and authority, a position that will be progressively undermined by each subsequent development (Machin 292-307). He explains why he has called the meeting (162-74), announces his principles in general terms (175-90), applies them to the present case by forbidding the burial of Polynices (191-205), and retums to generalisations to round off the speech (207-10). Throughout he insists on the claims of the polis (city-state), to which he is prepared to subordinate the claim of kinship. It is natural that he should put the matter in these terms, since Polynices is his relative as well as Antigone’s, and a Greek who thus

disowned a relative would have to sacrifice some family pride, if nothing else. At the same time this attitude must increase our forebodings as to his likely treatment of Antigone. The claims of the polis would have carried great weight for the fifth-century audience (Knox (1964) 84-7; id. Fond. Hardt Soph. 1-27). Any Athenian could have named some aristocratic politicians who had sacrificed the city's interests to family loyalties, and a politician who refused to do so would doubtless have been applauded. Creon's speech is not ignoble - indeed 175-90 are quoted by Demosthenes (19.247) as a good example for politician: to follow — and there must have been many in the audience who saw nothing wrong with it. Still, there is a coldness in his devotion to the abstract principle of the state and his dictatorial tone towards its human representatives; contrast Oedipus's close rapport with his subjects in OT. And the essential decree concerning Polynices (198-206) has an intrinsic ugliness which must cast some doubt on the high ideals that are used to justify it (cf. Bowra 67-71; Gellie 33; Winnington-Ingram (1980) 122-4; Seale 86). 163 tossing ... on heavy seas: a 'ship of state' image as at 190 and often in Aesch. Sept.; see Goheen 46-7. 164-9: Creon is polite to the elders, but at the same time shows that he expect

obedience. In issuing an edict without consulting them he might have seemed high-handed even in Homer's world (cf. M. I. Finley, The World of Odysseus (London, 1977), 82); and in tragedy a benevolent king can be self-consciously democratic in attitude (e.g. Aesch. Supp. 365-9, Eur. Supp. 403-8). 167 that you did likewise: These words are not in the Greek, but it seems necessary to supply them (see Kamerbeek), unless a line has dropped out after 167, x some believe. 146

168-9 these men’s descendants: Eteocles and Polynices, grandsons of Laius, sons of Oedipus. 172 pollution: the taint, part physical and part moral, which was automatically incurred by disruption of the normal order of things; see on 988-1114 and Parker passim. Anyone killing a relative would incur severe pollution, but here the implication is that Eteocles and Polynices expiated this pollution in death at the moment when they incurred it. 173-4 it is I ...: Creon claims kingship as the nearest surviving male relative of his nephews (Eteocles and Polynices being thought of as childless, as usual in tragedy). There is doubtless dramatic irony (especially in view of the reference to pollution): the status of heir to such a family may not prove an enviable one. 175-7: Creon expands on a proverb, ‘rule reveals the man’. Dramatic irony again: his nature will indeed be revealed all too soon. 176 character, mentality and judgement: It is not easy to capture the distinction between the three Greek words (see Dodds (1951) 139), but together they are clearly meant to cover all intellectual and emotional qualities. Long 53 sees here an ‘intellectual fussiness’ characteristic of the sophists. 178 For: The connection of thought is not quite clear (cf. Podlecki 360-1), but Creon seems to be giving his reason for making the preceding statement, as he moves gradually towards the specific point of his speech. 180 through some fear: We can only guess what Creon thinks he might have to fear in leaving Polynices unburied (unpopularity, revenge by Polynices’ supporters?), but the wish to seem a strong, courageous leader will prove characteristic of him. 182-3 one who considers ...: Where the claims of the state conflicted with those of philoi there was no unanimous Greek view as to which should prevail; see Dover 301-6. But Creon’s sentiment here is quite normal. 183 friend: or ‘relative’; see on 10. 189-90 it is our country ... our friends: This has been compared with Thuc. 2.60.2-3 (from a speech by Pericles), Democritus fr. 252. For Creon true philoi are the friends or allies that a man makes for himself, and this can happen only when the state as a whole prospers. But the variant ὀρθῶς may be right, giving ‘it is while we sail upon her that we make friends as we should’ (cf. W. Vollgraff, Mnem. 46 (1918), 358-9). 192 in accordance with: lit. ‘(proclamations) brothers of (these principles)’. Knox (1964) 87 sees significance in the use of this metaphor for a decree which divides two

brothers.

Creon,

perhaps,

tionships than of human ones.

147

has

more

sense

of abstract

rela-

197 which come ...: Libations poured over tombs were sometimes thought of as providing food for the dead (Dodds (1973) 152). But the right reading maybe tpSetar (conj. L. Dindorf), giving ‘which are paid’. 199-202: No one in the play denies that these charges against Polynices are valid. Although he is presented as the injured party in Eur. Phoen. , in most versions of the legend he stands condemned, as here, for attacking his native land. See esp. Aesch. Sept. 576-86, 658-71 ( Ant. 199 is almost an exact quotation of

Sept. 582). 199 gods of his race: i.e. images in which the gods of the family, or of Thebes, were felt to reside. 201-2 to feed on kindred blood: Polynices is seen as lusting for the blood of his brother. He wills the duel at Aesch. Sept. 636. 203-6: For refusal of burial see Introd. p.6. For birds and dogs see on 29-30. 206 in men’s sight: The point of leaving the body exposed is that it should be visibly disgraced to discourage others from treachery. The Greek word of seeingis not as unexpected or emphatic as is implied by Winnington-Ingram (1980)

124. 211-14: The Chorus-leader's reaction is distinctly cool (though ‘doubtless’ in 213is not textually certain).

211 to treat [?]: The word ‘Creon’ in the mss. has probably replaced a verb with this sense. 215-17: A curious little misunderstanding: the Chorus-leader takes ‘sentinels’ more literally than Creon intends. This serves to introduce a mention of the actual watchmen, so that the Guard can enter ‘on cue’, and perhaps to

indicate further the tense, edgy relationship between Creon and the Chons. 219 those who disobey: Creon expects opposition from a party within the city; see on 289-303. 220 No one is so foolish ...: The audience, having heard 72-6, knows better. 222 gain: Creon’s opponents may, he thinks, bribe others, such as the Chori. This is the sort of motivation he understands (cf. Goheen 14-16), and the word will be an important one in the play. 223-331: At this point Soph. could have chosen to have Antigone brought on under arrest, as he in fact does at 379. Instead a Guard enters to report that

earth has been sprinkled on the body by an unknown hand, and this provokes an outburst of rage from Creon against the guards and the conspirators whom he assumes to be responsible. The confrontation between Creon an Antigone is thus delayed; and this brings several advantages (see e.g. Kitto 156-7, Kirkwood 70, Gellie 38-9). Creon’s reaction to the Guard's first report serves to characterise him further and to commit him more irrevocably to 148

punishing the unknown ‘criminal’ with death. His wrong guesses, and those of the Chorus, provide dramatic irony, and lead to an effective reversal when the

truth is revealed. And the mysterious features of the Guard’s report raise important questions about the role and purposes of the gods (see on 249-58, 257-8). The Guard is much more fully characterised than most minor and anonymous dramatis personae in Greek tragedy. Both in this scene and in the next we learn much of his private fears and worries, which are natural in themselves but have no direct bearing on the main concerns of the play. And that is evidently the point. Like Ismene, Creon and the Chorus, the Guard is

another representative of the ordinary, uncomprehending human beings by whom Antigone is surrounded and among whom she is isolated; but he, being of humble rank and drawn into the action by pure accident, can bring out her isolation and uniqueness all the more effectively. To regard him as a positively comic character, like the clowns of Shakespeare’s tragedies, is probably an exaggeration (cf. Kitto 152-6), but he resembles them in that he enables us to set the concerns of common humanity against the great tragic issues played out between the major characters (cf. also the Nurse at Aesch. Cho. 731-82). 223-6: For the pretentious language here, marking the Guard’s exaggerated sense

of his own importance, see Long 84-6 (perhaps overstating the case). 223-4 that I arrive out of breath ...: It sounds almost as though the Guard were alluding to a theatrical convention. For messengers who do arrive out of breath cf. Eur. Med. 1119-20, Ar. Birds 1121-2. 227 My spirit spoke to me ...: The Homeric hero sometimes debates with his thÿmos, ‘spirit’ (e.g. Iliad 22.98, 122); here the substitution of psyché is a touch of fifth-century ‘psychology’ (cf. Dodds (1951) 16, 138-9). The heroic convention would no doubt be perceived as incongruous in the mouth of this lowly character. Jebb quotes Launcelot Gobbo in Merchant of Venice 2.2; nearer to hand is Ar. Acharnians 480-9. 231 with slow reluctance: The variant reading ταχύς gives ‘with sluggish speed’, an oxymoron. This may be right; but Jebb justly compares Phil. 1223. 236 I cannot suffer ... fated: Characters in Greek tragedy utter fatalistic expressions where it is natural to do so, but there is no systematic doctrine of predestination (or its opposite); cf. Dodds (1973) 70-1. 238-40: These Bunterish lines do seem at least to border on comedy (cf. Terence Eunuchus 978-80); but then the man’s life is at stake.

4Al you are ... covering yourself: The mss. have ‘you shoot / aim / guess’, which does not seem suitable, and the emendation is an easy one. MI the needful rites: most naturally taken (despite Jebb) as a reference to pouring libations (see on 431). 149

248 What man: The Greek refers specifically to a male. 249-58: The Guard describes the first burial as a mysterious and unaccountable event, so prompting the Chorus-leader’s comment at 278-9. The difficulties here, combined with the rather unreal problem of why Antigone later returns to the body (see on 422-31), have given rise to a theory that this first burial was not performed by her at all, and that the Chorus-leader is right in seeing it as a miracle. The case is well set out by M. McCall, Yale Classical

Studies 22 (1972), 103-17; but Bradshaw’s account is preferable, and willbe largely followed here. The first burial cannot really be the gods' work for these reasons: (1) Antigone left at 99 with the intention of burying Polynices, so, when the buria

is reported, the audience will assume that it is her doing unless given very strong reasons to think otherwise. (b) Whatever the difficulties of 249-58, the guards will later conclude that she performed both burials (434-5), so their experience must be compatible with that conclusion. (c) To claim that 'her response was to deny nothing’ (435) need not mean that she admitted both burials is a mere sophistry which ignores what the words would mean to the audience (Knox (1964) 176 n. 3). (d) Similarly the only natural interpretation of 423-8 is that she cried out on seeing the corpse bare, and cursed those who had bared it, because she had previously covered it herself (Winnington Ingram (1981) 125 n. 31, Whitehorne 132). To understand the present passage we must suppose, firstly, that the burial was carried out at night, when the Guard and his fellows were on duty (see Bradshaw); secondly, that they shared Creon's assumption that, if a0

attempt were made to bury Polynices, it would be made by conspirators against Creon’s rule. Such men would wish to perform a proper burial, and would come equipped for the job. They would need tools to dig up the hard ground or a cart to bring earth from elsewhere or to remove the body. Ani they could not have set to work without being heard by the guards, unles these were guilty of negligence or complicity. What has in fact happened is something so unexpected that the guards made no provision against it. Antigone has come up to the corpse in the darkness, picked up a few handfuls of dust, and sprinkled them in silence. The Guard cannot grasp this, so he simply reports what he has seen, stressing, however, that the burial was not a proper one (255-6) and that the culprit did not use tools (249-50) or a cart (251-2), since these are factors which should clear him and his fellows from blame (for the preservation of the body see on 257-8). The report does, however, have an aura of the supernatural, which,in

150

view of 278-9, cannot be fortuitous. Soph. is, it seems, alerting us to the question of the gods’ attitude. Although they do not intervene miraculously, they do object to the exposure of the corpse, as we shall learn later (1015-22). Hence the ironic paradox of Creon’s tirade (280-303), which is quite right in rejecting divine intervention, while quite wrong in its reason for doing so. 250 impression: weakly attested, but more natural than ἐκβολῇ, ‘earth thrown up’;

see Dawe (1978) 45. 250-1 The ground was hard and dry:

so

heavy

blows would

have been

needed

to effect a proper burial. The words are evidently not to be taken as precluding the possibility of wheel-tracks (if a cart had been used) or of dust

on the surface. 253 the first day-watchman: We may suppose that the shifts overlapped, so that this man came to relieve one of the night-watchmen while the others stayed on duty. us: the night-watchmen. 256 as if by one who was avoiding pollution: It was considered a pious obligation at Athens for anyone who came upon an unburied corpse to ‘avoid pollution’ by sprinkling a little earth upon it. This contrasts with a full-scale burial, such as a relative would wish to perform. But the Guard is using this simile merely to convey the appearance of the dust on the corpse, and we should not conclude that such a token burial was all that Antigone intended (cf. Whitehorne 129-31). 257-8 And there was no visible sign ...: Some scholars have wondered why the light covering of dust has kept scavengers at bay; others have answered that it might have sufficed to kill the smell of the corpse. But it is pedantic to insist on realism in such a matter. It may not be wrong (in view, once again, of the Chorus-leader’s reaction) to see these lines as recalling cases in which the gods intervene to protect a corpse (/liad 16.666-83, 17.268-73, 23.184-91, 24.1821); but the gods cannot have done so on this occasion, since it would then be impossible to explain why they do not continue to do so later. 262 was the culprit: in the eyes of the others. 264-5 to take red-hot iron ...: Ordeals to test innocence do not seem to have been common in reality, but they are often referred to in hyperbolic expressions, as here. 180-9: Creon is a pious man (cf. Knox (1964) 101-2). His assumption that the gods favour good men, not bad, is unexceptionable, and the conclusion he draws from it seems logical enough. The modern reader is tempted to make a distinction between the ‘mere’ state-religion of Creon and the deeper personal religion of Antigone, but there is a risk of anachronism here, for all 151

traditional cults were closely linked to the state, and religious obligations

could not easily be separated from those of patriotism. When Socrates was accused of ‘not recognising the gods that the city recognised’, he firmly denied

the charge. All the same, any Greek — and not least a character in tragedy - who claimed to know the gods’ will, even on the best of grounds, was placing himself in a dangerous position (Bowra 71-2). It may be that Creon’s religion is too moral (see on 1044). And his underlying fear of any challenge to his authority is evident in the vehemence and rudeness of his opening lines (280-1) as well as in what follows later (289ff.). 285-6 colonnaded temples: probably ones with columns all round, the grandest type in the fifth century. 286 votive offerings: objects dedicated to the gods and displayed in or around their temples. 287 its laws: Each city had its revered framework of ancestral laws, in many cases supposed to be of divine origin. These would perish if the city perished. 289-303: It is characteristic of tyrants in Herodotus and elsewhere to be constantly suspecting conspiracies against their rule. But it is also true that conspiracies, often by parties of traitors planning to betray their city to a foreign power, are a recurrent theme of Greek history (e.g. Thuc. 1.107.4, on Athens c. 457). Accusations of bribery and mercenary motives are also common in political contexts (Reinhardt 250 n. 9). Even Oedipus, a benevolent ruler, gives way to unjust suspicions much like Creon’s here (OT 380-9, 532-42). Creon stands convicted more by the manner of his speech — in particular the naked brutality of 291-2 - than by the matter. 289 this edict: The Greek has only 'these things', the reference of which i disputed. I follow Jebb. 291 tossing their heads: The words belong to the image of yoked animals. under the yoke: Creon talks like Aegisthus at Aesch. Ag. 1639-41. Ci Goheen 27. 292 to my satisfaction: I follow Bruhn for the grammar (cf. Trach. 1125). ‘Like men contented with my sway’ (Jebb) would surely require otépyovtec. 293 these men: the guards. 295-301: While attacks on bribery go back to Hesiod (W&D 37-41), this is perhaps the earliest passage in which money is attacked as the source of corruption

(but cf. fr. 88). 296 currency: a play on two senses of the word, which, like 'currency' in English, can refer to accepted practice as well as to coinage.

296-7 This lays cities waste: not irrelevant, for Creon thinks that the conspirators 152

supporting Polynices aim to destroy Thebes. 300-1 and it teaches ... impiety: oddly expressed lines, perhaps spurious (West

(1984) 184) or corrupt. There seems to be word-play on πανουργίας, ‘villainy’, and παντὸς ἔργου, ‘every deed’.

302-3 all who perform such actions ... ensure: Some, less plausibly, make the words specific: ‘those who performed these actions ... have ensured’.

304 Zeus: perhaps named as the god of kings, since Creon is seeking to uphold his authority (Jebb). 305 be sure: singular, addressed to the Guard on stage, followed by plurals meaning all the guards. 306-9: If Creon were as sure as he claims to be (293-4) of the guards’ guilt, it would be logical to have them tortured at once. By giving them a chance to find an alternative culprit, he reveals that he is not sure, and thus that the threatened

punishment is an arbitrary cruelty. 309 hung up alive: i.e. (probably) hung up by the arms and flogged. 310-12 so that ... you will know ...: heavily sarcastic: the lesson will be learnt only in death.

315-31: The Guard is given the last word, undermining the effect of Creon's long speech. 319 The culprit ... your ears: a sophistic quibble rather like the notorious Eur. Hipp. 612, ‘My tongue swore but my mind is unsworn’. For the pretentiousness of the Guard’s style see on 223-6, 227. But he is in deadly earnest; a man

who expects to be flogged to death will hardly be indulging in facetious repartee. 323 It is monstrous ... wrong: He means that it is bad enough to assume guilt on the basis of guesswork, and worse still when the guess is wrong. Again this is a rather empty quibble; hence Creon’s reply. 327-31: Although ‘you’ must mean Creon, the lines are evidently not intended for his ears. For lines ‘cast at a departing back’ see Bain (1977) 70-1, Taplin (1977) 221-2. 327 he: singular as in 319, despite the plural in 325.

SECOND CHORAL

SONG

(‘First Stasimon’, 332-75)

This is perhaps the most famous certainly one of the most remarkable. invented: seafaring (334-7), ploughing them (348-53), building communities

choral song in the Greek language, and The Chorus sing of the skills that man has (337-42), catching animals (343-8), taming and homes (354-9), and finally medicine 153

(361-4). Man’s cleverness can bring him either to good or to evil (365-75). The occasion for the ode is apparently provided by the Guard’s report. The Chorus have abandoned their idea that the burial of Polynices might have been miraculous (278-9), but do not accept Creon’s view that the guards were bribed. They therefore assume that the guards were eluded by a person of extreme cleverness. In this they are wrong once again, for it seems to be by mere good fortune that Antigone has evaded capture so far (see on 249-58). To this extent, then, the ode resembles OT 463-82, an imaginative but quite false description of the unknown murderer of Laius. But evidently there is more to it than this. For one thing the ode is an important document in the history of ideas (see Dodds (1973) 2-13; W. K. C. Guthrie, In the Beginning (London, 1957), 79-94; S. Blundell, The Origins of Civilization in Greek & Roman Thought (London, 1986), 165-202). The traditional Greek view, set out by Hesiod (W&D 106-201), was that human history represented a decline from a Golden Age. About the middle of the fifth century, however, a different conception became current: men would leada helpless, primitive existence if it were not for the skills of civilised life, which had been bestowed on them or developed by them in the remote past. Apart from the present ode, this conception can be found in Aesch. PV 442-506 (probably not by Aeschylus and perhaps not far from Ant. in date), Eur. Supp. 201-15 (about 423), and Plato Protagoras 320c-322d. This last probably reflects (whether closely or not) the actual teachings of the sophist Protagoras around 450. The relation between these sources, and the possible role of other fifth-century thinkers such as Xenophanes and Democritus, are matters of scholarly dispute. The present ode, however, goes beyond all the other sources in its rationalism and ‘humanism’. In PV mankind would have been helpless but for the teaching of Prometheus; in Eur. Supp. man’s skills are bestowed by an unnamed god; and in the Protagoras, while human inventiveness does play a role, it could

have achieved nothing without Prometheus and Zeus. Whatever Soph.'s source may be for the idea that man himself is responsible for civilisation, it is a most surprising one to find in tragedy, where depreciation of mankind is more usual (e.g. Aj. 125-6, OT 1186-96, Phil. 177-9). Nor does Soph. even include divination or worship of the gods among

human

skills, as other accounts do. True, he

evidently did not intend this ode to tell the whole story, for the Second Stasimon (582-625) will present a very different picture (Else 46-9). But it remains extraordinary in itself. Some scholars see the ode not primarily as praise for man’s achievements but

as a warning of the dangers they involve (e.g. Linforth 196-9; G. Ronnet, REG8) (1967), 100-5; A. Lesky in Das Altertum ... für W. Schadewaldt (Stuttgart, 1970), 154

85-91). If this line of interpretation worked, it would would make the ode easier to relate to the play as a whole, and bring it more into line with pessimistic expressions elsewhere in Soph. But it does not work (cf. E. A. Havelock, The Liberal Temper in Greek Politics (London, 1957), 66-70; Knox (1979) 169-71). Moral considerations do not enter in until the second antistrophe (365-75), and even there man’s cleverness is in itself morally neutral, tending no more to evil than to good. Many of the skills listed earlier are essential if life is to be worth living (there can be no nostalgia for a primitive existence here), and to say that man invented them is necessarily to praise him. Even his failure to conquer death ismentioned only in parenthesis (361-2), and is seen (remarkably) as qualified by successes in medicine.

And,

if deinos

is ambiguous (see on 332-3),

‘most

ingenious’ (348) is plain enough. Indeed, to relate the ode to its dramatic context, except in the limited sense

described above, is not at all easy. Attempts to tie it closely to the conflict between Creon and Antigone simply fail to do it justice. Some see the second antistrophe (365-75) as having an ironic relevance to Creon’s misdeeds, but this seems dubious initself (Creon does not break any oaths or laws of the land) and certainly does not help with the rest of the ode (he would be a poor embodiment of human ingenuity). Nor can I see much resemblance (as Miiller does) between the daring that man devotes to practical ends and the instinctive, self-sacrificing courage of Antigone. Another approach, that of Segal (152-206), is to see the play as a whole in terms of conflicts between nature and culture, and to point to echoes of the language and motifs of this ode in other places. This approach is often illuminating, but I suspect that it could be used to make the ode seem equally relevant to almost any tragedy. Soph. would certainly have made the critic’s task easier if he had held it back for use in OT. 332-3 Wonders ... man: Man is regarded with awed detachment, as though he were a new and portentous species (anthropos refers to either sex). Deinos, translated ‘wonders’, is connected with words for fear, but its meaning extends from ‘fearful, terrible’ through ‘strange, marvellous’ to ‘clever, skilful’ (Goheen 141 n. 1). Aeschylus began an ode on evil women with the words ‘Earth breeds many terrible (deinos) pangs of fear’ (Cho. 585-6), and there the sense is clear. Here Soph. appears to be echoing Aeschylus's words but giving deinos a more favourable sense, in which both ‘marvellous’ and 'clever' are included. Some think that the word brings with it the sinister associations of the Aeschylean context, but this seems dubious, as there is nothing in the present context to activate those associations. 334 This being: The sense of awed detachment is sustained by the use of a neuter pronoun instead of ‘he’. 155

334-7: In reality Greek sailors shunned storms, but the graphic picture of man almost submerged by vast waves brings out the daring which seafaring involves. 335 the storm-wind: or ‘the south wind of winter’. 336 cavernous: The Greek has a unique, evocative and difficult epithet; apparently the waves ‘gape to the depths around’ the mariner. 337-42: Although immortal and inexhaustible, the earth can paradoxically be described as ‘worn away’ by constant ploughing. The reference is probably not to erosion or impoverishment of the soil, but simply to the perennial scratching of the surface to which the earth must submit. Referring to Earthas a goddess makes this submission all the more striking (Else 43). It can hardly be right to see this subjection of a goddess as a positive act of impiety, for no one could seriously suggest that ploughing was impious, but there is a marked contrast with traditional accounts in which crops and agricultural skills are bestowed on mankind by Earth or Demeter. 342 the brood of horses: a dignified periphrasis for mules, the ordinary word for which (‘half-asses’) was felt to be unsuitable for serious poetry. Horses were not used for ploughing; the animals generally used were oxen (353), but mules are mentioned at /liad 10.352-3, Odyssey 8.124. 343-7: From inanimate nature we move to the animal kingdom. Man uses netsto snare birds, mammals (this was a normal method of hunting) and fish. 344 catches: For the text see Müller. 346 the sea: an unobtrusive echo of the strophe (335), where the same word occurs in the same position; see on 370.

