Antigone characters

Appears from the start

The younger daughter of Oedipus, slight, intense, and unwilling to accept King Creon's order that her brother Polynices remain unburied. She is engaged to Creon's son Haemon but places an absolute duty to the dead above safety and ordinary happiness.

Appears from the start

Antigone's older sister, beautiful, sociable, and more cautious. She understands why Antigone wants to honor Polynices but fears the death penalty and initially urges her sister to obey Creon's decree.

Appears from the start

The king of Thebes, Antigone's uncle, and Haemon's father. A practical ruler burdened by the work of restoring order after civil war, he has forbidden burial of Polynices as a public warning against rebellion.

Appears from the start

Creon's son and Antigone's fiancé. Gentle and devoted to Antigone, he chose her unexpectedly over Ismene and imagines a future with her that her act of defiance places in danger.

Appears from the start

The elderly servant who raised Antigone and Ismene. Maternal, anxious, and concerned with everyday needs, she mistakes Antigone's secret early-morning excursion for a romantic meeting.

Appears from the start

A theatrical commentator who introduces the cast, explains the fatal pattern already enclosing them, and periodically interprets the action for the audience. The Chorus presents tragedy as an unavoidable mechanism once it has begun.

Appears from the start

One of the ordinary soldiers assigned to watch Polynices' body. More worried about punishment, promotion, and routine comforts than questions of justice, he reports the attempted burial to Creon and later helps arrest Antigone.

Appears from the start

Creon's wife and Haemon's mother. She spends much of the action quietly knitting, an image of contained domestic life set against the public conflict consuming her family.

Appears from the start

The young attendant who accompanies Creon and observes the king's exhausting official duties. His presence emphasizes the ordinary life and future that continue beyond the tragedy.