Antigone The Tragic Heroine of Defiance and Duty

**Antigone: The Tragic Heroine of Defiance and Duty** Antigone, one of the most compelling figures in Greek mythology, is the tragic heroine whose story is best known through the play written by Sophocles. As the daughter of Oedipus, the ill-fated king of Thebes, and his mother, Jocasta, Antigone’s life was marked by misfortune from the very beginning. Her story, however, is not defined by her family’s cursed legacy but by her unwavering commitment to justice, morality, and familial duty, which ultimately leads to her tragic demise. After the death of her father, Thebes became embroiled in a bitter conflict between her two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, over the throne. The brothers killed each other in battle, leaving Creon, their uncle, to ascend to the throne as king of Thebes. Creon decreed that Eteocles, who had fought for Thebes, should be buried with honor, while Polyneices, who attacked the city, was to be left unburied as punishment for his rebellion. In ancient Greek culture, denyi