348-53: Man domesticates the goat (probably — see Kamerbeek) and yokes the horse and the bull. 351-2 breaks in ... with a yoke across its neck: The mss. offer unmetrical nonsense, and the emendations adopted here are far from certain. 353 tireless: The variant ἀδμῆτα, ‘untamed’, should possibly be preferred even at the cost of a prosodic anomaly; see Miiller. 354-75: The second half of the song is compressed and elliptical, with frequent obscurity. 354-9: More abstract skills -- speech, thought, social organisation — are coupled with the building of shelters, since the founding of cities is in the poet's mind here. 354 windlike: The point may be the speed of thought (in calculation or in moving from topic to topic) or the fact that it is powerful though invisible. 360 resourceful in all: Great weight is thrown onto this syntactically isolated word, which forms the climax of the list of achievements. 156

resourceless he goes to meet nothing ...: The negatives cancel out so that the phrase amounts to an emphatic expansion of ‘resourceful in all’. The Greek is at least as elliptical and difficult as the translation.

361-2 From death alone ...: To a pessimist man’s failure to conquer death might seem to make a mockery of all his successes. Here it is presented than a foil to his achievements in medicine, which do enable death in the short term. 367 evil ... good: either in a moral sense or in the sense of good and What follows suggests that both senses are combined. 48-70: Despite the mention of gods, the thought seems more

as little more him to evade bad fortune. secular than

religious (cf. Else 44). It is a practical necessity for people to obey the laws and keep their oaths if the city is to prosper (cf. Plato Protagoras 322b-323a). The Chorus shares Creon's assumption that whoever broke the edict is an enemy to Thebes. 368 Respecting: the most likely emendation of the ms. reading 'threading in'. the land: a more likely translation than 'earth'. 370 a man of a lofty city; citiless: a striking echo of the similar juxtaposition of two antithetical words at 360. Echoes between strophe and antistrophe are not uncommon (cf. 335/346, 354/365), but are rarely as obvious as this. ‘A man of a great city' seems a better translation than 'of great distinction in his city' (cf. Knox (1964) 185 n. 47); and then 'citiles may imply that the wrong-doer destroys his city, not merely that he is banished from it (see Jebb).

SECOND ‘EPISODE’ (376-581) This act falls into three sections (the first two dovetailing slightly): Creon and the Guard (376-445), Creon and Antigone (441-525), Creon, Antigone and Ismene (526-81). The first two of these sections, at least, are central to the plot of the play, since it is obviously essential that Antigone's capture should be reported and that she should confront Creon before being condemned to death. Some hours are supposed to have elapsed since the previous act, as we learn from 415-16. Antigone, though the centre of attention, remains silent until 443. There is an

element of dramatic convention in this (the Guard must have time to deliver his new report, and three-cornered dialogue is still uncommon), but Soph. is also creating suspense as to how her silence will be broken, as he postpones once again the central confrontation between the two principals. It is hard to say, however, whether she proudly disdains to answer the Chorus's questions at 379-83, or 157

whether they are simply expressions of surprise, not meant for her ears; see Mastronarde 94. 376-83: The Chorus have just been singing of a wilful criminal in the masculine, and alluding to the breach of the edict. This is ironically followed at once by anapaests announcing Antigone’s approach. 376-7 Faced by ... to deny ...: More than one punctuation is possible. That of most edd. gives Ἱ am confused by this portent from the gods. How shall I deny...” 382 they are bringing: a vague, allusive plural, for it seems that only one guard actually enters (cf. 397). 388-400: Again the Guard's main concern is with himself, and we are made to wait while he pronounces sententiously on matters quite incidental to his function in the plot (see on 223-331). 390 1 could have sworn: In fact he has sworn (394), but the expression is natural enough. be a long time coming: i.e. ‘never come’. 392 prayed for: For this emendation of the ms. reading ‘outside’ see Dawe (1978) 104-5. I have reservations about it, but can see no alternative. 396 This time ... lots: Apparently the Guard has claimed the right to deliver what he sees as good news, in compensation for having had to deliver bad new earlier. 397 windfall: The Greek has a word connected with Hermes, the god responsible for lucky accidents. 406 And how ... Was she ...: usually, perhaps rightly, punctuated as a singk question: ‘And how was she seen and caught in the act?’ 407-14: In uncovering the body and resuming their watch, the guards were seeking to obey a command to find the person responsible for the burial (306-7, 324-6). They must, then, have hoped that the culprit would be tempted to return. 410 damp: with blood, in contrast to the dry dust. The sheer unpleasantness of leaving a body exposed is again vividly conveyed. 411 to windward: This must be what is meant, though the Greek word elsewhere means the exact opposite (Xen. Oeconomicus 18.6 is no exception; commen tators are confused here). It looks as though Soph. has mistaken the meaning of a technical term. 414 neglect: For the text see Müller and his references. 415-21: The vividly described dust-storm is dramatically convenient, as it enables Antigone to reach the body unobserved. It may also serve to raise questionsin our minds once again as to the role and purposes of the gods (see on 249.58), although there is in fact no intelligible divine plan to be seen in the way that 158

Antigone is at first concealed and then exposed to capture. For the symbolic suggestiveness of the lines see Winnington-Ingram (1979) 5-6, Steiner 223-6.

418 in the sky: or perhaps ‘heaven-sent’. 421 god-sent: It should not be assumed that this word carries serious theological implications, for any ‘natural’ phenomenon can be so described. 422-31: Many scholars have been worried by the fact that Antigone visits the body a second time (see on 249-58). We have seen, however (on 223-331), that there are dramatic advantages in letting the Guard give two reports, one of a burial by an unknown hand and one of Antigone’s arrest; and in fact there is

nothing unnatural about her return. The difficulty has arisen largely from an unwarranted assumption that the first sprinkling of dust constituted a symbolic burial, which, once done, could never be undone and need never be repeated. But the characters in the play do not see it in this light (cf. Whitehorne 129-31). To them, if the body received full burial rites, it would be fully honoured; if it receives a light covering of dust, it is partly honoured; and, if the dust is removed, the honour is removed with it. Thus, while we are not told exactly why Antigone returns (because it does not matter), it is natural in general terms that she should, whether to defend the body against men or animals, to add more dust (she talked of a burial mound at 80-1), to pour libations, to lament, or for any combination of these purposes. At 91 she implied that she would persist as long as she could in the attempt to give full burial to her brother; and so she has (Linforth 200). If the presence of the guards had not prevented it, she would doubtless have spent the whole morning beside the body. 423 piercing: For the text see Dawe (1978) 105. That of the mss. would make the bird ‘painful’ or ‘distressing’ (not ‘embittered’). 424-5 the shrill note ... nestlings: The image is given added weight by logically redundant words which make translation difficult. It is derived from Odyssey 16.216-19, which also influenced Aesch. Ag. 48-54. Here much of the point and pathos derive from the very incongruity of the image: all the devotion that a bird - or a woman - might bestow on her offspring Antigone bestows on the dust sprinkled on a corpse. 431 threefold: a traditional number for libations in various contexts. Here all three are evidently of the same liquid, presumably water. libation: drink-offering. These were poured over graves at funerals and subsequent ceremonies, and were one of the principal ways of honouring the dead. 438 one’s friends: The Guard belongs to the royal household and identifies with its fortunes. 159

439 everything else: The mss. have ‘all this’, but see Housman I 210, Müller.

441 bowing her head ...: not, evidently, in fear (269-70) or shame; perhaps in resignation. If the audience is kept guessing what her attitude will be, the dramatic effect when she finally looks Creon proudly in the eye (at 443 or

450?) will be all the greater. 448 inevitably: lit. ‘in what way was I not going to?’.

449 these laws: The plural provides a ‘feed’ for Antigone’s speech contrasting human and divine laws. The variant ὄρους, giving ‘these limits’, is tempting

(Dawe (1978) 46); but cf. 481. Nomos, ‘law’ or ‘established practice”, whether human or divine in origin, is an important word in this play.

450-70:

All that has happened so far has, in a sense, been leading up to this

speech, which is central, if not to the whole play, at least to Antigone’s role. She begins with the gods (450-60), whom she barely mentioned earlier (77). She does not argue about the nature of Creon’s edict, but takes it for granted

that the gods’ laws are opposed to it. The idea that the gods require mortals to bury relatives is not, in fact, commonly expressed, no doubt because it would

seldom have occurred to any Greek to do otherwise (though the duty of burial was legally enforced at Athens, at least in the fourth century). In Ajax, while the Atridae are accused of impiety in banning the burial of Ajax’s body

(1129-31, 1343-4), Teucer’s need to defy the ban is simply taken for granted and receives no religious (or other) justification. However, anyone who wilfully left a relative unburied would doubtless have been felt to be acting unnaturally and risking the gods’ displeasure. This feeling is now elevated by Antigone into an absolute law requiring the burial of relatives in any circumstances (see Introd. p. 8). Thus the issue is preempted and no roomis left for the common-sense view of an Ismene, that the gods can hardly require what is impossible or forbidden by the state. By presenting the issue asa choice between the unconditional demands of human and divine lav, Antigone ensures that there can be only one answer. The audience are hardly likely to analyse her logic. What really matters

is the emotional power of her appeal to the ‘unwritten rules’, which can hardly fail to make its effect on the audience’s sympathies. Her position remains: challenging one, for her religious instincts are not ours, nor those of tht ‘ordinary Greek’; but the fact that she is prepared to follow those instincts

even to death is bound to inspire awe and admiration. Antigone is not a mere embodiment of a religious principle (cf. Ronne!

114-15), and even this speech does not remain on the religious plan throughout. The ‘practical’ argument that her life is not worth living in any case (460-6) should not be considered an anticlimax or betrayal of principle 160

after the religious argument, since both simply express aspects of what is essential, her devotion and sense of obligation to her brother (cf. Bowra 91). And it is to this that she returns at 466-8, before ending the speech with a remarkably insolent taunt against Creon (469-70). As always, Antigone’s need to bury Polynices is axiomatic and fundamental,

and the arguments

offered for this are secondary. 450 Zeus: named here as the source of all ethical principles; see Reinhardt 251 n.

14 rather than Knox (1964) 99. 451 Right: The word dikë is commonly translated ‘justice’, but can have a wider meaning -- broadly ‘right’ as opposed to wrong -- as is shown by such instances as this, where ‘justice’ would make little sense.

who dwells with the gods below: These gods are Hades, Persephone and others who have the dead in their keeping. Diké, when personified, is not usually regarded as a chthonic goddess; indeed she is often said to be the daughter of Zeus. Here, however, Antigone is personifying the particular ethical principle whose concerns are shared by the chthonic gods, i.e. the principle that the dead should be buried. 452 lay down such laws: This emendation cannot be far wrong. The mss. have ‘who

[plural] laid down these laws’. 454-5 that you: The Greek could also mean ‘that I’ (cf. 458-60), but this seems slightly less natural. The strength of Creon’s decrees is not such that he can prevail over the gods’ rules in Antigone’s mind. unwritten ... rules: ‘Rules’ translates nomima, which differs little from nomoi, ‘laws’ (449, 452), but means more precisely ‘established customs’. The concept of unwritten laws or rules has been much discussed by

scholars, seldom helpfully (but see J. de Romilly, La loi dans la pensée grecque (Paris, 1971), 25-49). It occurs first here, then in several other places, notably Lysias 6.10-11 (from a specch delivered in 399), Thuc. 2.37.3 (from Pericles’ Funeral Speech), Xen. Memorabilia 4.4.19-20, Plato Laws 7.793a-d, Aristotle Rhetoric 1.13, 15. In each case there is an explicit or implicit contrast

with human laws, which in classical times had to be written if they were to be valid. Traditionally no such contrast had been possible, as divine and human laws were assumed to reflect one another. But the contrast must already have been familiar in Sophocles’ day if he could appeal to it even in a play set in the Heroic Age, before written law codes existed. Human law and written law are assumed to be synonymous, and we are not to concern ourselves with the fact that Creon’s edict (which was at least ‘published’ to all) was itself actually unwritten. Unwritten rules, then, were ones that did not need to be written because 161

they were taken for granted or (what often amounted to the same thing) laid down by the gods. Their content naturally varied with the concerns and prejudices of the speaker. Thus, although the author of Lysias 6 seems to echo these lines of Soph. and Aristotle explicitly quotes them, the former is concerned with matters of religious ritual, the latter with his own secular conception of natural law. Antigone is concerned with the rule requiring burial of a relative, which for her is axiomatic and (therefore) divine; it is vain

to speculate how far beyond this she might conceive the unwritten rules to extend. 456-7: With this praise for divine laws cf. OT 865-72, though there the references mainly to oracles. 458 I did not intend: or ‘I was not likely’. 459-60 to make atonement: The Greek may mean either 'to be punished' or 'to stand trial’, but even in the latter (less likely) case the possibility of punishment is implied. And this is surprising. Traditionally, punishment after death was reserved for those who had committed perjury or other wilful and particularly grave crimes, and this generally remains true in the fifth century (Dover 261-8, Garland 60-6). There are places which speak of a general judgement passed on all sins committed in life (e.g. Aesch. Supp. 228-31), but

even so, to fear posthumous punishment for a mere act of omission, committed under duress, would certainly have been unusual. This must, then, be seen as a mark of Antigone's extreme, almost fanatical sense of obligation.

Still, a spectator might be forced to concede that she has reached this point by seemingly logical stages: the requirement to bury relatives is taken for granted, is therefore an unwritten rule, therefore a divine rule, therefore one

that the gods will enforce. 461 and should have known it: These words are left to be understood in the Greek. 462 I call that a gain: a variant on a cliché of tragedy, What gain have I in living? see Page on Eur. Med. 145. 463 many evils: cf. 1-6. 467 I had allowed [?]: This is the sense required, but there is no obvious way of

obtaining it within the rules of grammar and metre.

There are other oddities

hereabouts, and the corruption may be extensive. 470 perhaps it is a fool ...: Nothing that Creon has so far said to Antigone justifies this rudeness; and girls are not expected to address kings and uncles in such tones in any case. Even Electra addressing Clytemnestra makes a greater

effort to be polite ( El. 616-18). 471-2: The Chorus-leader shows none of the mixed feelings that might have been expected, but reacts only to the insolent and uncompromising tone of 162

Antigone's speech. àuóc . ‘fierce’ — often ‘cruel, savage’ —is a strong word, and not complimentary (I. M. Linforth, Classical Philology 26 (1931) 196-7, suggests that the idea here is ‘lawless, uncivilised’). 471 Clearly the girl has a fierce spirit (?]: There is evidently corruption, as the ms. text would seem to mean ‘She shows that the girl’s offspring is fierce’. My translation would fit e.g. δῆλόν (Nauck) γέ τοι (Brown) Añu’ (Blaydes). a fierce father: alluding to Oedipus’s curse. 472 to yield to misfortune: For this motif see on 712-18. 473-96: Creon might have risen to the challenge. If he had calmly insisted that his duty to the city required him to enforce his own decree, he would have retained some of our respect. Instead the speech reveals only his rage at the affront to his personal authority, and the city is not mentioned at all. His brutal emphasis on breaking proud wills (473-9) marks him out as a tyrant like

Agamemnon ( Aj. 1253-8) or Aegisthus ( El. 1462-3, Aesch. Ag. 1617-24) -

473 475

479

480 486

487

though it is his own will that will break in the end. His determination not to be worsted by a woman (484-5) seems independent of the rights and wrongs of the issue (Vickers 533). And he is ready to condemn Ismene unheard on mere suspicion (488-94). Creon looked forward to being tested by the demands of office (175-7), but he fails the test. you: the Chorus-leader, not Antigone, whom Creon does not deign to address. baked to great hardness in the fire: It was normal practice to harden iron by heating it and then dipping it in water, but it seems that this could also make it brittle (A. Platt, CQ 4 (1910), 248-9). his neighbour’s slave: It is only the worst type of tyrant who can regard freeborn subjects as his slaves (Bowra 73-4). The subordinate position of Greek women did not prevent the distinction between a free woman and a slave from being clear and important to Greek minds. insolence: Hybris is a strong word, meaning an act (480) or utterance (482) which shows wilful and criminal disregard for the rights of others. of one more closely related ...: The illogical hyperbole (he can have no closer relative than his sister) suits Creon’s rage and determination. Most edd. read the variant ὁμαιμονεστέρα, which is more logical (omit ‘of one’ in the translation), and hence weaker. than the whole circle of Zeus Herkeios: lit. ‘than all Z. H.', i.e. ‘than any of my closest family’ (or, illogically, ‘than all my closest family put together’?). Zeus Herkeios was Zeus of the Courtyard, the Zeus who was worshipped at an altar in the courtyard of a Greek house, and in whose worship the whole household was united. 163

488 and her sister: Mention of a sister in 486 has reminded Creon of Antigone: sister, who is now brought into the sentence as an afterthought. This is the first

we have heard of Ismene since 99, but Soph. has further tasks for her to

perform (see on 526-81). 491 just now: i.e. before line 387. 493-4 The mind ... in the dark: Creon assumes that Ismene's ‘raving’ (for which we shall learn the true reason shortly) must be a sign of guilt, as this is the kindof behaviour his mind can cope with. 495-6 And yet ...: His thoughts revert to Antigone, these lines being intended for her ears. 502 a more glorious reputation: the first overt mention of this motive, though itis implied at 86-7. Antigone must claim that her deed will be approved if she isto justify it at all, for the idea that virtue is its own reward, even if it goes unrecognised, hardly appears before Plato (cf. A. W. H. Adkins, Merit and Responsibility (Oxford, 1960), 154-6). 503 own brother: stronger than simply 'brother'; see on 1. 504-5 These men ... their mouths: It could hardly have occurred to the audience before this that the Chorus might secretly approve of Antigone’s action. The unsympathetic comment at 471-2 was unprompted and sounded sincere enough, and later they never do express approval, though other Thebansre said to have done so (692-700). The present lines, with 509, must raise a doubt in our minds, and at 510 Creon seems to concede the possibility that Antigone might be right in what she says; but it is never more than a possibili. 504 was pleasing to them: or rather ‘was approved by them’, but the Greek echo the words for ‘pleasing’ in 500-1 to sustain the rhetorical pattern. 506-7 But monarchy ... what it will: Since Creon's subjects dare not speak out,iti only in his own actions and words that any opinion of Antigone's deed is expressed. 506 monarchy: The word tyrannos normally means ‘monarch’ rather than ‘tyrant in tragedy, so this is not in itself an insulting term. S08 Cadmeans: descendants of Cadmus (see on 1124-5), a frequent term for Thebans.

this view: that her deed was a glorious one. 509 keep ... shut: The Greek has a metaphor from an animal putting its tal between its legs, expressive of cringing subservience. 510 And are you not ashamed to have different ideas?: Creon means that, if the Chorus are keeping silent in deference to him, Antigone should at least do the

same. 511 my own mother's sons: lit. 'those from the same womb'. 164

512 Was it not ...: Antigone has given Creon an opening, and from this point the

initiative in the dialogue rests with him. 515 The dead man: lit. ‘the corpse which died’ (cf. 26, 467). The pleonasm

emphasises the point: it is because Eteocles is dead that, in Antigone’s view, he will not regard loyalty to Polynices as disloyalty to himself. $16 his enemy: All but one of the mss., and all previous edd., read ‘the wicked’, but this gives an unwelcome echo of 514 (where the same word, translated

'disloyal', has a different reference) and anticipates the point which the argument reaches by logical stages at 520.

$17 a brother: and so an equal in rank, whose rights Eteocles should recognise even though he was an enemy. 518 He died ... in its defence: the essential point in Creon's eyes; cf. 194-206. 519 these rites: The variant ἴσους, giving ‘equal rites’, may be correct. The word for ‘rites, observances’ is nomoi; see on 449. $21 Who knows ...: Antigone cannot deny that Eteocles was good, Polynices bad, but hopes it may be ‘lawful’, in a religious sense, to treat them equally in the realm of the déad. This was not a regular article of Greek belief, and her very tentative expression should be seen as a genuine mark of doubt, not as a

sarcastic affectation of it. 522 An enemy ... in death: Creon’s confident assertion is more orthodox (Winnington-Ingram (1980) 132-3). The dead Ajax persisted in his hatred of Odysseus (Odyssey 11.543-64, recalled at Aj. 1393-5), and Aesch. Sept. 1004 implies that the dead Oedipus will resent the honourable burial of his sons. In one version of the story (probably later than Soph.) Eteocles and Polynices were burnt on the same pyre and the flames parted to reflect their unending hatred (Callimachus fr. 105). Lesky (1966) 184 is surely wrong in taking Creon to mean merely that the dead Polynices is still his enemy. 523 It is not my nature ... in love: Neither of the two verbs ‘join in hatred’ and ‘join in love’ occurs elsewhere. If the second is taken literally, it is illogical, for, if Eteocles does still hate Polynices, there is no one with whom she can ‘join in love’; but the illogicality can be paralleled (e.g. Isocrates 8.87) and should probably not be pressed (as it is by Linforth 206). The line is a famous and effective one, but must be seen in context (Reinhardt 78-9, Knox (1964) 81-2, Winnington-Ingram (1980) 133-5). True, it is expressed as a generalisation about Antigone's character (Lesky (1966) 180-4), but she certainly does not love everybody, and in the course of the play she shows no sign of loving anybody but Polynices. The point is rather that she is concerned, not with the political enmity which matters so much to Creon, but with that ‘love’, philid, which is the natural relation between relatives,

165

philoi (see on 10). She has again conceded Creon’s argument, and merely declares that the hostility of the two brothers does not affect her own feelings. 524-5: Creon has had the better of the argument, but forfeits any moral advantage he might have gained by the naked brutality of these lines. He wants Antigone's death for the sake of his self-esteem. 526-81: The second of Ismene's scenes serves, like the first, to reveal Antigone as a wholly isolated and exceptional figure. Ismene, who is prepared to die for love of her sister, is, in her way, as courageous and self-sacrificing as she (and

in a more obviously sympathetic cause; cf. Introd. p. 8). And yet the mere fact that one sister acted when the other did not has created an unbridgeable gulf between them. Ismene's despair serves also to direct our attention, which

has hitherto been concentrated on Antigone's deed and her defiance of Creon, towards the pathos of her fate, which will be a major theme in the central part of the play (von Fritz 230). 527 shedding tears: as Antigone never does. 528-30: An elaborate and pathetic image. The dark flush of emotion on Ismene's brow is like a cloud, and the tears on her cheek are like rain falling from it (cf.

