Antigone is one of Sophocles oldest surviving plays, and a prime example of Ancient Greek tragedy. To qualify in the genre, a hero or heroic individual must encounter sorrowful or terrible events throughout the drama. Antigone's trials and tribulations certainly earn her the title of a tragic heroine. The play is the earliest of Sophocles' three Theban plays, though it depicts the events at the end of the trilogy's chronology.

Antigone has been retold and explored by modern authors in spades. This list of Greek retellings includes those of Antigone, and this review of Kissing the Floor by Ellen McLaughlin celebrates the modern play's retelling.

In art, the tragic story of Antigone is a frequent subject. Read on here for examples in visual art.

We recommend Robert Fagle's translation in the Penguin edition entitled Sophocles: The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus, which contains fabulous introductions to each play by the great classical scholar Bernard Knox.