Antigone
[ an-tig-uh-nee ]
/ ænˈtɪg əˌni /
noun
Classical Mythology.
a daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta who defied her uncle, King Creon, by performing funeral rites over her brother, Polynices, and was condemned to be immured alive in a cave.
(italics)
a tragedy (c440 b.c.) by Sophocles.
Example sentences from the Web for antigone
British Dictionary definitions for antigone
Antigone
/ (ænˈtɪɡənɪ) /
noun
Greek myth
daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, who was condemned to death for cremating the body of her brother Polynices in defiance of an edict of her uncle, King Creon of Thebes
Cultural definitions for antigone (1 of 2)
Antigone
[ (an-tig-uh-nee) ]
In classical mythology, a daughter of King Oedipus. Her two brothers killed each other in single combat over the kingship of their city. Although burial or cremation of the dead was a religious obligation among the Greeks, the king forbade the burial of one of the brothers, for he was considered a traitor. Antigone, torn between her religious and legal obligations, disobeyed the king's order and buried her brother. She was then condemned to death for her crime.
notes for Antigone
The Greek playwright
Sophocles tells her story in
Antigone, a play that deals with the conflict between human laws and the laws of the gods.