828-32). 531-2 lurking ... life blood: The image presents a fusion of two unpleasant creatures: the snake, which lurks unseen until it strikes, and the leech, which

drains its victim's blood undetected. 533 two forces of destruction and deposition: lit. ‘two destructions and depositions’, a striking use of abstract for concrete (cf. Long 121, and for ai, ‘destruction’, see on 582-625). To Creon the sisters are nothing but a threat. 536 if she agrees: perhaps a hint to Antigone that she should. To us the lie is transparent enough, but this is not to say that Creon would have been capable of seeing through it without Antigone's help. 538-49: All of Antigone's lines here are spoken with fierce pride and indignation, rising to a bitter climax in 549. Her sincerity is unmistakable (WinningtonIngram (1980) 134-5, cf. Knox (1982) 12), especially since it chimes in with her proud refusal at 69-70 to let Ismene share in the honour of the burial. The effect of her words will be to save Ismene's life, but that is not her purpose, at least until 553. We may compare Oedipus's furious rejection of Creon and Polynices in OC, in that their repentance, like Ismene's here, has come too

late and for the wrong reasons (though they are far less admirable figures than she). 538 justice: For diké see on 451. Here the word is half-personified, and it isa matter of taste whether to begin it with a capital letter. 540 amid your troubles: Though she will talk of paying rites to Polynices at 54, 166

her sister's troubles are all that really matters to Ismene. I am not ashamed: For misfortune as a source of shame see on 50. 541 companion: lit. ‘shipmate, fellow-voyager'. 543 in words: i.e. not in deeds. The contrast of words and deeds is very common in Greek, but Antigone is being grossly unfair, since Ismene’s words are ones that could lead to her death. 545 pay tribute to the dead: Since Antigone’s death is what Ismene cares about, she feels that, by Sharing it, she would indirectly share in the funeral rites of

Polynices. But Antigone is more literal-minded; for her, the only way to pay tribute to the dead is to participate in the actual burial. 547 He is the one you care for: Ismene’s expression of utter devotion to her sister receives a reply which is brutally spiteful and manifestly untrue. The Greek has a strong word which in Homer refers specifically to mourners for the dead, so there may be an implied contrast with the way in which Ismene should have cared for her dead brother (Knox (1964) 176 n. 7). §51-60: At 551 there is a distinct softening in Antigone’s tone (I do not think this can fairly be denied, as it is by Kells 52-3). She still feels estranged from Ismene, but is prepared to admit her grief at the estrangement. It is difficult to gauge how much bitterness, if any, remains in the lines which follow; ‘take courage’ (559), for instance, could be spoken with sarcasm or with sincere sympathy. 551 Indeed ...: There is some difficulty in the sequence of thought; see Winnington-Ingram (1979) 6-7, suggesting a lacuna before this line. 556 But not before my words had been spoken: i.e. ‘if 1 am not to share your death, at least I have done my best, in my recent words, to ensure that 1 would’. The line is commonly taken to refer to Ismene's words in the Prologue, but that would make less sense in the present context. 557 one party: Creon. another: Hades and the dead. 558 And yet the fault is equal ...: i.e. ‘my judgement will not seem right to Creon, as he will think me equally at fault for what I have said’. §59-60 my spirit ... the dead: Since Antigone has devoted herself to the service of the dead, she is as good as dead already, and her actual death need not distress Ismene. But there is paradox in saying that her spirit, psyche, is dead, since the psyche is inherently a life-force, and is often thought to survive the death of the body. 561-2: That Creon should be baffled by Antigone is understandable; that he should be baffled by Ismene is a strong condemnation. He seems to be referring (unusually for Greek tragedy) to the characters displayed by the 167

sisters before the action of the play began. Antigone’s behaviour has been ‘in character’, Ismene’s has not. 563-4: Ismene does not claim to be acting rationally, but feels that she has no choice. 565 to do evil deeds: Creon cruelly plays on words, as though Ismene had said ‘doing bad deeds’ and not ‘doing (faring) badly’, the two expressions being similar in Greek. 566 her presence: lit. ‘this woman’. The pronoun is generally used of one whois present, and, since Antigone is as good as dead, Creon finds it inappropriate. 568 the bride of your own son: Haemon’s betrothal to Antigone was not a regular feature of the legend (in the epic Oidipodeia he was killed by the Sphinx ata much earlier stage); indeed it is probably Sophocles' invention. Thus this line comes as a complete surprise. It helps to prepare us for the role which Haemon is to play in the drama, but it is fair to ask why there was no preparation for this earlier (compare the careful foreshadowing of the role of Hyllus in Trach. or that of Teucer in Aj.). Perhaps, however, there was no point before this at which Haemon could appropriately have been mentioned; certainly Soph. does not wish Antigone to seem at all preoccupied with her betrothal (see on 631-780). And the fact that, hitherto, we have known of no

means by which Antigone's death could injure Creon makes the reversal of the play's direction, which begins at this point, all the more striking and complete. According to Athenian practice it would have been normal for Antigone to be betrothed to a close relative, such as a cousin, after the death of her father and brothers, since this would prevent her father's property from leaving the family (cf. Lacey 139-45). But, while this convention may have suggested to Soph. the idea of her betrothal to Haemon, the audience is given no encouragement to think of it. Indeed, it would logically seem that her betrothal must have taken place before her brothers' death (cf. Eur. Phoen. 751-62). 569 Others have furrows that can be ploughed: perhaps the coarsest line in Greek tragedy. It is not uncommon for sexual intercourse to be referred to euphemistically by vague metaphors of ploughing and sowing (e.g. OT 1485, 1497-8), but the expression here seems to exclude the vagueness which the euphemism requires. 570 Not with the fitness of his marriage to her: lit. ‘not as it was fitted for him and her’, i.e. Haemon and Antigone particularly suit each other. It was by no means inevitable for a Greek bride and groom to be in love, or even to have met before their marriage (Lacey 106-9, 162-3); but Haemon and Antigone

168

would naturally have known each other, being relatives. The line does seem to mean something more than merely that the marriage is a suitable one in social terms; certainly we shall have reason to believe that Haemon

loves

Antigone (see on 781-800). And, if the line implies this, then logically it must also imply that she loves him, though the expression could hardly be more discreet (see on 631-780). $71 an evil wife for my son: The Greek has 512-6: There is an important issue of commentaries see Dawe (1978) 106-8, The mss. (which have no authority in

generalising plurals, ‘wives ... sons’. line-attribution here; besides the West (1979) 108, Mastronarde 95-6. such a matter) give 572 and 574 to

Ismene, 576 to Ismene or the Chorus. Most recent edd. have given 574 and 576 to the Chorus, and discussion has centred on whether Antigone or Ismene speaks 572. Dawe, however, gives all three lines to Antigone (the pronouns

translated as ‘this bride’ and ‘she’ could equally well mean ‘me’ and ‘I’); and West gives 574 and 576 back to Ismene (cf. also Hester (1971) 30-1). The initial presumption must be that stichomythia (line-by-line dialogue) will alternate regularly between two speakers. Unsignalled change of interlocutor is rare, except in special circumstances, perhaps partly because it isnot always easy, when watching masked drama, to tell at once which actor is speaking. At 572 there is no special reason for Antigone to break in, and Creon’s reply in 573 does not suggest a change of addressee (see Mastronarde and cf. Ichneutae 403). In favour of giving 572 to Antigone it is urged (a) that ‘dearest Haemon’ is more appropriately spoken by a fiancée than by a mere cousin; (b) that ‘your marriage’ in 573 could not mean merely ‘the marriage you speak of when neither the word ‘marriage’ nor (as at El. 1110) a synonym has occurred in572. Argument (a) may not be valid, for it is not certain that a respectable maiden in Greek tragedy could be permitted to express love for a man (see on 631-780). Argument (b) has much weight, but E/. 1110 does at least provide a partial parallel; and, if this is deemed insufficient, it is possible that two lines, the second of which did include the word ‘marriage’, have dropped out before 572. And, if 572 is given to Antigone, we are faced with an unattractive choice

at 574. Either there is a second unsignalled change of interlocutor here, or Dawe is right in giving this line too to Antigone. The former alternative is most improbable, the latter artistically ruinous (see West), for we cannot have Antigone pleading for her life to be spared, even (or especially?) as a favour to Haemon. If Ismene speaks 572, the only argument against giving 574 to her also is 169

that the line repeats what she said at 568. But her concern there was merely with the perversity of killing an intended daughter-in-law, while here it is

specifically with the effect on Haemon. Anyway, she is desperately pleading for her sister’s life, and might be allowed a little repetitiveness. Finally, if ‘both for you and for me’ is a correct translation at 577, 576 must be spoken by the same person as (at least) 574. The tone of 576 mightbe thought too mild for Ismene, but, if the line were well delivered, its very simplicity and resignation could be moving. 575 Hades is the one ...: Creon sarcastically claims that he is not forbidding the marriage. 577 both for you and for me: i.e. ‘I shall not change my mind, and it is vain for thee to plead’ (Jebb). Or perhaps ‘both by you and by me’: Creon maliciously pretends that Ismene meant ‘we are all agreed that she should die’ (West (1979) 108). 577-8 take them inside: It would not be dramatically convenient for Creon to order that his sentence on Antigone should be carried out at once (cf. Miiller 112). No reason is given for the delay, but the point would pass unnoticed in performance. 579 be women: i.e. ‘be submissive’, since this is the essential quality of women in Creon’s eyes. let loose: as women seldom were in reality; cf. El. 516-18, Gould (1980) 46-51. 580 Hades: i.e. death.

THIRD CHORAL

SONG

(‘Second Stasimon’, 582-625)

The Chorus knows that Antigone and Ismene are the last surviving members of an ill-fated family (cf. 1-6, 49-60, 857-68). It has seen both sisters deliberately provoking a sentence of death, and it does not yet know that Ismene will be spared. It therefore sings, in language loaded with sombre and elaborate imagery, of how the gods act to destroy an accursed house (‘accursed in a loose sense, for no specific curse is mentioned to account for the gods’ hostility). Proverbial lore on the fate of such a house (582-92) is exemplified by that of the children of Labdacus, whose last members are perishing through folly sent by the gods below (593-603). The supreme power of Zeus in the world is manifested in the ruin of human lives (604-14); and this ruin comes unexpectedly on a man whose mind has been led by the gods into reckless infatuation (615-25). The song is sensitively analysed by Easterling (1978) and Winnington-Ingram (1980) 165-72. The archaic word are resounds ominously through it (584, 614, 624, 625). I 170

can mean either the “ruin, disaster’ which the gods visit on men's lives or the ‘infatuation, mental blindness’ by which that ruin is often said to be caused (see Dawe (1968) 95-101,

111-13; Doyle 96-122,

145-54).

Here, though the idea of

infatuation is very much present, the word @/é itself bears the sense ‘disaster’ , as it usually does in tragedy (but see on 624). The ode has often been described as Aeschylean. Ina sense it is almost more Aeschylean than Aeschylus, who certainly depicted accursed houses and the power of até (besides the Seven and the Oresteia cf. fr. 277, from the Niobe), but

perhaps never presents these ideas in quite so stark and unmoralised a form (though Sept. 720-91 comes close). Here the gods’ motives are left entirely obscure. We are not even told of an ancestral crime which the present generation must expiate, for it is only misfortune, not guilt, that is said to be inherited (contrast 857-66). The doomed individual is said to commit acts of reckless folly which bring about his ruin, but this does not explain why he should have been doomed in the first place. Certainly the ode is the most archaic and ‘superstitious’ inSoph.; and it cannot be a coincidence that the most enlightened, ‘humanist’ ode in Soph. is the one that precedes it in this play (332-75). The two odes, then, form a contrasting pair (Else 46-7, Burton 111-12). True, they differ in subject-matter, so that it would be possible in theory for one man to believe all that is said in both; and perhaps Soph. did so. We may, however, take the two odes as representing two poles between which Sophoclean Man has his being. But is the Chorus right in its assessment? It is capable of being mistaken, and many critics (e.g. Winnington-Ingram (1980) 172) say that it is so here. Certainly the assessment is not one that we would have made for ourselves. The events of the play can be fully understood in terms of the interaction between the characters we see, Without reference to an accursed house. Antigone and Ismene are not criminals, and, while they have gone against the demands of prudence and common sense, they have done so deliberately, with their eyes open; the reference to hope (615-17). at least, is irrelevant to their true motives. Perhaps the gods can work even through such sane and conscious acts as these, but this is not what is implied by the traditional Greek view of a god-sent infatuation, nor by its treatment here. The Chorus's judgement, in fact, is all too reminiscent of Creon's (‘folly’ at 603 echoes ‘insane’ at 562; cf. also the Chorus-leader at 383).

At the same time, it is difficult to believe that Soph. wrote one of the most powerful songs in the Greek language merely as a study in outmoded superstition. The motif of the doomed house occurs elsewhere in the play, as we have seen, and at 857-68 Antigone herself accepts that her fate can be seen in such terms. While the ode may have had an old-fashioned sound when the play was performed, few of the audience, I imagine, would have actively questioned the ideas it expresses. 171

We might wish to say, with Easterling (1978) 156-7, that the Chorus are right to mention the doomed house but wrong to mention infatuation. The trouble is that the two ideas belong together (here and elsewhere in Greek) and are not easy to separate; how can the gods be destroying the house if not through the actions of Antigone? Perhaps all that can be said is that the Chorus are opening up a new perspective on the events of the play; it is not the only possible perspective, nor necessarily valid in all respects, but it is one that we are now invited to consider for what it may be worth. The ode has another aspect. Creon remains on stage, a silent, menacing presence. Although the Chorus do not realise it, he has been more clearly guilty of crime and folly than his nieces. He counts himself heir to the house ‘by closeness of kinship to the dead' (174); and by the end of the play he will have destroyed his family and brought misery and ate (1097, 1260) on himself. Thus, as has often been pointed out (sometimes with some exaggeration, as though this were a complete explanation of the ode), the Chorus's words, especially in the last stanza, have an ironical application which the singers themselves do not intend. 582 Happy are they ...: For numerous parallels see Easterling (1978) 143, Kamerbeek. Here there is paradox in the negative and pessimistic definition: the only true happiness is freedom from actual disaster. The word eudaimün, ‘happy’, means etymologically ‘favoured by the gods’, and it doubtless retains a suggestion of this sense here. 584 make a house to tremble: Greek, like English, often exploits the ambiguity of ‘house’ (the building or the family that lives there). For the importance of the House in tragedy and life see Vickers 109-19. Here the gods’ persecution of the family is pictured as a storm (looking forward to the simile that follows) which shakes the building. 587-92: We should not seek a precise application for every detail of the simile, but it superbly evokes a sense of implacable and impersonal power and (in the reference to black sand stirred from the depths) of sinister forces brought up from the Underworld where they belong. At Aesch. Sept. 758-61 the recurrent troubles of the House of Laius are pictured as successive waves beating against a ship; note also OC 1239-48 and see Easterling (1978) 1445. 587 just as: Omission of a word (see Easterling /oc. cit.) mends the metre but barely affects the sense. 589 Thracian: As Thrace is to the north of the Aegean, most of the storm-winds experienced by Athenian sailors blew from that direction. Stygian: an attempt to translate erebos, which normally refers to the darkness of the underworld. 591-2 and the cliffs ... storm: lit. (roughly) ‘and the headlands, struck full on, roar 172

inlamentation at an ill wind’. There is some personification, returning us from the impersonal forces of the simile to the human world which it describes. 593-5: The expression here has caused difficulty, as the sorrows which ‘fall on dead men’s sorrows’ are not ‘ancient’ but new; but the idea is that the whole process of ‘sorrows upon sorrows’ is an ancient one (Easterling (1978) 145-6). 593 Labdacus: father of Laius (165). Mention of this shadowy ancestor, and not of Laius or Oedipus, helps to confirm that we are not to think specifically of crime and pollution here. A// men are subject to misfortune (582), whether their ancestors were criminals or not, and what the House of Labdacus exemplifies is merely the tendency for misfortune to be visited on whole

families. 595 sorrows falling on dead men’s sorrows: The relentless succession is heavily emphasised by alliteration in the Greek. 596 One generation does not release another: by expiating the curse. The Chorus are repudiating the idea that, if one generation suffered sufficiently, the next would be free (cf. 2-3). The second ‘generation’ is the same word as ‘race’ at the equivalent point in 585. 598 it has: referring to the race. 59-603: Complex metaphorical language combines with textual uncertainty to cause great difficulties in these lines. 599-600: The ‘last root’ must be Antigone and Ismene, the last remaining ‘stock’ of the family, from whom future generations might grow. ‘Light’ seems to be a separate metaphor, referring to the hope that existed while part of the family endured. The language here echoes Aesch. Ag. 966-7 ("While the root exists. leafage comes to the house, spreading shade over it ..."); here, where we expect ‘shade’ or ‘leafage’, Soph. substitutes ‘light’, but this too has a kind of precedent at Ag. 969 (‘warmth in winter’ where we expect the opposite). 601-2: The light is ‘cut down’ (another shift of metaphor) by. according to the mss., ‘the bloody dust of the gods below’; and there has been much argument as between konis, ‘dust’, and the emendation kopis, ‘knife’ (Jebb gives a full

and fair account, but see also Lloyd-Jones 17-19 and Easterling (1978) 147-9). ‘Dust’ would have to refer to that sprinkled by Antigone on the corpse: but this would make the mixed metaphor very confused and obscure. and anyway ‘bloody dust of the gods below’ is barely intelligible in itself (the dust was not an offering to the gods or in any sense theirs). Kopis is sometimes thought too prosaic a word (it usually means a butcher’s knife or an oriental scimitar), but it is used generally for ‘cutting tool’ in a metaphor at fr. 894. The ‘gods below’, then, are mentioned as the beings who enforce curses

and preside over the destruction of families (true, the punishment of crime is 173

not in question, as Easterling points out, but there is, after all, an Erinysin the next line). And their cruel instrument is, metaphorically, a knife, the literal reference of which is explained in the words that follow. 603 folly of speech and a Fury in the mind: This is what the Chorus have observed during the previous scene in Antigone and Ismene. The ‘gods below’ who enforced curses were, in particular, the Erinyes or Furies, female demons who were often said to act by causing madness or infatuation (see e.g. Aesch. Cho. , Eum., Eur. IT). Here there is yet another turn to the imagery, as ‘Fury’ is used in a rather abstract way to mean, in effect, the madness itself; hence the ‘Fury’ is treated as the instrument of ‘the gods below’ rather than as one of them (I do not doubt the text, with Winnington-Ingram (1979) 7-8). The line provides a transition to the theme of 615-25, the mentality of the doomed individual; but another theme will intervene.

604-10: Without warning the Chorus make the greatest possible leap, from the dark world of the Furies to the power and glory of Zeus (though ‘transgression’ provides a link with 603). With the suddenness of this cf. Aesch. Ag. 160ff. (the ‘Hymn to Zeus’), which must surely have been in Sophocles’ mind; but there, as (on my view) here, the relevance of Zeus’s supreme power to the human miseries with which the Chorus are concerned soon becomes all too clear. For Soph., as for Aeschylus, it is not only ‘the gods below’ who punish and oppress mortals. In Homer the power and blessedness of the gods is constantly seen, with little resentment, as a measure and corollary of the limitations set on human existence (cf. J. Griffin, Homer on Life and Death (Oxford, 1980), 179-204). In tragedy there is a greater tendency to see the gods as actively responsible for human suffering (e.g. Aesch. loc. cit., Trach. 1264-78), and the matter becomes more problematic. 606 that sleep ... never masters: At Iliad 14.244-8 Sleep claims to have power over any god except Zeus. all-ensnaring [?]: a mere guess (πάντ' ἀγρεύων Jebb). The mss. give ‘all-aging’, which does not make sense, and the true reading is irrecoverable. 607-8 months of the gods: Since the gods control the stars and the weather, the seasons belong to them (normally to Zeus, but that would be inconvenient here). So all mortal things are subject to their power of aging; but Zeus is not. 608-10: This moment of serene splendour (which owes much to the famous description of Olympus at Odyssey 6.42-6) throws into relief the turbulent darkness of the rest of the ode. 609 Olympus: a mountain in northern Greece, the traditional home of the gods; but the name can be used even when the gods are thought of as dwelling inthe 174

sky, as at 758. Here ‘glittering brightness’ would fit either the sky or the snow-capped mountain. 611 Hereafter and for the future: i.e. presumably ‘in the near and the remote

future’. 613 this law: I follow Campbell and Goheen 143 n. 13 in taking these words to refer back to 604-10: the eternal law (nomos -- see on 449) is one that proclaims and upholds the unchallengeable and ageless might of Zeus. Others think that ‘this law’ is stated in the following words (‘nothing comes ...’ or the like), but then the connection of the address to Zeus (604-10) with what follows it would be undefined and unclear. 613-14 and it does not come ...: At this crucial point - the climax of the song — an unfortunate corruption makes the sense doubtful. With my text we plunge suddenly back from the splendour of Zeus’s power to its grim corollary for men: it is only through ate, total ruin, that men fully experience the law of that power in their lives (for the idea cf. Aesch. Ag. 176-83). The gods’ motive for causing dt@ then remains as obscure as it is earlier in the ode. Others read οὐδὲν ἕρπει (mss.) ... παμπολύ y'(Heath), to give ‘nothing truly great comes to men’s lives without disaster’. This would mean that the gods ruin men through jealousy of human success, an idea that can be found in Herodotus (Jebb quotes Herod. 7.10.¢) and elsewhere but barely in Soph. (passing references at El. 1466-7, Phil. 776-8, count for little). Also the expression here is strained (see Lloyd-Jones 19-20), and the maxim lacks relevance to Antigone and Ismene, to whose lives nothing has come that the Chorus could call ‘truly great’. Similar objections apply to Lloyd-Jones's βίοτος παμπολὺς : “To no mortal creature comes vast abundance without Ate’. 615-25: In this last stanza the Chorus are concerned with the individual whom the gods wish to detroy. The language would best fit a wilful criminal (cf. also ‘transgression’ at 605); he hopes to profit from his crime without incurring divine punishment, but the gods lead him on to more and more reckless deeds by which he ruins himself. Certainly ‘hope’ is quite irrelevant to Antigone's true motives (and not especially relevant to Creon's). but the Chorus seem not to have grasped that her attitude is not that of the treacherous conspirator who was earlier blamed for the burial (cf. 221-2). 615-17: Hope can make life bearable or provide a spur to effort, but it can also involve dangerous self-deception; see Griffith on Aesch. PV 250. For the similarity to 365-7 in the previous song see Winnington-Ingram (1980) 171. 615 far-ranging: in dreams of the future. 618 It comes: The subject cannot be ‘hope’ or ‘delusion’ (and the latter word cannot change its sense to ‘disappointment’ from one sentence to the next, as 175

commentators claim), but must be a destructive force that brings hope and delusion to an end (cf. 185-6, 585). 1 therefore take the lines on hope (615-17) as parenthetical (difficult though this may be), and 618, with its echo of ‘comes’ in 613, as picking up the main train of thought. The ‘law’ of Zeus power has by now merged with the force of até which it brings. For a different view see H. Musurillo, TAPA 94 (1963), 167-75. 619-20 burns his foot: like one walking on ashes that still smoulder beneath the surface. 620-1 Wisely has the famous saying been revealed: The ‘saying’ is announced with great solemnity, its fame and its unknown origin adding to its authority (Easterling (1978) 153). 622-4 that the bad seems good ...: For versions of this ‘saying’ Jebb quotes two fragments of unknown tragedies and Theognis 402-6: ‘A man often hastens after excellence, seeking profit, when a god is expressly leading him astray into great error; and he easily makes him think that what is bad is good and what is good is bad.” The idea of god-sent infatuation helps to explain irrational and criminal behaviour, but does not imply a denial of mora responsibility (see Dodds (1951) 2-18, 38-42); indeed it enables the gods to destroy a man while giving themselves a kind of justification for doing so. ‘The bad’ probably combines the senses ‘evil’ and ‘harmful’. 624 leading his mind to disaster: For a mind there is little difference between ätéin the sense ‘ruin’ and in the sense 'infatuation', so the two senses are bridged

here. 625 without disaster: The idea is hammered home very hard by the refrain-like echo of both 614 and 624.

