In the aftermath of a brutal war, the city of Thebes is in chaos. When the new king, Creon, declares that the body of Antigone's traitorous brother must be left unburied to rot in the sun, she boldly defies his order - an act of rebellion which sets in motion the tragic showdown between the daughter of Oedipus and the king. Sophocles' timeless tragedy explores the conflict between individual will and the power of the state, between the gods of the hearth and the polis, between loyalty to family and to fatherland. With themes of morality, justice, and duty at its core, Antigone stands among the crowning achievements of European literature, as compelling today as in the age of Periclean Athens. Edward Alexander's masterful verse translation is accompanied by an extensive essay detailing the themes of Antigone and its relationship to Athenian history, the Homeric epics, and Ancient Greek religion. Also included in this edition is the full play in the original Greek.