THIRD ‘EPISODE’ (631-780) Almost every play of Sophocles or Euripides contains at least one set-piece debate, known to scholars as an agón or contest. The present example is typicalin its general structure but unusual in its almost perfect symmetry. After the Chorus’s introductory anapaests (626-30) Creon has 4 lines, Haemon 4 (631-8); Creon 42, Chorus-leader 2, Haemon 42 (?), Chorus-leader 2 (639-725); stichomythia between Creon and Haemon (726-57); Creon 4, Haemon 4 (758-65); anda brief dialogue between Creon and the Chorus-leader follows Haemon's exi (766-80). But there is nothing artificial about the occurrence of this agón at this point. We have to see something of Haemon and his attitudes if the later events of the 176

play are to be plausible; and in the course of the scene we see his self-control breaking down, in a most convincing manner, in the face of Creon’s intransigence, until he is reduced to the state of frustrated rage that will lead to his suicide. At the same time it is important that Creon should be opposed, not just by the emotional arguments of Antigone, but by practical arguments which, on his own principles, he ought to understand and accept; the scene removes any illusion that his refusal to yield could be due to anything more than pride and obstinacy. For confrontations between a (more or less) reasonable son and an intransigent father cf. Trach. 1174-258, OC 1249-398; comparable also is Phil. 1314-401. We may be sure that few later dramatists would have resisted the temptation of a romantic scene between Haemon and Antigone; but in this play they never meet. More than one reason may be suggested. In the first place it is important that Antigone should be totally isolated; if she were aware of having an ally, the effect of her final scene, which depends so largely on her feeling completely alone, would be fundamentally altered. Again, it is no part of Sophocles’ conception (however interesting it might have been) that she should be torn between two loyalties, one to the dead and one to the living. Like other ‘Sophoclean heroes’, she has a single loyalty which she takes for granted, and from which all her actions stem (see on 1-99). Thus, while we have been told baldly that she and Haemon suit each other (570), and while we shall have reason to believe that he loves her (see on 781-800), her feelings about him are firmly excluded from the audience’s consideration (Waldock 104-9). Moreover, it may not have been considered allowable in Greek tragedy to present a respectable girl in love (Greek having no terms for romantic love without sexual connotations). Aristophanes (Frogs 1044) makes Aeschylus boast that he has never portrayed a woman in love at all; and, in the notorious cases in which Euripides did so (Phaedra, Sthenoboea), the ‘love’ was a guilty passion leading to disaster. Antigone can be compared with Iphigenia in Eur. ZA, who is reluctant to meet her fiancé Achilles (1341-2), addresses only five lines to him (1416-20), and never shows any interest in the prospect of marrying him. Winnington-Ingram (1980) 92 n. 4 is justified in citing Hippodamia (Soph. fr. 474) as an apparent exception to the rule, but the exception stands out as such, and we do not know the context. And, even if Euripides’ Antigone contained some ‘love interest’, it may not have been of quite the romantic kind which some critics imagine. What of Haemon’s emotions? Romantic critics have been disappointed that he shows no overt sign of being in love throughout this scene. But, as von Fritz points out, if he said that he was, he would not only lose any chance of persuading Creon, but forfeit the sympathy of a Greek audience, who would not have 177

regarded passion for a woman as a creditable reason for a son to oppose his father. True, it may be going too far expressly to exclude any amatory motive, as von Fritz does. After all, the Chorus-leader and Creon alert us to the possibility (628-34), and it is clear that Haemon knows Antigone well. It would be gratuitous to suppose that he is actually indifferent to the planned marriage, and his threats of suicide (751, 763-4) will seem more plausible if he is not. It does matter, however, that we should believe in the sincerity of the practical and ethical motives he gives for opposing Creon's sentence; their force and effect would be lost if we regarded them as mere camouflage for private emotion (see on 781-800). We must also believe in his profound filial loyalty if we are later to appreciate what Creon has lost through his death (Gellie 43-4). 627 last: probably both ‘youngest’ and ‘last surviving’; cf. 1303. 631-4: Creon's words are flung down as a challenge. He expects protest, and is prepared to browbeat his son. 634 do I keep your loyalty: ‘am I your philos’ (see on 10). 635-8: The strong language of the Chorus-leader and Creon (630, 633) has led us to expect a passionate outburst, so that Haemon's outward calm comes asa surprise; compare Medea's first entrance (Eur. Med. 214ff. after 96-212). He knows that he must control himself if he is to have any hope of success, but

for the moment we are left to guess his true feelings, and even whether he intends to argue with his father at all. We may suspect a strong underlying emotion, but are given no sign of it until at least 735.

635 I am yours: both ‘I am your son’ and ‘I am loyal to you’, answering to two senses of philos. 635-6 To me your judgements are good and upright: meaning of the Greek disputed. Not, I think, ‘having good counsels, thou settest them before meas rules’ (Jebb), nor ‘having good counsels, you guide me’, but ‘having good counsels, you direct them rightly, in my opinion’ (cf. Aesch. Ag. 1475). Inthat case there is no tactful ambiguity, as some have thought; Haemon simply pledges unqualified support (however falsely), knowing that his father requires nothing less. 639-80: By giving Creon the first extended speech in this scene Soph. enables him to set out his principles in relative calm. The rather rambling tirade covers the duty of sons to obey their fathers (639-47), the need to avoid a bad wife (648-54), Creon's determination to kill Antigone (655-60), the need for obedience in cities if they are to prosper (661-76), and a final return to the theme of not being worsted by a woman (677-80). Creon does not come well out of the speech. He makes some valid points (few Greeks would have doubted the importance of discipline in families or 178

cities), but his obsessive insistence on obedience to his own will, the lack of any corresponding recognition of the rights of his family and subjects, and above all his harsh, sarcastic tone towards Antigone, force us to condemn him even before we hear Haemon's reply. 641 It is for this: referring back to the previous sentence and forward to the ‘so that’ clause. 644 requite their father’s enemy with evils: It was universally assumed that everyone would wish to harm his enemies, and a loyal son would be expected to have the same enemies as his father. 648 Do not then ...: In principle the connection of thought between the duty of a son and the danger of a bad wife is not close, but the two themes are connected in the present case. 648-51 pleasure ... embraces ... bedfellow: As at 569, Creon’s conception of his son’s feelings is crudely sexual. 652 wound: The thought is of a festering wound that will not heal. friend: Philos can include a wife; see on 10. 653-4 spit this girl out ... Hades: The characteristic brutality of Creon' s language undermines his ensuing claim to be acting for the city. He does not deign to name ‘this girl’. 658-9 the Zeus of kindred: It was a recognised function of Zeus to watch over relations between kindred, and Creon has heard Antigone mention Zeus (450) in a context in which she might have had this function in mind. But it is quite unfair to imply, as Creon does here, that she has appealed to her relationship with him as a reason for her life to be spared. 663-71: I follow several edd. in placing 663-7 after 671. The order of the mss. compels us to take ‘this man’ in 668 as meaning ‘the man who obeys’, understood from 666-7; this is difficult, and the resulting sense is anyway inferior. 670 the storm of battle: not very relevant, but Creon has moved from the matter of his family to political principles (his main interest), and the display of courage and discipline in battle was one of the most important duties of any Greek citizen. 671 a loyal and brave comrade ...: In a Greek infantry battle each man’s shield protected his neighbour’s right side as well as his own left. So a man who broke ranks (674-5) would expose his neighbour to immediate danger, and all Greeks were made acutely aware of the disgrace of this. Never to break ranks was one of the terms of the so-called Ephebic Oath, which was sworn by every adult male Athenian (certainly in the fourth century, and probably in Sophocles’ day), and which seems to be echoed in the present passage: see P. Siewert, JHS 97 (1977), 102-11. 179

665 can win no praise: grim understatement. 666 anyone whom the city may set in office: Under a democracy (or oligarchy) anyone holding office could claim to have been invested in it by the city. But Creon cannot, and, while constitutional 'anachronisms' do occur in tragedy, his present words probably serve only to draw attention to his autocratic position. 667 great and small, just and less just: lit. ‘small and just and the opposite’. Creon uses this roundabout

expression

to avoid the blunt word

‘unjust’, but his

meaning is clear enough. Although there are parallels, the demand of unconditional obedience to a ruler, right or wrong, would certainly have seemed excessive to any Greek. Those taking the Ephebic Oath (see above) swore only to obey those who exercised power ‘reasonably’. 674-5 breaks up allied ranks in rout: lit. ‘causes break-up-in-rout of the allied spear’. Or perhaps (reading Held's x&v μάχη) ‘in battle makes men break up in rout’. 677-80: Creon’s logic suddenly goes to pieces. The danger of being worsted bya woman, strongly emphasised in these lines, has little to do with his generalisations about discipline, though it may have everything to do with his true motives in the present case (cf. 525). But the lines are too characteristicof the man to make it plausible that any of them could be spurious. 680 at least ... women’s: The translation suggests γυναι κῶν y', which should perhaps be read. 681-2: Choral comments in an agón often seem to serve as little more than punctuation, and we should perhaps not attach great importance to this

endorsement of Creon’s speech.

|

683-723: Haemon’s speech is a masterpiece of diplomacy, and more carefully constructed than Creon’s. He begins disarmingly by professing complete agreement (683-6), then reports the views of the townspeople (688-700) without saying anything about his own. He claims to be concerned solely for his father’s welfare (701-4), and only then does he urge him to change his mind (705-6), ending with a long stream of maxims on the wisdom of flexibility (707-23). 683-4 the good sense ...: Creon has mentioned the need for this (648), so Haemon is using an agreed position as a starting point in his attempt to urge sense on his father. 687 other words might also be good: This seems to be the sense required. though the Greek

is difficult whichever

reading is adopted.

x&tépoc ΟΙΎχἀτέραι

perhaps gives ‘it might be well in another way [i.e. in other words?] also’; the majority reading x&t£po: is supposed to give ‘another man, too, might have some useful thought’ (Jebb). 180

688 You are not in a position to watch out: The better-attested σοῦ δ' οὖν πέφυκα would give ‘Well, it is my role to watch on your behalf’. But (a) the Greek of ‘watch on your behalf’ would be dubious; (b) the connection with 690 (‘For

your eye ...") would be less close; (c) the contrast between watching (688) and hearing in darkness (692) would not work; (d) the role of Creon’s habitual spy would be an unattractive one for Haemon. 690-1 For your eye ... to hear: There is clearly something wrong with this sentence, and it is probable that a line has dropped out. The sense may have been ‘ the kind of words ...'. An incidental consequence is that Haemon’s speech is now exactly the same length as Creon’s. 692-8: This is the only place in the play where anyone is said to applaud Antigone’s deed; but we have no reason to doubt that Haemon is telling the truth. It is not surprising that the verdict of the people should differ from that of the Chorus, which is an elite loyal to the ruling house (164-9). The people’s judgement is direct and intuitive, like Antigone’s own; like her they have concentrated on the physical fact of kinship (696) and the physical consequences of exposing the body (697-8), and have taken it for granted that these factors make the burial a noble act. This is a natural way for the man in the street to react after the event, even if he would have behaved very differently himself. Compare 502-5, where Antigone expects to win a glorious reputation, and OC 1411-13, where Polynices predicts that his sisters will win praise if they bury him. 692 in the darkness: i.e. in secret. (94-5 least ... worst ... most glorious: Though the expression is not quite logical, the superlatives are meant to reinforce each other: her fate is so undeserved because her death is so wretched while her deed was so glorious. Creon has not yet decreed how Antigone is to die, but it is in any case 'wretched' to be executed like a criminal. 696 true brother: the same emphatic word that Antigone has used (1, 503). 698 any bird: an odd phrase. especially after dogs in the plural (but cf. 1082). Perhaps read oiuvüv γένους͵ ‘the race of birds’. 700 Such are the dark words ...: Haemon has drifted into direct speech, as though the opinions expressed were his own, but here he distances himself from them. ἸΜ or for a father ... sons: logically irrelevant, but the phrase (highly compressed in the Greek) makes a rounded antithesis, and it is worth Haemon's while to mention the feelings of sons towards fathers as well as the reverse. 105-9: The lines sum up Creon all too accurately. 109 spread open: a violent metaphor, the thought being perhaps of writing tablets 181

which, when opened, are found to contain no writing; see Knox (1964) 178-9 n. 18. 712-18: For the theme of yielding (the word occurs three times here) and its importance in Soph. see Knox (1964) 15-17. With the imagery of the present passage cf. esp. Aj. 666-77; and contrast the brutal imagery of Creon himself (Ant. 473-9) inresponse to Antigone’s refusal to yield (472). When characters in Soph. are urged to yield, the plea almost always proves unsuccessful; and Ajax’s claim to have yielded proves false. In moral terms the present instance is unusually simple (as is 1023-32), for it is evident that Creon ought to accept the plea; there can be no sympathy for the kind of obstinacy described at 705-9. In the other plays, while the case for yielding is usually made very attractive, there can always be a measure of respect for the singleness of purpose which opposes it. 712-14: The image of the trees is perhaps derived from one of the fables attributed to Aesop (Jebb quotes Babrius 36). 716-17 and sails thereafter ...: much the same kind of sarcasm as at 310-12. The sides of a Greek ship were joined by rowing benches rather than a continuous deck. 719-23: The opinion which Haemon produces is in fact a commonplace (so that Creon could hardly object to it). The wording is a slight elaboration of Hes. W&D 293-5. 720 the best: word-play, as the Greek could also mean, ‘the eldest’. 724-5: The tragic Chorus at its most unhelpful. But at least it allows some weightto Haemon's case, as it never did to Antigone's. 726-57: Stichomythia does not lend itself to coherent argument; hence its frequent use towards the end of an agôn, where tempers have started to rise and debate

is giving way to insult. Here Creon makes no attempt to reply rationally to Haemon's speech, but merely objects petulantly to being taught by his son (726-7, 742) or by the city (734-8). It is only in the face of great provocation that Haemon starts to speak tactlessly (735 etc.) and finally loses his self-control (751ff.). 729 my actions: Translation is difficult, for the words in this context would more naturally mean ‘the facts’, but are taken by Creon to mean ‘my achievements’.

732 that malady: Does this refer to wickedness (so e.g. Jebb) or to showing honour to the wicked (so e.g. Bruhn)? The latter is more pointed in itself, and may be preferable, even though it makes the argument hereabouts slightly less coherent. Even so, the next line should not be taken to mean that the Thebans

dispute Polynices’ wickedness, merely that they do not think ‘honouring the wicked’ an adequate description of Antigone’s act. 182

735 You see? ...: Haemon points out with justice, if not with tact, that it is Creon,

not he, who sounds immature, in his jealous fear of threats to his authority. 737 It is no city that belongs to one man: This reflects the political conditions of Sophocles' day, when it was felt that a polis, 'city-state' (a word that occurs four times in the six lines 733-8), must be, even if not a democracy, at least an

autonomous community. Free political and social institutions were its essence, and ownership by one man would be incompatible with them. Monarchical ‘tyrants’ had held power in most Greek cities (including Athens) at periods in the seventh

and

sixth

centuries,

and

continued

to exist in

fifth-century Sicily, but tyranny had become a by-word for cruelty and oppression at Athens. Cities in tragedy are normally ruled by kings, as in the myths, but a good king can be portrayed as a champion of democracy (Eur. Supp. 403-8, 429-55), and Creon's insistence on his absolute authority is something that no fifth-century Athenian could have approved. 139 a desert: as opposed to a community with rights of its own. 14 he is fighting: Creon expresses exasperation by using the third person to Haemon's face (Bain (1977) 71-2). 741 If you are a woman: Haemon’s feelings begin to get the better of him. It is inevitable that these words should provoke a strong response. 143 what is right: The Greek untranslatably echoes a word that Creon used at 742. ‘putting on trial’. 14 upholding: or perhaps ‘exercising’ (Fraenkel on Aesch. Ag. 1612). In that case we must read ev (Musgrave) in 745, to give ‘A fine way to exercise it ..."' witha suggestion of ‘A fine sort of piety ...!’. 145 You are not upholding it ...: If this is right, the idea must be that the gods are the source of a king’s authority, and could withdraw it if they chose. the prerogatives of the gods: Haemon has not mentioned these before, no doubt because he expected purely practical arguments to carry more weight with Creon. Here he echoes the kind of language Antigone has used; hence, perhaps, Creon’s reply. 147 giving way to what is shameful: as he would if he allowed Creon to have his way unopposed. 149 the gods below: These are the gods whom Antigone served by burying the corpse (451), so they may be offended if she is punished for doing so. There is no suggestion that the gods in general will object to the sheer injustice of her punishment (see on 988-1114). 786-7: With Bruhn and Müller I accept Enger’s placing of these lines before 750. Inthe order of the mss. (a) 'cajole' in 756 is an inept description of 755 (Creon would have to be responding only to the word ‘father’, when it is the rest of the 183

line that demands a response); (b) 757 is too weak to form the climax of the stichomythia and provoke the violent reaction of 758-61, given that Haemon has expressed himself more bluntly in earlier lines. But I see few attractionsin Dawe’s more elaborate rearrangement (Dawe (1978) 109-11). 750 while she lives: implying that he might marry her in death (524-5, 654). Creon speaks more truly than he knows (cf. 1240-1). 751 she will destroy another: Haemon is hinting at suicide (the attack on his father in the tomb, 1231-4, is not premeditated), though Creon takes the words asa threat to himself. But the audience at this point cannot be sure, and in fact the words will prove true in both senses. 752 Does your insolence extend even to threats?: This is the sense required (cf. Jebb’s translation, which is incompatible with his own note), but it cannot easily be obtained from the Greek, and I suspect corruption. 753 What threat ... decrees?: The idea seems to be ‘I am not threatening you,

merely warning you of the inevitable consequences of your foolish policies’. 755 that you were out of your senses: rather than merely ‘that you were unwise’ (Jebb); cf. e.g. Eur. Bacch. 851. 758-61: Sure enough, Creon abandons the last vestige of rationality and sinks to his lowest level. 758 Indeed?: The Greek is more forceful: colloquially ‘It’s like that, is it?”. The same word occurs when Tiresias finally loses his temper at OT 350. Olympus: here thought of as the sky, not a mountain (see on 609). 760 Bring the vermin here: addressed to attendants. Then either (a) the command is ignored because Haemon's exit at once changes the situation (Bain (1981) 14), and Creon exits after 780 to order Antigone's entombment; or (b) the command is obeyed (cf. 491), but the attendants do not return with Antigone until 801 (the fetching of an offstage character can take as long as is dramatically convenient), and Creon must remain on stage to await her arrival. The latter is preferable, for there is no indication in the text of Creon's

exit at 780 or reentry at 883 (cf. Kitto 146-7). 761 presence: Pleonastic expression gives strong emphasis to this idea. 763-4 or that you will ever set eyes on my face again: This will not prove true, but Haemon cannot foresee the events at the tomb, and the words help to confirm

that he is planning suicide (see on 1220-5). Another pleonastic expression strongly emphasises 'set eyes on'. 765 friends: philoi, including relatives; see on 10. 770-1: The audience might have forgotten Ismene by this point, but these lines are inserted to take account of her fate; and we shall not hear of her again. Creon here changes his mind for the first time, but Knox (1964) 72-3 184

exaggerates the importance of this; cf. Oedipus at OT 669-72. 772 the other: The Greek has simply ‘her’, suggesting that 770-1 are an afterthought by Soph. ; his earlier draft perhaps had ‘this girl’ in 769 (Haemon has not mentioned Ismene). followed at once by 772. 713-6: The penalty laid down for disobeying the edict was stoning by the whole

city (35-6). If the audience remember this, they may suppose that, after what Haemon has said, Creon is afraid that the people would refuse to carry out the sentence. Any homicide, and especially the killing of a relative, was felt to incur pollution, even if it was justifiable; and such a pollution might extend to the

whole city (cf. OT). Creon hopes to avoid this (cf. 889) by imprisoning Antigone with a little food, so that she will die a ‘natural’ death when this runs out, and so that the gods have, in theory, a chance of rescuing her. Similarly

childish and literal-minded attempts to avoid pollution are reported in real life (e.g. the death of Pausanias, Thuc. 1.134), but it was commonly felt that the gods were not mocked

by such

methods;

if the homicide

was culpable,

pollution would follow in any case. 713 where men’s feet do not tread: or perhaps ‘where she may be unapproached by human footsteps’, reading ot{Bov (Semitelos); see Kamerbeek. 74 a cave: lit. ‘an excavation’ rather than a natural cave. Large rock-hewn chamber-tombs,

dating

from

the

Bronze

Age,

exist in various parts of

Greece, including the neighbourhood of Thebes (Petersmann 86-9). Many were known to the Greeks of Sophocles’ day, who placed offerings at them or reused them, and Soph. probably has such a tomb in mind in this play. 715 for expiation: The Greek is odd and probably corrupt. 717-8: Creon is heavily sarcastic. The gods may rescue Antigone if they wish, but he feels that she worships only Hades, god of the dead, at the expense of, for instance, the gods of the city, who would not have wanted Polynices buried. And Hades, to whom the Greeks did not normally pray, is the last god who would be expected to rescue anyone from death. It is true that she has sought to honour Hades (519, 542), but not to the exclusion of other gods (77, 450-60); if they do not rescue her in the event, it is because Sophoclean gods never do reward piety. 779-80: For Creon, any reverence is wasted if it does not receive a tangible reward. This was not an unusual attitude in Greek religion; indeed Antigone will share it (921-8). 78: Edd. make Creon exit after this line and reenter at 883, but see on 760.

185

FOURTH

CHORAL

SONG

(‘Third Stasimon’, 781-800)

The Chorus sing a brief hymn to Eros. This is the ordinary Greek word for sexual love or passion, here, as often, personified as a god because of its uncanny, irrational power over human lives. For a modern reader seeing an ‘Ode to Love' it is difficult to overcome romantic preconceptions; but this ode is anything but romantic. If the god is praised, it is only for his irresistible power, and that poweris wholly destructive, causing madness (790), crime (791). ruin (792) and strife (793). It may be a legitimate power, ‘enthroned beside the mighty laws’ (798-9), and its source in ‘a girl's soft cheeks’ (783-4) or ‘the eyes of a nubile bride’ (795-7) may be paradoxical, but there is no sign that it does any good to mankind. We may be reminded of Plato's story (Republic 1.329b-c) that Soph., in old age, was

glad to be free from sexual desire, ‘as if he had escaped from a mad and cruel master'. But the attitude can be found elsewhere, as at Eur. Hipp. 525-64, 1268-82 (both odes have much in common with this one). In general in tragedy, and in other serious literature before Plato, wholehearted praise of Eros (as at Eur. fr. 897) is less common than fear and mistrust of his power.

Formally the ode consists solely of an address to the god. Such an address would normally form only the first part of a hymn (cf. 1115-39), but here the ‘who’ clauses of the opening expand until they become grammatically independent, and no prayer follows. The Chorus are explicit about their reason for singing of love: it has caused the strife that they have just seen (793-4). As an explanation of Haemon's conduct this is perhaps even more surprising than was the previous stasimon (582-625) as an explanation of Antigone's and Ismene's, and the two odes present similar problems. As von Fritz points out (234-7), if Haemon's opposition to his father were really provoked by love, and if love were such as the Chorus here describe,it would be impossible to regard his arguments with any respect at all. Clearly this cannot be right; and von Fritz also notes that, if the Chorus had properly understood Haemon's arguments, they would have had to agree with him, and Antigone could not have been as isolated as she is in the ensuing scene. But can we accept von Fritz's claim that Soph. devoted this powerful ode to a pure misapprehension on the Chorus's part? If we do, we shall have difficulty explaining subsequent events - Haemon's breaking into Antigone's tomb, his passionate lamentation at her death (1223-5), and his suicide 'in anger with his father for a murder’ (1177). We might well prefer to believe, with many critics, that the Chorus are drawing attention to a real underlying motive, which Haemon himself had to conceal: ‘from these two strophes, all the tenderness and madness of love wash back over the dogged disputation of the Haemon scene’ (Gellie 44). This erotic 186

motive would then coexist with his practical and ethical motives for wishing to

save Antigone, and would not detract from them. But that is not what the Chorus say (for them, love caused the strife, and there would have been no strife without it), and 1 cannot pretend that I find it easy to separate the bare diagnosis of love (which would have to be right) from the description of its operation (which would have to be wrong). The problems raised by von Fritz’s article have been too casually brushed aside by critics. Besides stressing the destructiveness of love, the Chorus also stress that it is

unconquerable (781, 799) and inescapable (788-90), and even give its power a certain legitimacy (797-9). In their eyes this may help to excuse Haemon's conduct; but the person who has actually set himself in opposition to the power of love is Creon, wh» once again, I believe, is probably present on stage. It is possible, then, to claim that this ode, like others, has an application to Creon

which the Chorus themselves do not intend (Kitto 167. Winnington-Ingram (1980) 96-7). While not removing the problems of the ode, this certainly increases its relevance to the play as a whole. 182 despoiler of wealth: extremely dubious; lit. ‘you who fall on possessions’, a phrase never convincingly explained or plausibly emended. ‘Fall on’ looks

right, as the word can be used of love (Aesch. Ag. 341) or of a conquering army; but, while a conquering army might well ‘fall on possessions’, love should surely fall on human beings. 184 pass your nights: perhaps like a soldier on watch, in linc with the military metaphors which pervade the ode. At the most prosaic level the idea seems to be that a girl’s cheek, seen at night, inspires love. 785-6 who range ... dwellings: The range of Love is unbounded; you cannot hope to escape him by travelling across the sea or to the wildest, remotest places in which men live. 787-8 no immortal can escape you: Since the myths often told of gods mating or marrying, it was a common idea that Love or Aphrodite had power over other deities (e.g. Trach. 498-502, fr. 941, Eur. Hipp. 452-8. 1268-71). But no serious theological conclusion is to be drawn from this. 790 runs mad: unexpectedly strong and sinister language. preparing for what follows.

796 enticement: or ‘desire’, hardly to be distinguished here from Eros. But the thought probably is that the eyes of the bride provoke the bridegroom's desire for her (a common idea), not that they reveal her desire for him.

187

797-9 enthroned in power beside the mighty laws: This can only mean that Enticement (or Desire or Love) is in alliance with the laws of the world, not (as Jebb thought) in competition with them. The phrase is powerful and characteristic (cf. OC 1382, Eur. Med. 843; Pearson (1928) 184-5, Burton 115-16), and I cannot believe it to be corrupt, as many do. It will fit the immediate context if it is realised that thesmoi, ‘laws’, need have no moral implications (the word is used of the ‘rite’ of sexual intercourse at Odyssey 23.296). Every god, however cruel or capricious, has legitimate prerogatives; and Love is certainly among the powers governing the universe, whose ‘laws’ men disregard at their peril. A metrical anomaly at this point is not serious;

but there will be a real difficulty when we come to 801. 799 irresistible: the same word as 'unconquered' at 781. " 799-800 blows are dealt: The mss. give ‘for there the goddess Aphrodite plays irresistibly’. ‘Plays’ might be thought effective — the goddess makes sport with mankind — but ‘plays irresistibly’ is incongruous, and Dawe is probably right to amend (cf. Pearson (1928) 185-6, Dawe (1982) 237).

FOURTH

‘EPISODE’ (801-943)

Antigone is brought on again (801-5), and much of the lyric exchange between her and the Chorus (806-82). Creon take her to her tomb (883-90); she discourses further on monologue (891-928); and there is a brief anapaestic coda as (929-43). In asense, then, nothing happens in the whole act

act is taken up witha orders the guards to her fate in a spoken she is finally led away except that Antigone

is led off to a fate already decreed for her; but the exploration of that fate, in song

and dialogue, is clearly of great dramatic importance. The audience, which at first may, like the Chorus, have had limited sympathy with Antigone, must be made, like the Chorus, to experience fully the pathos, horror, paradox and loneliness of her situation (cf. Gellie 45-6, 213). Some critics have found it difficult to reconcile the very human Antigone of this scene with the single-minded heroine portrayed earlier. The scene has been compared with Aj. 646-92, where Ajax seems to have abandoned his heroic principles, only to reassert them in his suicide (see esp. Schadewaldt); but the value of the comparison depends on the vexed question of Ajax’s motives, for Antigone, at least, does not intend to deceive anyone. In any case, the change in her has been exaggerated, for it rests partly on the authenticity of 904-15, partly on idealising conceptions of her earlier character and motives, and partly on a failure to appreciate Greek attitudes to death and lamentation. 188

In realistic terms, what Antigone must expect to endure is a period of imprisonment ending, sooner or later, with her death by suicide or starvation. But these are not the terms in which her fate is envisaged. Instead she and the Chorus present, if anything, a still more horrifying prospect: that of a living death, to begin at the moment of her ‘entombment’ and to last for ever. This reflects the function of Greek funerary ritual. Normally a person would be observed to die at a particular time, and his transition from the world of the living to that of the dead would then be enacted

in a ‘rite of passage’,

namely

the funeral procession

(ekphora) from his house to his tomb (cf. Bremmer 92-4, Garland 31-4). For Antigone, however, the procession and entombment, which formally part her from the realm of the living, will take place while she lives, and her actual death thereafter will be unmarked and unsolemnised - an event so private that it hardly counts, in Sophocles’ world, as an event at all. This is why she sees herself as

destined to remain suspended, like Niobe, between life and death; and for her, with her keen sense of the importance of proper burial rites, it is this, above all, that is intolerable. 801 even I: or ‘I too’. In weeping for Antigone, the Chorus see themselves as succumbing to an irrational emotional force like that of Eros. They cannot help pitying her, but still do not feel that they are right to do so. due limits: The translation conceals a difficulty, for the word is thesmoi, which at 799 referred to the amoral laws with which Eros is allied. It is undeniably awkward if the word is used in two such contrary senses so close together, but neither 799 nor 801 looks corrupt in itself. 804 bridal chamber: The word thalamos can be used of any bedroom (and is thus appropriately applied to the ‘resting place’ of the grave), but the special sense of ‘bridal chamber’ is certainly present here, for the idea of death as a wedding, and the grave as a thalamos in this sense, is found elsewhere in epitaphs for those who died unmarried (see Jebb). A Greek wedding, like a

funeral, was a ‘rite of passage’ centring on a procession — in this case a procession escorting the bride from her father’s house to her bridegroom’s, and finally to the bridal chamber. So it was the lot of every Greek girl to leave her father’s house in one sort of procession or the other, leading to a literal or

a metaphorical thalamos. The idea of Antigone's death as her wedding, first announced in Creon’s crude sarcasm at 653-4, will be prominent from now on. 806-82: Besides spoken dialogue and choral songs, many tragedies, especially the earlier ones, contain sung or partly sung exchanges between Chorus and actors. The best term for such an exchange is probably amoibaion, though kommos is often used. All amoibaia occur at moments of strong emotion, and this one stands at 189

the emotional centre of the play. Antigone sings two strophic pairs and an epode. The Chorus at first replies in the calmer metre of non-lyric anapaests (817-22, 834-8), and then, as the emotion mounts and its thoughts become less prosaic, it too breaks into song (853-6, 872-5). Although Antigone’s stanzas contain some of the most celebrated and moving poetry in the Greek language, some critics have been troubled that she should lament at all, after her proud defiance of death earlier in the play (esp. 460-70). But in calling on the citizens and on Thebes to witness the cruelty and injustice of her death (806-16, 844-52) she is showing no less spirit than usual; and, when she does lament, she laments for the manner of her death, which she now knows, rather than the mere fact that she will die (Winnington-Ingram (1980) 139-40). Moreover, if this is her funeral, lamentation is a necessary part of the ritual (R. Seaford, CQ 34 (1984), 253-4); and one of the poignant aspects of the situation is that she must sing her own dirge (like Cassandra at Aesch. Ag. 1322-3, and several other figures in tragedy), with little help from a masculine and insensitive Chorus. The Chorus's attitude has in fact been a matter of debate, for in two places (817-18, 854-5) there is fundamental uncertainty about the meaning of the Greek, and in others the tone can be variously assessed. It is evident from 802-5, however, that the Chorus are full of pity for Antigone’s fate, even if they have no understanding of the actions which brought her to it, and their utterances in the amoibaion must be read in the light of this. The train of thought, as I see it, will be traced in the notes below.

If Creon is present throughout (see on 760), a modern reader may well wonder why he does not intervene earlier than 883. But it is characteristicof Greek drama for the action to be ‘frozen’ for a time while the current situation is explored; the exploration must run its course, and the formal pattern must be completed, before anything else can happen. Such ‘freezing’ is regular during choral odes, and can even happen during a speech (see on 883-943, 885), so it is not surprising that it is also found during amoibaia (e.g. Phil. 1081-217). It would be similarly pedantic to ask how Antigone comes to know of Creon’s sentence if the guards who fetch her exited at 761; a character can always know as much as is dramatically convenient. 806 See me: Heroes of Greek tragedy seldom attempt to keep a stiff upper lip or claim that public opinion does not matter, and for Antigone it is crucial that her fellow citizens should bear witness to her treatment. 807-9 taking my last road, ... sun: phrases which strongly suggest immediate death, but which can be quite literally applied to Antigone's passage to her prison. 190

810 who lays all to rest: The same word as the Chorus used at 804. 811 alive: One could logically object that Antigone, like anyone else, will be dead

by the time she reaches the Underworld. But the passage from one world to the other is enacted symbolically in the funeral procession and entombment, which Antigone will experience while she lives. Compare Ar. Frogs 170-7, where an ekphora actually is a journey to the Underworld.

812 Acheron: one of the rivers of the Underworld. The name suggests achos, ‘pain’ (that caused by the death of others, rather than that of posthumous punishment). 813-16: Marriage was the goal of a girl's existence, and it was felt to be especially pathetic for a girl to die unwed (R. Lattimore, Themes in Greek and Latin Epitaphs (Urbana, 1942), 192-4). Although Antigone never mentions Haemon, she is as conscious of this pathos as any other Greek. 813-14 No wedding procession is mine: lit. ‘having no share in hymeneal songs’, i.e. the songs sung during the procession to the bridegroom's house. 814-15 bridal song: the epithalamium, sung outside the bridal chamber on the evening of the wedding. 816 Acheron will be my bridegroom: Antigone has contrasted death and marriage, but now suddenly brings them together in a chilling image. Any river can be regarded as a god, and gods can be amorous; but it would be an unenviable fate to marry even the river Achelous (Trach. 6-17), let alone the

river of death. 817-22: I follow Denniston 436 and Kamerbeek in making this a negative question, not (with οὐκοῦν) a positive statement. (The difficulty of knowing where to put the question mark is purely formal; cf. 604-10, 885-8.) More radically, Knox (1964) 176-7 n. 8 argues for a negative statement: ‘Not glorious, nor with praise you go away to this hiding place of the dead ...' (cf. also Knox (1982) 12). Antigone, he says, would have been praised at her funeral if she had died a normal death, but no one, as far as the Chorus knows, is praising her now. He has a case, but he makes the Chorus directly hostile in a way that is hard to accept after 801-5. An unusual and uncanny death can be a mark of distinction (cf. OC), and we need not enquire too closely from whom the praise can come. Winnington-Ingram (1980) 139 may be right that the Chorus is embarrassed and has ‘beaten around for some consolation to offer’. 820 paid out with the wages of the sword: a periphrasis for death by violence. 821 by your own

law:

The

word

autonomos

‘belongs

to the vocabulary

of

inter-state relations’ and ‘is always used of a weaker state which tries to exert its independence in the face of a major power’ (M. Ostwald, Autonomia: its 191

Genesis and Early History (1982), 1). It is used especially of the autonomy guaranteed to, or claimed by, allies of Athens in the fifth century, and may have been coined for that purpose. If so, it must have had a very modern ring in this passage. The Chorus still has no understanding of the actions by which Antigone has incurred a sentence of death (cf. 853-6), but supposes that, having done so, she may take pride in the independence she has exerted.

832-33: Tantalus, son of Zeus, was King of Lydia in Asia Minor. His daughter Niobe came to Thebes to be the wife of its King, Amphion. She bore seven sons and seven daughters, and boasted of having more children than Leto, the

mother of Apollo and Artemis. In revenge for this presumption Apollo and Artemis killed her children with their arrows. Having somehow returned to Lydia, she turned to stone in her inconsolable grief, and her stone form was said to be visible in a crag on Mount Sipylus, the water that ran down the crag being her tears. The story appears first at Iliad 24.602-17, and Soph. alludes to it again at El. 150-2. Aeschylus and Soph. each wrote a Niobe; for Sophocles’ version (date unknown) see W. S. Barrett in R. Carden, The Papyrus Fragments of Sophocles (Berlin, 1974), 171-235. The

Chorus,

trying to be

helpful,

have

stressed the uniqueness of

Antigone’s fate; but this is just what she cannot bear. For any Greek seeking to ‘place’ his experience and make it intelligible, it was natural to resort to parallels from the myths; so Antigone thinks of Niobe as another figure suspended in an ambiguous state between life and death. This is all the more natural since Niobe too lived at Thebes and since her fate too involved, ina

sense, imprisonment in rock. But it is a measure of Antigone’s despair that she can draw comfort from so bleak a story. Some scholars have seen the relevance of the exemplum as lying elsewhere: Niobe too was famous, but as a sinner (Miiller); she too was unjustly treated by the gods (Hester (1971) 34); she too was prostrated through love for her philoi (Else 60-1). But these interpretations receive little encouragement from the text. 824 Phrygian: Poets often use ‘Phrygia’ in a wide sense, to include Lydia. 826-32: The language holds woman and stone, life and death, in perfect balance, so that we can never be sure whether the subject of the description is ‘really’ a crag or a sentient being. For the moving equation of a human figure toa

feature of landscape cf. OC 1239-48. 826 like insistent ivy: The miraculous phenomenon of petrification is vividly realised through comparison with the familiar phenomenon of ivy, which spreads slowly across the surface of a tree and eventually kills it. But there is 192

paradox in the conception of the dead stone as a living thing, a conception continued in ‘growth’ (and ‘insistent’ or ‘relentless’ almost personifies it): the

stone, perhaps, is more alive than Niobe herself (cf. Segal 155). 828-30 and neither rain ... form: ‘The Highlands of Phrygia are not subject to perpetual showers’ (Campbell), and no doubt, if the rock ‘wept’ perpetually in reality, a spring or stream was responsible. But Soph. and his audience had not been to Sipylus, and the constant rain and snow add to the bleakness of the picture. Contrast the state of the blessed gods on Olympus, which ‘is neither shaken by winds nor wet with rain nor sprinkled with snow: cloudless sky is spread over it ...' (Odyssey 6.43-5, already echoed at Ant. 608-10), or of the blessed dead in Elysium (Odyssey 4.566-8). 828 sorrowing: surely not ‘wasting away’, as others render it. Her grief is to be eternal. 831 brows: The word can refer either to human eyebrows or to overhanging cliffs. 832 flanks: free translation. The Greek word probably means ‘coombs, upland valleys’ (of a mountain) but suggests also ‘neck’ (of a human figure); see Kamerbeek. the god: Daimón is a vaguer word than theos, which is used for ‘goddess’ in 834. Any death can be assumed to be the work of a god, even if there is no direct supernatural intervention. 834-5: The Chorus pedantically tries to insist on the point it made in the last anapaests: Antigone is ‘alone among mortals’ (821-2) in the manner of her death, since Niobe does not count as mortal. As they were previously trying to help by presenting Antigone’s unique death as a source of fame, we may assume that they have the same intention now, and are hardly, if at all, reproaching her for comparing herself to a goddess. 834 But she was a goddess: an extraordinary assertion, blandly presented as if it were a truism. No doubt Niobe was ‘of the race of gods’, being a granddaughter of Zeus and, by some accounts, daughter of one of the Pleiades; but her myth is one of the classic tales of the punishment of human presumption (Whitman 93). Mortals such as Semele (see on 1139) might be deified at death, but their state thereafter is very different from Niobe’s; and when Electra says ‘I regard you, Niobe, as a goddess’, for special and paradoxical reasons (£1 150), this merely confirms that she was not normally so regarded. Oedipus is marked out by exceptional suffering for a special kind of after-life, but he is not called a god, and his spirit, if not particularly happy, does at least become powerful. By 837, however, ‘goddess’ has become ‘demigod’, and this may suggest that the former word is a conscious exaggeration. 193

836-7 And yet ...: The Chorus soften any suggestion of criticism. The (alleged) fact that Niobe was a goddess means that Antigone cannot really share her fate, but also that, in so far as the two fates can be compared, there is glory for Antigone in the comparison. for a dead woman even to have it said that she shared: or perhaps ‘for a dead

woman to share, even against her will’, reading κἀκούσηι. Not ‘for a dying girl to hear that she has 837 demigods: lit. ‘those praise, but normally 838 in life and afterwards

shared’ (Knox (1964) 66, 177-8). equal to the gods’, a fairly standard term of hyperbolic suggesting an extreme of good fortune. in death: If this follows directly after 837, the reference

of ‘in life’ is obscure; for Jebb's explanation, that ‘Niobe, like Antigone, was

in the fulness of her vitality when she met her doom’, is hopelessly feeble. And ‘in death’ is not much better, for, if Niobe is immortal, and if Antigone’s fateis

nevertheless to be compared to hers, ‘death’ is the one word that must be avoided. For these reasons (more than for metrical reasons) I have followed Müller and Dawe in marking a lacuna. The sense may have been e.g. ‘ in life ...’. 839-52: It is characteristic of Antigone that her most passionate utterance in this scene should be largely a cry of anger. But why is she angry, wl.en the Chorus have just assented, up to a point, to her comparison of herself with Niobe? Soph. is entitled to expect a little imagination from us here. Antigone is conscious only of the cruelty and injustice of Creon’s sentence, and the ‘mockery’ and ‘insult’ lie in trying to present it as a privilege. When she appealed to the case of Niobe, she was seeking a human companion, so to speak, in her suffering — a parallel to reassure her that she would not be ‘alone among mortals’ in her living death. The Chorus have first tried to rob her of that reassurance (834-5) and then misused the parallel to support their view that there is honour in her unique fate (836-7). Antigone is not indifferent to posthumous fame (502-4), but has no desire to win it by such means as this. With Antigone's rejection of the Chorus's attempts at consolation cf. El. 121-250, 854-70. Though the Chorus of El. is much more sympathetic than that of Ant. , in both plays the element of conflict brings to the lamentation a sharpness and dramatic vigour which would be lacking in an ordinary antiphonal dirge. 842-3 wealthy men of the city: not, I think, the Chorus alone, as 'establishment figures' within Thebes (Winnington-Ingram (1980) 141), but the Thebans in general, as a wealthy community. Antigone assumes that the Chorus's views are those of the whole city, and there is perhaps a note of sarcastic reproach in the honorific epithet. 844 Dirce: see on 104. 194

$45 precinct: The whole of Thebes is seen as sacred ground. home of fine chariots: Thebes was proud of its chariots (149), and Antigone is a patriotic Theban, still loyal to the place even if its citizens have deserted her. 845-6 you, at least: as opposed to the citizens, to whom she has appealed in vain. 846 to bear witness: An appeal to witnesses was a standard legal procedure for anyone who felt that he was being wronged. 847 bereft of friendly tears: The Chorus may weep (802-3), but they have excluded themselves from the ranks of friends. by what laws: On this Antigone and the Chorus certainly are, and will remain, in disagreement. At 821 the Chorus assigned responsibility to Antigone’s private ‘laws’, not to Creon’s. 848 heaped barrow-prison: lit. ‘tomb-heaped barrier’ or perhaps (reading the variant ἕρμα) ‘tomb-heaped mound’. Either way a burial mound is indicated (cf. 1216).

850-1: The ms. text can be translated: ‘Ah, wretched as I am, to dwetl neither . among human beings nor among corpses, not with the living, not with the dead.’ But the metre shows that something is seriously wrong, and the suspicion is that some words of the original text have been replaced by those of an editor. 853-6: Annoyed, perhaps, by Antigone’s rebuff, or by her continued rejection of the ‘laws’, the Chorus reply more sharply. Despite their pity for her, they still have no doubt that she has incurred death by a wilfully criminal act. But the harshness is softened by ‘child’ and by the immediate suggestion at 856 that an inherited curse may be to blame. 853 advancing to the limit of daring: While ‘daring, boldness’ can in itself have a good or a bad sense, the phrase as a whole can hardly be complimentary. 854-5 you stumbled ... Right: difficult and disputed. I take the sense to be that Antigone has offended against ‘Right’ and, in so doing, has been brought low (cf. Aesch. Ag. 382-4, Eum. 539-41). (This seems to entail following Bruhn and Dawe in changing πολύν)

‘much’, to ποδί or ποδοῖν "with foot’ or ‘with

feet’.) In that case ‘Right’, Diké (for which see on 451) is used in a purely legal sense -- a legitimate sense in itself, but ignoring Antigone’s claim (451) that she was obeying a divine Dike set above human laws. Lesky (1966) 176-84, keeping the ms. text, argues for a different interpretation: ‘you fell in deep supplication before the altar of Diké (cf. Trach. 904, OC 1157-8), referring to that divine ‘Right’ which Antigone sought to uphold (cf. also H. Petersmann, WS 16 (1982), 59-63). He has a case, but his interpretation is difficult to reconcile with the reproachful tone of 853 (cf. Burton 120-3, Kamerbeek). Either way the Greek is odd, and it may 195

be more corrupt than is generally thought. 854 pedestal: Others translate ‘altar’ or ‘throne’; perhaps rather the base supporting a revered statue of the goddess Diké. 856 the payment of a debt ...: The Chorus return to the ‘Aeschylean’ conception of their third song (582-625): if Antigone has committed a crime, for incomprehensible reasons, she may have been forced to do so in expiation of an ancestral curse. This would explain the crime, and in a sense excuse it, but it would remain punishable (see on 622-4). 857-71: Antigone ignores the reproach in the Chorus's comment and responds only to the words which strike a chord in her mind. As we know (1-6), she is acutely aware of belonging to an accursed house, and she now feels that her fate (though not, surely, her actions) can be explained in terms of this. It is debatable how far her character and motivation throughout should be seen as influenced by her consciousness of being a child of Oedipus. The most obvious function of the present passage, however, is to explore the tragic patterns and paradoxes in the story of the House of Labdacus; and this is done in Sophocles’ most elaborate and artificial lyric style (the despair of translators). The sense of pattern is reinforced by the interlocking of the themes of death and marriage: Antigone's parents and brother made marriages which led to their deaths, while she herself will die unmarried. 859 recalling: The word is absent from the Greek, where the grammar is obscure though the general sense is clear. manifold: lit. 'thrice-ploughed', i.e. gone over again and again in Antigone’s mind. 863-5: The play's most explicit reference to the incestuous marriage, though it has

been mentioned at 53.

|

863 Ah: The cry i6 is repeated at the same places in strophe and antistrophe (844, 850, 863, 869) and there are other echoes between the two. 869-70 maker of a fatal marriage: It was his marriage to the daughter of Adrastus that enabled Polynices to lead the fatal expedition against Thebes (see Introd. p. 4). It is evidently because it continues the theme of marriage that this detail is selected for mention here (Winnington-Ingram (1980) 143 n. 74). But it is notable that Eteocles is not mentioned, as might be expected in sucha context; contrast Ismene at 55-7, and see on 899.

871 in your death you have destroyed me: The paradox of being killed by the dead occurs at Aesch. Cho. 886 and repeatedly in Soph.: Aj. 1026-7, Trach.

1159-63, El. 808 (and cf. OT 1451-4). It exemplifies the Sophoclean vision of pattern and symmetry in human affairs, realised only in death. while I yet live: presumably not redundant but alluding to Antigone's ‘living 196

death’, which gives an added twist to the paradox. 872-6: The Chorus take no notice of what Antigone has said, but return to the

point which she ignored, that she is herself to blame for her sentence. At the same time they make a greater concession than they have yet made, in

implying that her defiance of authority could have had some religious justification. 872 Piety is piety, perhaps: The Greek is elliptical and obscure. I can make sense of it only as a deliberate tautology — ‘piety is piety’, i.e. ‘piety counts for something’ - with τις, rendered ‘perhaps’, merely marking the Chorus’s hesitancy and confusion, as at 278, 856. Others take the words to mean ‘to be pious is a sort of piety’, explaining that ‘to be pious’ refers to particular pious act - the burial of Polynices — and that this is only ‘a sort of piety’ because complete piety, in the Chorus's eyes, would include loyalty to rulers. But this strains the Greek beyond breaking point. 875 self-willed temper: a disposition that makes its own decisions; but the Greek, like ‘temper’ in English, has connotations of passion and anger. 876-82: Having no hope of winning the kind of sympathy that she requires from

the Chorus, Antigone rounds off the amoibaion with a brief epode, in simple and pathetic language, echoing its beginning (806-16). 883-943: Antigone's epode has made it sound as though she were to be led away at once; and Creon now intervenes to insist that the guards should delay no longer. However, she does not actually depart until she has delivered a (fairly?) long speech of farewell, during which the action is frozen once again (see on 806-82). In fact the two halves of this scene — the sung and the spoken should not be regarded as successive stages in the action; rather a single situation - Antigone facing imminent departure for her tomb - ‘is realized first in its lyric, then in its iambic aspect — that is to say, first emotionally, then inits reasoned form’ (Dale on Eur. Alc. 280ff.; see also J. Gould, Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society 204 (1978), 50-1). 883 you: plural, addressed to the guards. 884if it were of any use to utter them [?]: The ms. text (interpreted as ei xpeín λέγειν) gives dubious grammar, a weak verb for ‘utter’, and the wrong sense: ‘if it were necessary’, where we need either ‘if it were of use’ or ‘if it were permitted’. 885 Take her away at once: The order is ignored until Creon has complained of the guards’ slowness at 931-2. This is an unusually bold use of the technique of freezing the action; see Bain (1981) 24-6, but note the delay between OT 1429 and the departure of Oedipus. 887 alone, deserted: the sort of gratuitously brutal emphasis that we have come to expect from Creon. 197

whether she wishes to die: the first hint that she might commit suicide. 888 to remain buried: The Greek might more easily mean ‘to conduct burials’, which could be said with the sort of sarcasm seen at 310-12, 524-5, 654, 716-17,

777-8; so G. Bjorck, Studi Italiani di filologia classica 27-8 (1956), 55-7. But, tempting though this may seem, the odd idea of conducting burials while herself buried would probably need fuller expression to be intelligible. alive: Like Antigone herself, but for a different reason, Creon glosses over the fact that she cannot remain alive for long. 889 Our hands are clean: because he is giving her a choice, and not, as he feels, physically killing her; see on 773-6. He is no doubt quite sincere in his reasoning. 891-928: Antigone begins her last speech by ignoring Creon and continuing the tone of lamentation heard in the lyrics (891-6). But she soon moves to rhetorical self-consolation, self-justification and indignant protest at her treatment by men and gods. Her last words, at least, are meant to be heard by Creon, as well as the gods, although the form of a soliloquy is sustained. But many details, and indeed the overall tenor of the speech, depend on the view taken on textual issues (see below). 891 Tomb, bridal chamber: This equation has been hanging in the air during the amoibaion, but is here made explicit for the first time. 892-6: The sentence dissolves into relative clauses and never reaches a main verb. 894 Persephone: Queen of the Underworld. The Greek has the Athenian form Phersephassa. 897 hope: This strikes a new note after all the lamentation and despair. If Antigone is to justify her actions, she must claim that they will finally receive some approval and reward. The idea that the dead are reunited with their loved ones was popular among the Greeks (Garland 66-8). but all Greek notions of an after-life were dim and doubtful, and Antigone’s ‘hope’ does not lead her to think of death as anything but an evil, as the end of the speech shows. 899 my own brother: lit. ‘head of a brother’ (see on 1). But which? Eteocles, say commentators; Polynices, say D. B. Gregor, CQ 9 (1959), 12 and Winnington-Ingram (1980) 144 n. 79 (cf. Fond. Hardt Soph. 253-4). These scholars justly point out that Antigone shows little interest in Eteocles elsewhere and that the sequence ‘father, mother, brother’ is bound to suggest Polynices to the audience (cf. 857-71). But their view is incompatible with 900-1, for Antigone did not wash and dress Polynices, and there are no grounds for claiming that ‘you’ in 900 could refer to father and mother alone. However, if 904ff. are interpolated, it is possible that the interpolation 198

includes 900-3 also, and in that case the brother in 899 will certainly be Polynices. Otherwise he will have to be Eteocles (it does not greatly matter that 900-1 will then be hard to reconcile with the implication at 23 that Antigone did not attend his funeral). 900-1 1 washed and dressed you: tasks normally performed by female relatives before a funeral. 902 libations: see on 431. 903 shrouding: The word is commonly used of dressing a corpse for a funeral. but here refers to the sprinkling of dust, the only ‘shroud’ Polynices received. 904-20: An endlessly disputed passage. Besides Jebb and the other commentators see esp. D. L. Page, Actors’ Interpolations in Greek Tragedy (Oxford. 1934). 86-90 and Linforth 226-9 for the prosecution; H. Weil, REG 7 (1894). 261-6 and Machin 240-65 for the defence; Hester (1971) 55-8 for bibliography. Lines 909-12 are closely imitated from a passage at Herod. 3.119. There Darius, King of Persia, has condemned to death Intaphernes. a suspected conspirator, and his male relatives; but, as a favour to Intaphernes' wife. he has allowed her to choose one relative whose life will be spared. To Darius’s surprise she chooses her brother in preference to her husband or son. and she defends her choice in the same terms as Antigone here. Variants of this story are reported from the folklore of several countries. The charges are these: (a) The reasons Antigone gives for burying her brother are incompatible with her earlier devotion to the Unwritten Rules, which would have required the burial of any relative. This charge can be answered if we accept that Antigone’s arguments throughout the play look like rationalisations of an instinctive impulse (see Levy). The Unwritten Rules were mentioned only in one speech (450-70), and even that contained elements of calculation and self-interest (Machin 246-8). And Antigone might well be reluctant to defend her deed in religious terms now that she feels abandoned by the gods (922-4). (b) It is objectionable that Antigone, in the face of death, should waste time discussing irrelevant hypothetical cases. This is a more serious charge. It is sometimes said that her real purpose is merely to express total devotion to her brother, whom she has, in a sense, preferred to a husband or child, in that she has forfeited the chance of marriage (e.g. Bowra 95). But this will not cope with 911-12, which indicate that she would not have buried even her

brother if her parents had happened to be alive. (c) The lines simply do not make sense. For me this is the main point. To cite the irreplaceability of a brother as a reason for saving his life is at least logical. To cite it as a reason for burying him is not. Machin (256-7) succeeds 199

in constructing an ingenious (if fallacious) argument: since Antigone can lay down her life only once, she cannot be obliged to lay it down for any cause unless she is sure that the same cause will never arise again. But no member of the audience could have worked this out, so the effect (unlike that of the Herodotean model, or of the parallel folktales, or of the similar reasoning at Eur. Alc. 293-4) is of a pure non-sequitur. In real life, no doubt, a girl facing death might talk illogically; but this is a speech in a Greek tragedy - and a most self-consciously rhetorical one, in which I can see none of the 'self-absorbed passion' detected by Knox (1964) 106. The logic of such speeches can be far-fetched, but it cannot, I think, be absent altogether.

(d) Lines 909-10, at least, are very badly expressed; see below. Deletion is not an easy option. Aristotle assumed that the passage was genuine (Rhetoric 3.16); and Soph. was as likely as anyone to imitate Herodotus (though he does not imitate him so slavishly elsewhere, and, if we

can assume that a written text of Herod. 3.119 was used, the 440s are rather early for such a text to have been available). But in the end I cannot believe that Soph. wrote this rubbish. How far does the interpolation extend? Lines 904-15 certainly stand or fall together. Scholars who delete them usually delete 916-20 as well, since this is a neat surgical solution; 921 follows well enough (if a little abruptly) after 903. But 916-20 are good in themselves and convincingly develop themes announced in the amoibaion (Bain (1981) 26-7). The neat solution need not be the right one, as the interpolator might not have scrupled to remove some of Sophocles' lines; and certainly, if 900-3 are spurious (see on 899), no 'neat

solution’ is possible (short of deleting all of 900-28, with L. Dindorf). If some lines preceding 916 are missing, they must have mentioned Creon, who is clearly the subject of 916. 904 to right-thinking people ...: The ms. text gives false emphasis and misleading word-order, but I have given the author the benefit of the doubt (cf. 1031). 905 if I had been the mother of children: The text omits to specify that they are dead, though it can be made to do so with τέκν’ óv(Semitelos). 907 in defiance of the citizens: The echo of Ismene's phrase (79) cannot be counted as evidence for or against authenticity. 908 law: nomos; see on 449.

909-12: The author has kept as close as he could to the wording of Herodotus's prose (itself clear and simple) while writing in metre, and this results in some very clumsy Greek. 910 by another man: Why not by the current husband? The author has combined two hypothetical cases — death of a husband, death of a child — which should 200

have been kept separate. Bruhn and Dawe punctuate differently to give ‘anda child - by another man, if I had lost this one’, but the Herodotean model shows that this is not what was meant. 913-14 Such was the law ...: The argument is rounded off by an echo of 908. Such flat formality is generally avoided in Soph. 915 my own brother: an echo of the same phrase at 899. 917 wedding song: see on 813-14. 921 law: dike; see on 451. 922-6: Mention of gods in 921 prompts a fresh turn of thought: if Antigone is being punished for a pious act, this is a disgrace not merely to Creon, at whom 916-21 are directed, but to the gods themselves. The Greeks observed often

enough that the gods permit unmerited suffering, but this does not prevent them from complaining at the more striking instances of it. Antigone's complaints are hardly less bitter than those of Hyllus at Trach. 1264-74. Although she always expected to die (72-6, 460-4), she cannot help feeling abandoned by the gods now that she faces death without even (as she feels) earning a reputation for piety; see on 502. 923 what ally: still referring to the gods. 926 I shall learn ...: Jebb takes this as a reference to the after-life, and that would admit a comforting interpretation: when faced with her divine judges, Antigone will be reassured that she did right. But this does not fit well with the bitter tone of the passage, nor with similar phrases elsewhere in Greek. She is referring, surely, to this life, in which the gods are allowing her to suffer (Linforth 230). So, when she finds herself imprisoned without hope of rescue, she will have no more reason to doubt that the gods do condone her death or that her actions were,

to this extent, wrong.

She need not mean morally

wrong, however; the Greek word covers failure or error, and any deed that brought ruin to the doer would be likely to be seen as ‘wrong’ in this sense (e.g. Aesch. PV 259-61). 927-8: The speech returns neatly from the gods to Creon. With a sarcastic pretence of charity (‘no greater evils’), she flings at him the most vindictive curse she can, that he should suffer as she is to suffer. She presents this as an alternative to 925-6: either she or Creon will be punished. But in fact both conditions will be fulfilled, for the gods of Soph., like those of Aeschylus, care more for the punishment of guilt than for the protection of innocence. 927 these: a contempuous reference to Creon, whom she does not name in this scene. 931-2 That means ...: see on 885. 201

933-4 comes very close to death: i.e. shows that the death sentence is to be carried out very soon. I see no merit in assigning this exclamation to the Chorus, as some edd. do. 936 thus: by death.

937-43:

Pride and defiance combine with despair in Antigone’s final outburst,

which recalls that of Prometheus (Aesch. PV 1080-93). It is made obvious that we Shall not see her again. 938 ancestral: referring not only to gods who protect the race but to those, like Ares and Aphrodite, who could be seen as ancestors of it (Jebb). 939 the time has come: lit. ‘and 1 am no longer < merely> about to .

FIFTH CHORAL

SONG

(‘Fourth Stasimon’, 944-87)

The Chorus sing an ode expressly addressed to the departing Antigone (948, 987) -- not that she can be imagined as within earshot throughout— and intended by them to reconcile her to her fate. It is expressed in elaborately allusive language, and, unlike any other ode of Soph., consists entirely of mythical exempla (see on 823-33). A strophe is devoted to the myth of Danae, an antistrophe to that of Lycurgus, and a strophic pair to that of Cleopatra and her sons. The form and overt purpose, then, are simple enough. The problems lie in seeing why these three exempla were chosen (the best discussion is that of Winnington-Ingram (1980) 98-109, though he takes speculation a long way). The Chorus stress that Danae, Lycurgus and Cleopatra all suffered although they were of noble birth; and the first two, at least, were imprisoned. But these facts provide only a weak justification for the choice of myths, and leave many details unaccounted for. There is, however, a positive reason (see below) to think that the Danae stanza hints at the fate of Creon (present once more while the ode is sung) in a way unintended by the Chorus themselves. If this is correct, it is easy to detect Creonin the Lycurgus stanza also, for he clearly resembles Lycurgus more than Antigone does. The Chorus, then, while intending to comment on what is past, are ironically foreshadowing the future, in which

Creon

will meet

his doom like

Acrisius and stand condemned for impiety like Lycurgus. It remains difficult to extend this approach to the second half of the ode, where the problems are increased by uncertainty as to the version of the myth which Soph. has in mind. The general themes of violence and hatred within the family, and of parents who are hurt through their children, will be important in the rest of the play, and this strophic pair can probably be seen as preparing us for 202

them. It may well have more significance than that, but the state of our knowledge hardly allows useful guesses as to what this significance may be. 944-54: Danae was the daughter of Acrisius, King of Argos. He received an oracle that he would be killed by a son who would be born to her; so he imprisoned her in a bronze room where no man could enter. Zeus, however, was able to

impregnate her by means of golden rain, and she gave birth to Perseus. Acrisius then placed mother and child in a chest and set it adrift on the sea, but Zeus ensured that they were rescued. When Perseus grew to manhood, he accidentally killed Acrisius. Soph. wrote both a Danae (frr. 165-70) and an Acrisius (frr. 60-76). The point of departure for this exemplum is clear: Danae, like Antigone, was a princess who suffered imprisonment. But the moral at 951-4 - there is no escaping destiny - could hardly be drawn from her case, since she was actually released. The person who tried to evade his destiny, and failed, despite having armies, fortifications and ships at his command, was Acrisius (Goheen 69): but the logic of the exemplum makes him the equivalent of Creon, not of Antigone. This is why I think it difficult, even for those most inclined to be sceptical of double meanings in choral odes, to deny that there is an ironic allusion to Creon’s future downfall. 944 endured: The same word begins a similar series of three mythical exempla at Iliad 5.385-402. 947 a tomb-like chamber: emphasising the parallel with Antigone's case. Some writers sited the chamber above ground. 950 the liquid gold of Zeus's seed: lit. 'gold-flowing seed of Zeus’. This version of the myth has a certain logic (cf. Pind. /sth. 7.5). Rain is the seed of Zeus, fertilising earth or crops (cf. Aesch. Ag. 1391-2); its touch does not normally fertilise women, but that of golden (special, magical) rain might do so; and Acrisius did not think of making the bronze chamber watertight. The more familiar version, in which Zeus transforms himself into golden rain, is no doubt later, and influenced by his metamorphoses in other myths. Thus it does not seem relevant that Antigone’s lover will break into her prison (Winnington-Ingram (1980) 101) -- a detail which, in any case, the audience cannot yet predict - though Winnington-Ingram may be right to see both Acrisius and Creon as having vainly sought to obstruct the power of sexual passion. 951-4: It is a commonplace to say that fate is inescapable (see on 236). A man who faled to evade a death foretold would provide an especially striking illustration, but the principle is felt to apply in a general way to everyonc. 955-65: Lycurgus, son of Dryas, was King of the Edonians, a people in Thrace. 203

When Dionysus was introducing his worship into Thrace, he was opposed by Lycurgus (as by Pentheus at Thebes), and duly punished him. Accounts of his fate differ: he is said elsewhere to have been blinded (Πιαά 6.130-43) or tom apart or to have killed his son in a fit of madness, and his imprisonment in the

present version is a surprisingly mild punishment. Soph. is not known to have dramatised the story, but it was the subject of a tetralogy by Aeschylus. Lycurgus resembles Antigone only in his imprisonment (perhaps an ad hoc invention) and his noble birth. His impiety, on which the Chorus lay such stress, seems irrelevant to the overt purpose of the exemplum, since not even Creon has accused Antigone of a religious offence. It is not fanciful, however, to see this stanza, like the last, as having an ironic application to Creon, who is a king and certainly irascible, and who, though not deliberately impious, will be shown in the next scene to have angered the gods. It perhaps

is fanciful to see a relevance to Creon in the story that Lycurgus killed his son (Winnington-Ingram (1980) 101-4), for this would need to be explicitly mentioned. 960 fervid: lit. ‘flowered’, a bold metaphor. 961-2 came to know the god ...: difficult grammar, perhaps corrupt. I doubtfully follow Jebb. 962 words of mockery: for the text see Miiller. 963-4 the god-inspired women: the Maenads or Bacchants, women who, according to the myths, danced ecstatically on the mountains in honour of Dionysus. Lycurgus will have considered them unruly and immoral, like Pentheus in Eur. Bacch. Creon too tried to restrain a woman,

have been divinely inspired.

and one who may in a sense

.

964 the Bacchanalian fire: the torches brandished by Maenads (cf. 1146-52). The word translated ‘Bacchanalian’ refers to the ritual cry euhoe (1135). 965 and had challenged the tuneful Muses: This detail is not found in other versions of the Lycurgus story, but recalls that of Thamyras (Iliad 2.594-600), which Soph. dramatised (frr. 236a-246). The legends of the three Thracians Lycurgus, Thamyras and Orpheus tended to influence each other, and the Muses — as goddesses of the arts, especially song — had connections with Dionysus. tuneful: lit. ‘pipe-loving’. The aulos or pipe was one of the principal musical instruments, used, for instance, to accompany the songs of tragedy. 966-87: In language of extraordinary allusiveness, artificiality and difficulty (even when proper allowance has been made for textual corruption) the Chorus sing of the sons and wife of Phineus. He was King of Salmydessus in Thrace, and married Cleopatra, daughter of Boreas, who bore him two sons. He later

204

married a woman called Idaea or Idothea (Cleopatra having died or been abandoned), who blinded Cleopatra’s sons in her jealousy. These are the only events

expressly

alluded

to

here,

though

various

other

details,

often

conflicting, are contributed by other sources. Soph. himself wrote two plays

called Phineus (frr. 704-178), and treated the same myth in Tympanistae (frr. 636-45). > The only reason given for introducing this myth is that it is set in Thrace, like that of Lycurgus. By the end, the Chorus have worked their way round to a suitable moral: Cleopatra was of the highest birth but was a victim of the Fates. But it is natural to feel that there should be more to it than this. The sons were

imprisoned

by

some

accounts,

and

there

is some

late, weak

evidence for a version in which Cleopatra was imprisoned also. If this were in the Chorus’s mind, it would provide them with a more coherent train of thought, but it would be most odd that they do not mention it. They do mention a cave (983), but in connection with Cleopatra’s childhood. Attempts to find deeper, ironic meanings are not much more successful. Cleopatra and her sons have been seen as parallel to Eurydice, Haemon and Megareus (cf. 1303), but this would make Phineus parallel to Creon, and it would then be odd that in this ode Phineus is not given any responsibility for the blinding of his sons (contrast fr. 704). Again, the blinding might seem relevant to the blind seer Tiresias, who is about to enter (and Phineus too became a blind seer at some stage), but it cannot be said that his blindness is very important in this play (contrast OT). In short, there are mysteries here, which seem destined to remain unsolved. 966-7: Hopelessly corrupt. In 966 I follow Pearson’s text, which is little more than a guess; in 967, where two or three syllables have dropped out, it is no use even guessing. 966 the Dark Rocks: also known as the Clashing Rocks, two mythical rocks in the Bosporus which clash together to crush any ship that tries to pass between them. 968 the Bosporus: the strait joining the Propontis (Sea of Marmanis) to the Black Sea, these being the ‘twin seas’. 970 Salmydessus: a town in Thrace on the south-western shore of the Black Sea. Ares: said to have been the principal god of the warlike Thracians (Herod. 4.62). Soph. seems to picture him as inhabiting a shrine near Salmydessus, and he witnesses a deed of bloodshed, which he would relish, much as Hades witnesses a burial (542). 973-6: The horrific ‘wound’ is described in an elaborate mass of evocative language, held together by highly poetic and barely translatable syntax. 205

974 that cried for vengeance: The Greek implies that the blind eyes called forth an alastór, a spirit of vengeance, and connects this by a sort of word-play to alaos, ‘blind’. This suggests that (as one would expect) the crime was in fact

avenged. By some accounts Phineus killed his second wife when he learned 976 980

982

985

987

what she had done. shuttles’: natural weapons for a woman to use, as women spent much of their time weaving. ill-wedded: suggesting that Cleopatra did not simply die of natural causes before the remarriage of Phineus, though what her misfortune consisted of abandonment, murder, imprisonment, or merely the blinding of her sons- it is impossible to say. children of Erechtheus: Erechtheus was an early king of Athens, and this phrase can mean simply ‘Athenians’. But Cleopatra was actually his granddaughter. Her mother, Oreithyia, had been carried off by Boreas from Athens to Thrace. Boreas: the North Wind, personified as a god. His home is in Thrace since itis from there that he blows on the Aegean area (see on 589). to run with horses: The Greek word is elsewhere a technical term for infantry who run beside cavalry. Here the meaning cannot be ‘swift as horses’ (Jebb), as this could not be qualified by ‘above the steep hill’ (unless, indeed, we should read ὑπαὶ, to give ‘had been reared ... beneath the steep hill’). The point may lie in the fact that storm-winds — also children of Boreas — could be pictured in the form of horses (Lloyd-Jones 24-5). the steep hill: probably one called Sarpedon, which may have been part of (or identical with) Mount Haemus, and beneath which the cave of Boreas was said to lie. Fates: A person's moira was his portion or destiny, mentioned especially in connection with death, punishment or other misfortune. The personified Moirai, ‘Fates’, are primeval goddesses who oversee all that must happen in the world, but have the same gloomy associations as the abstract noun.

FIFTH ‘EPISODE’ (988-1114) Tiresias is a familiar figure of Theban legend, so his entrance, though not foreshadowed, will not come as a surprise. In several respects his scene is parallel to that at OT 297-462 (Else 86-7 suggests that the common features derive from Aeschylus’s Oedipus). In both plays Tiresias is received politely, until he reveals that the King has brought pollution on the city; the King responds angrily with 206

accusations of corruption; and Tiresias, stung to anger in his turn, prophesies disaster before departing. But the differences are equally important (cf. Seale 103-4). In OT Tiresias is reluctant to speak at all because he knows he can do no good; Oedipus is already doomed whatever happens. Here he is eager to speak because there is still hope (cf. the reported speech of Calchas, Aj. 749-80). The gods are giving Creon a last chance, and the situation could yet be saved if he heeded Tiresias’s first speech; but his failure to do so instantly seals his fate (for the dramatic pattern cf. Leontes in The Winter’s Tale 3.2). He finally does yield (unlike Oedipus), but only when the prophecies have been uttered and their fulfilment is certain. The figure of the Warner — his warnings generally unheeded — is common in Greek folklore (Haemon is another example). But there are clear dramatic gains in having the gods’ will revealed here, before the catastrophe. Creon's initial rejection of their explicit warning serves finally to condemn him, while his eventual capitulation generates suspense, by raising the illusory hope that Antigone might yet be saved, and makes possible the climactic events at her tomb. Greek gods are capable of taking up moral attitudes - condemning injustice or cruelty, for example. But they also, and more traditionally, take account of pollution — ritual impurity — which, as the case of Oedipus shows, can be incurred by wholly unintentional or well-intentioned acts. And in this scene their interests are strictly confined to the sphere of pollution. The first of Tiresias's long speeches does not mention Antigone at all, and gives an unusually detailed and mechanical account of how pollution has been caused by the exposure of Polynices' body. The second does mention her briefly (1068-9), but merely to say that in burying her alive, just as in leaving a body unburied, Creon has offended against the laws of ritual propriety (Hester (1971) 39). His crime is a ‘breach of category boundaries’ (Parker 62), an idea which anthropologists can parallel from the religion of various primitive cultures. Clearly we should allow some room for symbolism here (cf. Parker 44-8. 62-3). It would be too literal-minded to ask what would have happened if the birds who contaminated the altars with the flesh of Polynices had been more considerate in their feeding habits, or if Creon had found a ritually acceptable method for disposing of his niece. It does matter for this play that Creon has incurred pollution by acts that were morally objectionable. even if Oedipus incurred equal pollution by acts that were not. But the fact remains that in this scene Soph. goes out of his way to give Creon's offence a non-moral, ritualistic aspect, of which the gods may take cognisance. In so far as it is a religious offence, it is not a moral one. Like Athena in Aesch. Eum., the gods return the verdict which our human sympathies require, but do so for reasons to which our human 207

sympathies are irrelevant. Indeed, if they had had any interest in Antigone as a person, in the cruelty and injustice of her fate, or in the deed which she performed in their name, they would presumably have intervened to save her, as she herself

realised (925-6). But such miracles do not happen in Sophocles’ world. We may conclude, if we choose, that, as Creon was wrong to leave Polynices unburied, so Antigone was right to bury him, but that conclusion is not imposed on us; we might still feel that it was not for her to flout the decree of her rightful King. The gods give us no help with such questions, having, as far as we can tell, not the slightest interest in them. 993-5: These lines emphasise that Creon is not habitually impious or sceptical (see on 280-9). They are often seen as alluding to a particular mythical occasion when Tiresias’s advice saved the city, and this may be right in view of 1058. But the story of the sacrifice of Menoeceus is unlikely to have existed in the form which Euripides gives it (see on 1303), and indeed one would not expect Creon to feel very grateful for advice leading to the death of his son. As at 289-92, 1033-6, 1161-4, it sounds here as though Creon has been

King for some time; but we may suppose that he acted as regent while Eteocles and Polynices were young, as other plays imply. 999 augury: The behaviour of birds, being random and unpredictable from men’s point of view, is a suitable source of omens, and by the fifth century there was a science for interpreting it (cf. e.g. Aesch. PV 488-92). One might have expected a blind seer to work by pure inspiration without omens, but the tragedians habitually make Tiresias an observer of birds, and devise means for him to practise this craft despite his blindness. 1002 unintelligible: Normally Tiresias can interpret bird-cries symbolically,but now they are ‘barbaric, foreign’ — though this is in itself an omen. 1003 tearing each other: In the human world, which is equally disrupted, a son will

draw a sword on his father, and the father will bring about the death of son and wife. 1005-14: In the hope of receiving a clearer sign, Tiresias burnt parts of a sacrificed animal on an altar. It was usual to burn the thigh-bones wrapped in fat as an offering to the gods (cf. Hes. Theog. 535-57); other parts might be added, as the gall-bladder is here, and omens might be read in the flames (cf. Aesch. PV 496-9). 1f the offerings had burnt properly, this would have shown Tiresias that they were acceptable to the gods, and the form of the flames, as described by the boy, would have enabled him to predict the future. 1006-11: The fat melted instead of burning and flowed onto the glowing embers, while the gall-bladder burst. The description is remarkably precise and vivid. 1007 Hephaestus: i.e. fire; see on 123. 208

1012-13 these ... rites: Dawe deletes 1013 to give merely ‘these things’ (Dawe (1978) 112-13). This may be right, but is not essential. With ‘abortive’ and

‘unrevealing’ compare ‘unfamiliar’ and ‘unintelligible’ at 1001-2 despite ‘all too expressive’ at 1004. The two means of communication between gods and men- the sacrifice and the bird-omens — have failed to work normally, though

the inspired seer can tell what is wrong from the fact of their failure. abortive: lit. ‘dying’; the sacrifice came to a premature and useless end. 1016-22: Generally omens stand in a purely symbolic relation to what they

portend, but here the relation is one of cause and effect through the actions of the birds and dogs. However, these actions themselves belong to the symbolic world of fable and folklore rather than that of zoological reality; compare the eagle who stole burning meat from an altar and set fire to her nest (Archilochus frr. 172-81 West). The connection which any Greek might feel emotionally between exposure of a corpse, a state of pollution, and failure of communication from gods to men is realised in concrete terms which make it all the more persuasive. 1016 hearths: places at or below ground level (as opposed to raised altars) where offerings were burnt. 1021 nor does ... cries: The line is metrically unusual, and there would also be a grammatical irregularity if 'they' in the next line referred to the singular 'any bird' (but see below). These are weak grounds for deleting the line with M. D. Reeve, GRBS 14 (1973), 170, and Dawe; and an explicit explanation for the failure of the bird-omens, as well as that of the sacrifice, is very welcome. 1022 they: Müller is probably right that this refers to the gods, imagined as feeding on sacrificial meat (cf. Ar. Birds 1516-24), as well as to the birds, odd though the coupling may seem. He aptly cites the myth of Tantalus, who committed the ultimate crime of serving the gods with human flesh. a stream: The mss. have ‘fat’, but ‘fat of blood’ is an odd phrase, and it is inconsistent to retain it here while eliminating it at Aesch. Ag. 1428. 1023-32: Another vain lecture on the virtue of yielding; see on 712-18. 1029 give way to the dead: a paradoxical expression. There can be no shame in surrender to a dead enemy. 1030 Where is the prowess ...: Insult to the dead is condemned as ignoble rather than immoral (as at Aj. 1332-45) or simply pointless (as in Euripides' Antigone, fr. 176). 1031 I have taken good thought: The ms. reading would mean ‘I have conceived kindly thoughts towards you' (cf. Jebb), but see Dawe (1978) 113. 1031-2 it is most pleasant ...: i.e. the demands of right and self-interest coincide in this case, so Creon should be glad to learn. 209

1033-47: Inevitably Creon rejects his last chance. Any invitation to yield on this issue has to be seen as a challenge to his authority; so he resorts to characteristic accusations of bribery (cf. 293-314) and to wild generalisations which are hardly consistent with the trust he has earlier shown in Tiresias (993-5). 1033 you ... all: Creon could be thinking of the townsfolk as reported by Haemon (692-700) or of the conspirators by whom he has always believed himself surrounded (289-92). 1034-5 even by the prophets among you: text uncertain. That of the mss. is taken to mean ‘I am not left untried even with prophecy by you’, but then the reference of ‘their’ in the next clause is hopelessly unclear, and there are other grammatical difficulties. 1036 traded and treated as merchandise: i.e. seers have been bribed to prophesy against Creon, as Tiresias has now. In real life it was a familiar fact that seers could be venal, but in tragedy (as in most fiction of every age) to disregard a prophecy is to invite disaster. 1037-8 the electrum of Sardis: a natural alloy of gold and silver, found on Mount Tmolus near Sardis, a proverbially wealthy city of Lydia. 1038-9 the gold of India: Because remote and exotic, India was believed to be rich in gold. The point is that Creon will not be persuaded even if fabulous sums are paid in bribes. 1040-3: The eagle was the bird of Zeus and could be pictured as dwelling with him (e.g. Pind. Pyth. 1.6), but the idea of its bringing carrion to his throne is clearly outrageous, and could easily be seen as blasphemous. 1044 no man has the power to pollute the gods: If the preceding hyperbole (1040-3) had expressed simple defiance of Zeus, it would have seemed the utterance of a madman or stage-villain. The present maxim, however, helps to justify Creon's attitude and make it interesting. Even if it originated with some philosopher or sophist, the maxim must have sounded reasonable and enlightened as soon as it was first uttered; and, when it recurs at Eur. HF 1232, we are clearly invited to agree with it. In the present context, however, it implies that the gods do not concern themselves with pollution at all, and we know from Tiresias that this is false (cf. G. Steiner, Fond. Hardt Soph. 35).

Perhaps Creon's attitude to the gods should be seen here (and at 288) as too modern and enlightened for what Sophocles' plays present as the reality. 1046-7 when they speak shameful words ...: The end of Tiresias's speech (1031-2) is sarcastically echoed. 1048-63: Not a very edifying dialogue. The two men simply exchange accusations of folly and dishonesty until Tiresias is sufficiently provoked to utter his prophecy. 210

1049 this truism: Creon perceives that Tiresias has embarked on a generalisation, and treats it with scornful impatience. Soph. is prepared to risk undermining a tragic convention. 1050 - how much ...: Tiresias ignores the interruption, as often happens in stichomythia. 1058 you saved this city: see on 993-5. 1060 secrets: The Greek suggests sacred mysteries not fit to be spoken. 1062 Indeed, ... concerned: difficult. I doubtfully follow Jebb in taking the line as a grim understatement: ‘I think my speech won't bring any gain ~ to you’. Others take it to mean ‘Do I really seem already to be speaking thus [i.e. for gain] in your opinion?’ This is simpler but less pointed, and one would expect such a question to receive an answer. 1063 trade on my resolve: i.e. gain money by altering my resolve. 1064-90: Tiresias's speech is not a curse producing Creon’s downfall; for that downfall is the responsibility of Creon himself, and Tiresias is speaking on the basis of his prophetic knowledge. Still, there is a sense -- and not, perhaps, a purely dramatic sense — in which the catastrophe does not become inevitable until the prophecy is uttered. We must feel that, if Tiresias had not been provoked to this point, all might yet have been well. 1064-5 not ... many rapid cycles: a considerable understatement, but there are good dramatic reasons for not making the prophecy too explicit. 1068-71: Talking like a good structuralist, Tiresias underlines the symmetry between Creon’s two crimes, a symmetry which is integral to the pattern of the drama. If the world is to present any intelligible order to the human mind, fundamental categories of existence must be marked and respected; and such an ordering can help men to accept and assimilate even the fact of death. The passage from life to death was marked by the rite of burial, consigning ‘those above’ to a world beneath the earth. To leave the dead unburied or to bury the living was to threaten this fundamental order and invite chaos and ruin. Traditionally, while an unburied corpse would certainly have been seen as polluting, the burial of a living person would probably have seemed no more so than other forms of homicide; hence the lack of emphasis on Antigone in Tiresias's speeches. But the parallelism here works very effectively to persuade us that Creon's crime against Antigone is a religious offence equivalent to his crime against Polynices. And with the breach of due order goes the insult to Antigone and Polynices themselves, on which the lines also lay stress. 1069 arrogantly: i.e. to Antigone’s dishonour. 1070-1 and have kept here ...: text disputed. That of the mss. is taken to mean 211

either ‘and you keep here one belonging to the gods below, a corpse dispossessed ...' or ‘and you keep here a corpse with no share in the gods below ...’. But the expression is unnatural either way, and the parallelism with 1068-9 fails to work (cf. Dawe (1978) 113-14, though his own emendation isa poor one). 1071 dispossessed: without the portion due to a corpse, namely burial rites (Bruhn cites Plato Laws 9.878b). dishonoured: lit. ‘without funeral gifts’, such as were normally buried or burned with the corpse. 1072 These: ‘those below’, corpses.

1074 Furies: see on 603. Their activity will be seen in the events that follow. of Hades and of the gods: The exposure of the corpse offends both Hades,

with whom it belongs, and the Olympian gods, who are polluted by its presence (cf. West (1979) 109). 1076 these same evils: Creon will not be punished by some unconnected disaster but through the events which he himself has set in motion. 1078-9 the time is not far off ...: For the grammar see Kamerbeek. 1080-3: On these barely intelligible lines see Müller. They are usually taken to allude to a story dramatised earlier in Aesch. Eleusinians and later in Eur. Supp.: the Thebans denied burial not just to Polynices but to all the Seven against Thebes, until forced to yield by Athens. But that story has nothing to do with this play. We have heard Creon’s proclamation forbidding burial

(192-208) and know that it applied only to the traitor Polynices. And it is out of the question that Creon should leave other bodies exposed even after burying that of Polynices (1196-205), as he would have to do if the events of this play were to be followed by those of Eur. Supp. Nor do the lines fit their immediate context, for the climax of the speech has to be the disasters in the house of Creon, not the distress of foreign cities. Other accounts of the lines (cf. Bruhn) are no better. 1080 all the cities: The expedition against Thebes came specifically from Argos (15, 106). Two of its champions were natives of other cities (Tydeus of Calydon, Parthenopaeus of Tegea), but this hardly justifies ‘all’. 1083 the city: If this means each of the cities mentioned in 1080, the idea is absurd, for exposure of bodies at Thebes could not cause pollution elsewhere. If it means Thebes, it is unclear what this pollution has to do with the hatred of the other cities, and why only Polynices’ corpse was mentioned at 1015-18. 1085 arrows: answering Creon's metaphor at 1033-4. 1091-114: Creon yields, as he must if the illusion of hope is to be generated, if the scene at the tomb is to take place, and if we are to feel even slight sympathy for 212

him at the end. In logic there is no reason why he should believe Tiresias’s second speech any more than his first, but Greek writers seem sometimes to

regard a particularly severe threat as a particularly convincing one (Aesch. Cho. 297, Herod. 6.37), and no doubt this is psychologically natural. This is the only place where one of Sophocles’ obdurate and single-

minded central characters (whether or not we call them ‘heroes’) gives way on a matter of substance (cf. Knox (1964) 15-17, 74-5). Incidental changes of purpose, as at Ant. 771, OT 669-72, OC 1204-5, are not comparable; nor is Phil. 1445-7, for there, after the god’s express command and promise of glory, there is no longer any shame for Philoctetes in sailing to Troy. We should rather recall the unheroic Agamemnon at Aj. 1368-73, though Creon yields with a better grace. 1091 The man has gone, lord: the same words as at 766 after the departure of the

other “Warner’. 1092-3 this white hair: a mark of wisdom and of a place among the elders of the city (cf. Pearson (1928) 188). 1097 it is a terrible prospect ...: a difficult line, variously emended (cf. e.g. Dawe (1968) 113-14 n. 40). But no emendation is really satisfying, and I have reverted, faute de mieux, to the ms. text as interpreted by Jebb. ruin: dé; see on 582-625.

1098 : At the end of the line some mss. have ‘Creon’, others ‘to take’, but probably neither reading is right (Dawe (1978) 115-16). 1100-1: The Chorus-leader places the rescue of Antigone first to encourage us to hope that it may yet succeed. In fact Creon will attend first to the burial of Polynices, as is natural (see on 1196-205). 1104 Plagues: lit. ‘Harms’, i.e. Erinyes (cf 1075) seen as personified forces of destruction. 1109 each and every one: lit. ‘those present and those absent’, a deliberately illogical expression for emphasis. picks: The Greek word elsewhere means ‘axes’, but here it is probably applied to digging implements, whether for rescuing Antigone or for burying Polynices. 1110 the higher ground: lit. ‘the conspicuous place’. Creon would more naturally have named the place in question, but the tragedians usually avoid inventing fictitious place-names. 1112 bound her ... release her: The words are sometimes, perhaps rightly, taken as figurative: ‘tied the knot ... untie it’ (cf. 40). 1113-14: The lines demonstrate the completeness and sincerity of Creon’s capitulation. The ‘laws’ (see on 449) are evidently those enjoining that the 213

dead should be buried and the living should not. Creon could have claimed that he had been following ‘established laws’, at least in Polynices' case (see Introd. p. 6), butit is some time since he last troubled to defend his actions in such terms.

SIXTH CHORAL SONG (‘Fifth Stasimon’, 1115-54) No attentive spectator can seriously expect a happy outcome at this stage. Not that such an outcome would be untragic — disaster narrowly avoided was a theme of many tragedies (cf. Aristotle Poetics 14), probably including Euripides’ Antigone — but all that we have seen so far, and especially Tiresias's last speech, points to Antigone’s death, with other deaths to follow. All the same, an ironic illusion of hope can be created, and to do this by means of a joyful choral ode just before the catastrophe is one of Sophocles’ favourite devices (cf. Aj. 693-718, Trach. 633-62, OT 1086-109). The Chorus, then, sing a hymn to Dionysus (invoked earlier at 153-4), son of

the Theban princess Semele and thus an important patron of Thebes. Although the parts of the ode are tightly fused together (indeed everything from 1115 to 1145 is strictly a single sentence), it can be analysed into sections characteristic of hymns. (a) The god is invoked by various titles, together with mention of various places where he might be found (1115-36). Here this subjected to much poetic elaboration, but the naming of titles and haunts would have had an important religious function in securing the god’s favour. (b) He is reminded of his past devotion to Thebes (1137-9). (c) He is told of the present need and begged to come in response to it (1140-5). (d) The hymn is rounded off with a closing invocation that echoes the opening (1146-54). Dionysus was a popular god with happy associations, since he was the giver of wine and presided over all kinds of festivities. Some, however, feel that this hymn has sinister and prophetic undertones unintended by the singers (e.g. Winnington-Ingram (1980) 110-15). It is true that Dionysus had a punitive role in the previous ode (955-62), and the present ode contains some phrases which could seem inauspicious (mention of Semele’s death, 1139; ‘fire-breathing stars’, 1146;

frenzied Thyiads, 1152). It is difficult, however, to accept the idea that Dionysus will preside over the frenzied actions at the tomb (1220-39), for no one in the play suggests this, and it is not the case that all irrational behaviour was necessarily ascribed to Dionysiac influence. Dionysus featured in Euripides’ Antigone (fr. 177), probably intervening asa so-called deus ex machina. 214

1115 God of many names: Only two are given in this ode - Bacchus (Baccheus) and lacchus - but many more existed, and this catch-all phrase caters for them. Cadmean bride: Semele, daughter of Cadmus (see on 1124-5). bride of Zeus and mother of Dionysus (see further on 1139). 1118-33: Five places associated with Dionysus: Italy (?), Eleusis, Thebes, Mount Parnassus, Nysa. 1119 Italy: Greek settlers in Italy naturally cultivated vines and worshipped Dionysus, but it is unclear why Italy should be expressly singled out here. The emendation Icaria (‘Ikapiav Unger) is attractive; this was a village near Marathon, said to have been the first in Attica to receive Dionysus. 1120-1 hospitable vale: the coastal plain of Eleusis, surrounded by hills; ‘hospitable’ because men came from far and wide to be initiated in the Eleusinian Mysteries. The Greek may also suggest the hospitable bosom of the maternal goddess. Eleusinian Deo: a name of Demeter, worshipped at Eleusis near Athens together with her daughter Persephone and a god called lacchus (1154). lacchus was identified with Dionysus, perhaps merely because his name resembles 'Bacchus'. 1123-4 dweller ... Ismenus: The sense is clear, but the ms. text is unmetrical and variously emended (see West (1984) 184, though I have doubtfully followed Pearson). 1122 Bacchants’: see on 963-4. mother-city: The Bacchants are said elsewhere to have originated in Asia, but here Thebes is their *mother-city' because of Semele or because of their role in the myth of Pentheus. 1124 Ismenus: one of the rivers of Thebes (see on 104-5).

1124-5on the ground ... serpent: The hero Cadmus came from Phoenicia to found Thebes. He had first to kill a serpent or ‘dragon’ that lived on the site; he then

sowed its teeth in the ground, and from them grew a band of armed men, who became the ancestors of the Thebans. 1126-30: At Delphi the worship of Dionysus came second only to that of Apollo. Every two years the Delphians held a nocturnal festival in honour of Dionysus, in which women danced brandishing torches on Mount Parnassus above the town. Here, as often, Dionysus and the nymphs are pictured as participating in the festival, or in a supernatural counterpart to it. 1126 the double rock: the Phaedriades, two cliffs towering over Delphi, below the plateau where the festival was held. 1127 the flash of the pitch-flame: The Greek vividly conveys the flicker of light amid the smoke of resinous pine torches. 215

1128 Corycian nymphs: The Corycian Cave was a large cave high on Parnassus. Like other caves it was a haunt of nymphs, minor goddesses of the countryside often pictured in the retinue of Dionysus. 1130 the Castalian stream: a sacred stream flowing down Parnassus and through Delphi. 1132 ivy-clad: Ivy is often mentioned in connection with Dionysus. Vase-paintings show Maenads wearing it in their hair. 1131 Nysaean hills: Nysa was a legendary mountain where the infant Dionysus was reared. It is variously located by different authors, but Soph. here seems to place it on Euboea, off the north-east coast of central Greece (see on 1145). 1133 vines: for which Euboea was noted. 1134-5 the divine chants ... ‘euhoe!’: This was a joyful shout uttered in the rites of Dionysus, and the idea here seems to be that it is included in sacred chants or songs. The phrase is sometimes emended, unconvincingly.

1139 you and your mother: Semele was sometimes honoured as a goddess along with Dionysus (Hes. Theog. 942, Eur. Bacch. 998).

whom the lightning consumed: The jealous Hera tricked Semele into asking Zeus to come to her in the form in which he came to Hera. He came as a thunderbolt, and she, being mortal, was consumed by it. Here, however, the thunderbolt is evidently seen as an honour (cf. Eur. Bacch. 6-12) leading to deification. 1144 with cleansing foot: The ideas of disease and pollution are closely linked (cf. 1015), and either can be removed by the purification afforded by a god. Dionysus was concerned with ritual purification (Dodds on Eur. Bacch. 77), and here it is hoped that he will purify by his mere presence. 1144-5 the Parnassian height: which Dionysus must cross if he is to come ina straight line from Delphi to Thebes. 1145 the moaning strait: the Euripus, the strait between Euboea and the mainland, which Dionysus must cross if he is to come from Euboean Nysa. 1146-7 dance-leader of the fire-breathing stars: a startling phrase. A chorëgos was the leader of any band of dancers and singers, including a dramatic chorus. The idea here seems to be suggested by the torch-dances of 1126-7: asa human chorégos leads the dancers in their pattern of moving lights, so Dionysus leads the stars across the sky. The stars could be seen as gods, but ‘fire-breathing’ rather suggests baleful monsters. 1147-8 voices in the night: again referring to nocturnal Dionysiac rites, which pervade this antistrophe. 1152 Thyiads: another term for Maenads or Bacchants, from a word for ‘rage’. frenzy: a mark of the god’s power and his followers’ devotion, though nota

very auspicious one. 216

1154 Iaechus: see on 1120-1. His image was brought to Eleusis in an annual

torch-lit procession, which has become associated here with the Delphic dances.

MESSENGER SCENE,

1155-256

In traditional terminology everything from 1155 to the end of the play would be called the exodos, but there is a marked structural break after 1256, and it is

better to use the term exodos (if at all) only of what follows the break. Almost every play of Sophocles and Euripides includes at least one ‘messenger scene’, in which events offstage — usually violent, and often forming the climax of the story — are reported by a servant or other faceless character (cf. Taplin (1977) 80-5). The present example is typical; there are also borderline cases, such as the Guard’s two scenes earlier in this play, where the Guard performs the functions of a messenger but has other functions as well. It is evident that such scenes, with their opportunities for vivid and exciting narrative, were deliberately cultivated by the tragedians, and not regarded as a regrettable necessity imposed by the limitations of the Greek stage. In most respects the structure of the scene is also typical: announcement of disaster (1155-71), brief dialogue between Messenger and Chorus-leader (11729), long ‘messenger speech’ describing events in detail (1192-243), another brief dialogue before the Messenger departs (1244-56). This makes Eurydice's sudden intervention come as all the more of a surprise (see on 1180-91). As usual, a reason is given for the Messenger’s existence — he is one of the servants ordered to assist Creon at 1108-10 -- and he is greatly moved by what he has seen, but he can barely be said to be characterised, at least by comparison with the Guard. 1155-71: The preliminary announcement is made entirely in the form of sententious generalisations, which are not uncommon in such contexts but are here extended to unusual length. This is perhaps because the portrayal of Creon as a paradigm of the mutability of fortune — like Oedipus, Xerxes or Croesus -- is unexpected, and so requires particular emphasis. In itself the mutability of fortune is perhaps the most frequent of all themes in Greek moralising, but its very familiarity helps us to see Creon in a new light as the speech proceeds. If he does not become a ‘tragic hero’, at least the wreck of his happiness is shown to be morally interesting and important in its own right. We shall find later that the Messenger holds Creon responsible for his own fate (1173, 1242-3), but in these lines, unless there is a hint of reproof in 217

‘forfeits’ at 1166, any such judgements are avoided. 1155 Cadmus: See on 1124-5. Amphion: Husband of Niobe (823-33); regarded as a second founder of Thebes. 1156-9: The Messenger has in fact witnessed only a change for the worse. His references to changes for the better can be ascribed to the tendency to antithesis which is built into the Greek language, or to a Sophoclean sense of balance and reciprocity in the universe (cf. e.g. Aj. 669-83, Trach. 122-35, 0C 607-15; Jones 166-77). The two explanations are by no means mutually exclusive. 1161-4: Once again there is some vagueness concerning Creon's past career (see on 993-5). It seems that he must have played a decisive role in the war with Argos (cf. 8, ‘the general’), and one might have gathered from this passage that he had been King for some time since. 1165-71 For when a man ...: proverbial wisdom, recalling the lyric poet Simonides (fr. 79 Page). 1167 him as living ... corpse: The line is not in any ms. of Soph., but is fortunately supplied in quotations by an ancient and a medieval scholar. 1168-71: The Messenger's turn of rhetoric recalls Creon's own (1037-9). 1170 a vapour's shadow: proverbial as an expression of worthlessness. 1173 Some are dead: The plural alludes primarily to Haemon, as 1175 shows, though Antigone need not be excluded. those who live are responsible ...: The ‘grief includes the guilt of the father as well as the death of the son. 1175 his blood has been shed: a play on Haemon's name and the word haima, ‘blood’. by no stranger’s hand: The word αὐτόχειρ could mean ‘by his own hand’ or ‘by a relative's hand’. Hence the Chorus-leader's question in 1176; but, as the Messenger then explains, the word is valid in both senses. 1180-91: Eurydice's entrance breaks unexpectedly into the stereotyped structure of the scene. It has not been prepared for by even the most casual of allusions to Creon's wife, and it is unlikely that she played any part in the myth before Soph.; both her suicide and her name (she is called Henioche at 'Hes.' Shield 83) are probably his invention. Moreover, her part is remarkably short. If we except, as a special case, Pylades'

three lines at Aesch.

Cho.

900-2, then

Eurydice's is the shortest speaking part in surviving tragedy (though there are shorter singing parts in Euripides) — a curious fact, considering that she is no mere supernumerary but the Queen of Thebes, whose suicide will be an important event in the action. It seems that Soph., having already divided the

218

interest of the play between Antigone and Creon, will not risk letting Eurydice usurp any interest of her own. Her part could have been moving in itself, but she must be strictly confined to a subordinate role in the ruin of Creon. So why is she introduced at all? Her existence would be ill-justified if its sole purpose were to pile on the agony at the end. Her presence doubtless adds something to the poignancy of the messenger-speech, but in other plays Soph. was content to have equally important messenger-speeches delivered to the Chorus alone (OT 1237-85, OC 1586-666). It is important. however, that Creon’s downfall should not seem contingent and arbitrary, as it might if it had resided merely in the suicide of one distraught youth. Creon has disregarded the importance of family ties, and must be rejected by the family as a whole if his ruin is to have full significance. We must feel, in the end, that it is impossible to live with Creon. 1183-9: For the need for a woman to explain her presence outside cf. 18-19 and see Gould 40. Here the explanation is unusually elaborate, to mark Eurydice’s particular modesty; this will make her suicide all the more shocking and Creon’s loss all the greater. We may infer that she would not have approached the gate of the courtyard except on an errand to a shrine, and perhaps that, even on such an errand, she would have turned back on hearing men's voices, but for her urgent need to hear the Messenger’s news. 1183 Men of the whole city: lit. ‘all the citizens’. The role of the Chorus as representatives of the whole community is made explicit. 1184 Pallas: a frequent title of Athena. 1191 for I shall hear it ...: evidently referring to the death of Megareus (1303). The line, combined with the Messenger’s reply (1192-5), recalls Deianira at Trach. 436-69; for links between Eurydice and Deianira see on 1244-5.

1192-5: The Messenger's dramatic function compels him to include all the harrowing details, but this requires some apology given Eurydice's presence. 1196-205: Some critics have been strangely worried by the fact that Creon spends time giving funeral rites to Polynices before trying to rescue Antigone. Clearly it is dramatically effective for events at her tomb to form the climax of the Messenger's speech, but it is also wholly natural that Creon should first attend to what Tiresias has stressed as the main source of pollution. He has no reason to suspect that Antigone is in immediate danger, and he does not foresee Haemon's suicide until he hears his voice at 1209. 1197 the furthest part of the plain: 1f the body had been left where it fell, it would be by the Seventh Gate (cf. 141-7), and we have never been told that it has been moved. But consistency on this point no doubt matters less to Soph. than the distinction between the city and the uncontrolled natural world outside, 219

from which pollution and ruin spread (cf. Segal 167). 1199-204: At last a mangled body receives due burial, as at the end of the Iliad. Soph. stresses the propriety of the rites (Polynices has received fuller honours than Antigone could have hoped to pay), but also the condition of the body. How far can the past outrage be undone? 1199-200 We prayed ...: The exposure of the body has offended both supernal and infernal gods, but it is the latter who must be propitiated if the funeral rites are to be effective. At last Creon recognises their legitimate claims. The names Hecate and Hades are euphemistically avoided. 1199 the Wayside Goddess: Hecate, a sinister figure associated with corpses and witchcraft, worshipped especially at places where three roads met. 1200 Pluto: ‘the wealthy one’, a euphemistic name for Hades. 1202 what was left: a grim phrase, the more effective for what it leaves to the imagination. 1203 a lofty burial-mound: raised over the bones, which were collected after the flesh had been burnt. This was normal Homeric practice, sometimes followed

in Sophocles’ day also. 1204-5 went towards: The Greek seems to say ‘went in towards’, which is unexplained. Linforth 242 pictures a long passage leading into a hillside (as at a Mycenaean chamber tomb), which Creon’s party enter some time before reaching the tomb itself; but the text gives no adequate indication of this, and

the suggestion does not solve the difficulties of 1215-17. 1204 stone-floored: and thus cruelly unlike a real bridal-chamber with its soft bedding. 1207 unhallowed: lit. ‘without funeral gifts’ (see on 1071). ‘Bridal-chamber without funeral gifts’ is a shorthand expression (made possible by the frequency of such ideas in this play) for ‘bridal-chamber that was no ordinary bridal-chamber and tomb that was no ordinary tomb’. 1209 an indistinct noise of pitiful shouting: like that of the birds (1001-2). 1216-17 after penetrating ... entrance: very difficult. I have doubtfully followed J. I. Beare, Hermathena 13 (1905), 82-6: the ‘actual entrance’ to the tomb is within the mound, and stones have been piled up outside it. Others think that the words refer to ‘a gap in the mound where stones have been pulled out’, whether by Haemon or by the attendants, but this is hard to reconcile with the

Greek (cf. also Lloyd-Jones 26-7). Dawe marks a lacuna after 1216, to separate the actions of standing by the tomb and looking from that of entering (Dawe (1978) 117-19), but we do not want to separate ‘look’ from ‘toseeif...’. 1219

(Thus,

... master,]

The

ms.

text

makes

little

sense.

Most

edd. read

κελευσμάτων (Burton), giving the text I have translated in brackets; but the 220

line remains a wretched one, and it is best deleted. 1220-5: Like the Guard, the Messenger reports only what he has seen, and leaves us to work out what had happened previously; but elaborate detective-work should not be needed. Antigone has clearly hanged herself to avoid a slow death from starvation. In this she has acted with her usual courage and resolution. The Greeks attached no automatic blame to suicide, and in Soph., at least, the act is generally seen as a proper way to escape from an intolerable existence (see Seidensticker, who contrasts the end of Eur. HF). Certainly Antigone should not be charged with rashness, as she had no reason to hope for rescue. Haemon must have broken into the tomb shortly before Creon's arrival, and found Antigone already dead. Most scholars assume that his purpose was to rescue her, but this is not borne out by 751 ('in dying she will destroy another’), by 762-4, or by Creon’s lines in this scene (1211-13, 1228-30), in which he evidently foresees his son's imminent suicide. The natural inference is that he intended from the first to die by Antigone's side (Ronnet 85). True, it is hard to imagine exactly how the couple would have died if she had still been alive on his arrival, but we are not invited to consider this question. The idea of his rescuing her is never mentioned, and, if we think about it at all, we may suppose that any attempt would have been hopeless. 1221-3 the girl ... the youth: The Greek has 'the one ... the other', with only the gender of the pronouns to show who is meant. Antigone's name does not occur after her departure from the stage (in fact, not after 805). Her death is dealt with quite briefly; but then, it is not the primary concern of Creon or the Messenger, and its effect on Haemon is perhaps as moving a tribute as any she could have had. 1222 a woven noose of fine linen: Antigone has used her veil or some similar article, having no other resource. There is pathos in the description of the delicate fabric. 1225 fortune: The mss. have ‘bed’, i.e. ‘marriage’; but, even if ‘unhappy marriage’ could mean ‘ill-starred hope of marriage’, this would merely repeat ‘the loss of his departed bride’, in feebler terms. The corruption is the same as at 1303. 1228-30: The vehemence of Creon’s appeal would be hard to understand if Haemon’s motive in entering the tomb had merely been to rescue Antigone (as Creon himself planned to do). This has given rise to some strange theories, rightly dismissed by Kamerbeek. There is no difficulty given that Haemon’s presence portends an intention to kill himself and Creon realises this. 1230 in supplication: Creon has no time to make a formal gesture of supplication, but uses this emotionally charged word to exert whatever pressure he can. 221

Since a suppliant is one who humbles himself before the superior power of another, the word is a most striking one for a father — and above all such a father as Creon - to use to his son. 1231-6: Haemon's motives are clear enough (cf. Gellie 51). He first draws his sword on his father in a frenzy of rage at the death of the woman he loved. He then feels disgust at having done so. for this is still the same dutiful son that we met earlier. and that disgust is the immediate occasion of his turning his sword on himself, in defiance of his father's appeal. It can only increase Creon's grief and remorse that his son's suicide should have had such a motive. To suppose, however, that this is its sole motive (von Fritz 233-4) is ruled out by 1177 as well as by the general situation. Like Ismene, he cannot bear to live without Antigone. 1232 spitting in his face: so shocking a gesture from a Greek son that some have tried - quite unsuccessfully — to give the words a different meaning. 1233 two-edged: rather than 'cross-hilted' (Jebb); see Müller. 1236-40: It seems that Antigone's body is now lying on the ground, although at 1221-2 it was still hanging, and we have not been told that anyone has cut it down. Attempts to explain away this minor inconsistency have not been convincing. 1237-8 and coughed up ... cheek: Haemon has punctured a lung, so that blood spurts from his mouth. The graphic details here provide a remarkable combination of horror and pathos. The wording is imitated closely from Aesch. Ag. 1389-90 - a very different situation (Agamemnon's blood spattering Clytemnestra), though Mrs Easterling notes that ‘in both cases there is a distortion of sexual contact’. ‘White cheek’ is Sophocles’ own contribution. For the text see J. H. Kells, CR 11 (1961), 192-3. 1240-1 achieving ... house of Hades: the image of marriage in death has often been applied to Antigone (see on 804, 813-16), but, now that bride and groom lie dead in each other's arms, it acquires a new validity. 1242-3 folly is the worst evil ...: the corollary of Tiresias's opinion at 1050. Indeed the theme of sense and folly is a frequent one, especially in the latter part of the play; cf. Goheen 83-4, Linforth 257-9, Long 149-50. It is mainly applied to Creon, and this helps to confirm that Creon's folly, not Haemon's, is in question here. 1244-5: As at Trach. 813, a queen, having heard a ‘messenger speech’, turns in silence to enter the palace, and we know that she has gone to kill herself (for Eurydice and Deianira see also on 1191, 1283). We must infer that the reason for Eurydice’s silence is simply the extremity of her grief and the immediacy of her resolve to die, and this, no doubt, is psychologically plausible. Still, this 222

silence lacks the special effectiveness of the silence of Deianira, who has been bitterly attacked by her son and is too ashamed to reply. It looks as though a motif designed for use in Trach. is being borrowed here (see Introd. p. 2 and cf. Reinhardt 92, 244-5 n. 17). Behind both silent exits lies the silent departure of Ajax at Odyssey 11.563-4; and ahead lies the exit of Jocasta to her suicide at OT 1073. 1248 she will not think it properto utter: There is probably some corruption, as the future tense is odd and ‘to utter’ is not easily supplied in the Greek. 1249 set her private grief before her handmaids ...: i.e. she will lament and her handmaids will respond in an antiphonal dirge. 1250 go astray: euphemistic; suicide is what Messenger and Chorus fear.

LYRIC EXCHANGE

(amoibaion, kommos, exodos, 1257-353)

Creon returns with his son's body, and the rest of the play is taken up with lyric utterances of lamentation by Creon interspersed with brief passages of spoken dialogue between Creon, the Messenger and the Chorus-leader. Dirges were probably a standard feature of early tragedy, and they continued to be used in some plays down to OC (1670-750). Since they do not advance the action of a play and often abound in stereotyped expressions of grief (which present particular difficulties for translators), the modern reader is apt to feel impatient with them. It should be remembered, however, that passionate lamentation was a normal part of a Greek funeral, serving to give the dead their due as well as to relieve the emotions of the survivors. The dirges of real life might be spontaneous, but might also have been composed for the occasion by a lyric poet; so the experience of listening to a dirge sung in the theatre cannot have been unlike that of attending an actual funeral. We may be sure that the effect was not toalienate the audience but to draw it further into the emotional world of the play. This amoibaion resembles that which ends Aesch. Pers. in that Creon, like Xerxes, must accept full responsibility for the events he mourns: it is guilt, as much as grief, that is being explored. A notable difference. however - and a remarkable feature of the present amoibaion — is that here the Chorus takes no part in the singing. Even in Antigone's lament (806-82) it managed some more or less sympathetic anapaests and lyrics; here we have nothing but cold spoken lines from the Chorus-leader, so that Creon, in his guilty despair. seems even more isolated than Antigone. The dirge is interrupted shortly after its beginning by the entry of the Messenger to report the death of Eurydice. whose body is later revealed on the 223

stage. The audience would have been expecting to hear of her death, but probably not until the lamentation for Haemon had run its course. The interruption introduces variety and plot-development into the scene: in the course of

lamenting, Creon learns just how much he has to lament, and there is bitter irony in the fact that the lament begins when he does not know. The gradual revelation of events within the house also enables Soph. to avoid using a formal messenger-speech for a second time. Some critics have wondered why the body of Antigone is not brought on stage to be mourned with that of Haemon. There would have been some practical difficulty: who could properly have mourned her, when the attention of Creon and the Chorus is bound to be directed primarily at Haemon and Eurydice? But there would also have been a subtle alteration in the whole effect of the drama. Antigone was convinced that her one and only funeral and her final burial were taking place while she lived. If she had proved to be mistaken in this, and had been formally lamented and reburied at the end of the play, it would have seemed that the gods had relented - that they had redressed the balance, not merely by punishing Creon for his crimes, but by giving posthumous reward to Antigone. This might have been comforting and edifying, but it would have made a different play. The play we have ends with stark concentration on one theme: the ruin of Creon. 1258 in his hands: This expression, and similar ones at 1279, 1298, 1345, should not be taken literally, as meaning that Creon is carrying the body himself (see Knox (1979) 175). It is doubtless brought in (represented by a dummy or an extra) by attendants, with Creon perhaps clasping its hand or head ina gesture of farewell. 1260 disaster: até, see on 582-625. Here, where the word is equated with ‘fault’,

the sense of ‘infatuation’ as well as that of ‘disaster’ is doubtless present; cf. Doyle 108. 1261-9: Creon overhears and picks up the Chorus’s last word. His despair is the more bitter for his perception that the cause lies entirely in his own folly. 1264 you: the Chorus. 1265 aiai: Greek is rich in exclamations of grief, and we may be sure that none of

them had the stilted effect that even ‘alas’ has - let alone ‘ah me’ or ‘oh woe’ in modern English. Experiment seems to show that the least comical way of dealing with such exclamations in the present amoibaion — short of leaving them out altogether - is to transliterate instead of translating. Indeed, when a ‘word’ is really a cry, its sound may matter more than any meaning that can be rendered from one language into another. 1266 meeting a recent and untimely death: lit. ‘young with a young death’ or ‘new 224

with a new death’. The meaning of the second ‘young’ or ‘new’ is disputed, but 1283 suggests that it is merely ‘recent’, even if this makes the word-play rather empty. 1270 all too late ... you have seen what is right: The theme of ‘learning when too late’ is prominent in Trach. and other plays (see Easterling on Trach. 934, Kamerbeek here). Only through suffering and death do men come to perceive the moral pattern of which suffering and death are a part. The Chorus may seem hypocritical here, after its earlier support for Creon, but what matters is that it continues to display the natural reaction of ordinary citizens to the events of the play. 1273 throwing: For the text see Dawe (1978) 119-20. 1274-5 hurl me ... under foot: There is a suggestion of a vehicle wrecked on a rough road -- a separate metaphor from the preceding one of a weight thrown from on high. 1278-80: The character who now emerges from the palace is evidently the one who entered it at 1256. For the re-use of a messenger for other purposes after his first news has been delivered cf. Trach. 335ff., OT 989ff. In these lines the idea of the two parallel evils, one present and one absent, is elaborated in

Greek of extreme complexity, of which the translation can give no impression. 1282 true mother: If the text is sound, a word normally meaning ‘mother of all’ is oddly employed here. 1283 fresh sword-blows: When women in Greek tragedy commit suicide, it is usually by hanging, as at 54, 1221 (but see Seidensticker 114). Eurydice, like Deianira (Trach. 881-7, 923-31), is an exception. The modesty and femininity of both women makes the violence of their deaths all the more shocking. The reason may in Deianira’s case be her passionate self-reproach, in Eurydice’s the example of her son; but here Soph. may also have been seeking variety after the hangings of Jocasta and Antigone. 1284-5 haven of Hades ...: The Underworld is a ‘haven’ because it receives the dead, and it is ‘destroying’ Creon by taking his loved ones from him. 1289 boy: a common form of address to a slave. It may seem a little odd here, but the echo of the same word at the same point in the strophe (1266) at least helps to confirm the text. 1293 You may see ...: The ekkyklëma is the only piece of stage-machinery that fifth-century tragedians can be shown to have used at all frequently. It was a low wheeled platform which could be pushed into view through the doorway of the scene-building

in order

to reveal,

in the form

of a tableau,

the

consequence of events indoors. It was used mainly to reveal dead bodies. In 225

this case it may well bear the altar at which Eurydice killed herself (1301) as well as her corpse. The device is a quite artificial one, but had evidently become an accepted convention by the time of this play. Soph. uses it also at Aj. 346 and El. 1466. 1301 At the altar .. sword [?]: The line is incurably corrupt, and there is probably a line missing after it. 1 have translated the popular but quite uncertain conjecture 48 ὀξυθήκτωι βωμία περὶ ξίφει (Arndt). It seems in any case that Eurydice

killed herself at an altar; this would

have

been the one in the

courtyard of the palace (see on 487), and she perhaps used a sacrificial sword that lay ready beside it. By killing herself in such a place she might have sought to sanctify her death as a sacrifice, but she would also have brought fearful pollution on Creon's house (cf. Aesch.

Supp.

468-73).

1303 glorious fate: a pretty certain correction (the mss. absurdly giving 'glorious bed"). Instrict logic the Greek would imply that Haemon's death was glorious also, but such logic is not to be insisted on. Megareus: Haemon's brother, whose death has earlier been the subject of vague allusions (993, 1058, 1191, 1250), is at last named. At Aesch. Sept. 473-9 Megareus, son of Creon, is simply one of the warriors defending Thebes. At Eur. Phoen. 834-1018 the name Megareus does not occur, but Menoeceus, son of Creon, is a young boy who kills himself by leaping from the wall in order to fulfil a prophecy and save the city. Soph. seems to be alluding to a version otherwise unknown, in which the son is called Megareus and dies nobly in some way, but probably not quite the same way as Euripides Menoeceus. 1304-5 charging you ... with your evil deeds: The Greek is usually, but less naturally, taken to mean 'invoking evil fortunes upon you'. Eurydice's dying words are in any case tantamount to a terrifying curse. 1311 and for the other's: In Euripides Creon does his best to save his son, but is prevented by the latter's noble determination to die. Such a version would make Eurydice's denunciation somewhat unreasonable and thus blunt its force, so we may take it that he was more directly responsible for the death of Megareus in the version which Soph. has in mind. 1317-25: A bleak portrayal of an utterly broken man. Ajax, Heracles and Oedipus (OT), while perceiving clearly that they have nothing left to live for, retaina dignity and authority which is impossible for the guilty Creon. Guilt and shame, then, are not the same thing in Sophocles' world. 1330-2: Text and punctuation uncertain. 1335 those who should order it: the gods. 1336 what I want: ‘everything I want’ (πάντα Dawe (1978) 120) would be clearer. 226

1337-8: For ‘fatalism’ see on 236. The ChorusJeader offers such simple comfort as proverbial wisdom can afford, but clearly does not mean to suggest that Creon has no responsibility at all for what is past. 1333: which to look upon ...: very corrupt, but the text printed here cannot be far wrong. The two people to whom Creon is accustomed to looking for comfort and support are not only dead but enemies to him. 1347-53: As Creon is led away, the Chorus draw an acceptable moral, stressing the theme of wisdom once again (see on 1242- 3). But their words, like the last

words of most Greek tragedies, contain nothing profound or unconventional. The ‘moral’ of a tragedy may be only a small part of its meaning. 1347 Wisdom ... happiness: The maxim fits the case of Creon well enough. If applied to that of Antigone, it would suggest that she would have been wise to leave Polynices unburied, since only thus could she have won happiness; but the words should not be pressed so far. Greater wisdom would have done little for the happiness of Haemon or Eurydice. 1350-1 Grand words of proud men: Much has happened since similar language was applied to Capaneus (127). The pride that the gods punish may be harder to avoid than is suggested by simple cautionary tales like his.

227

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