Antigone

[ an-tig-uh-nee ]

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.

Compare Meanings

Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.

Words Nearby Antigone

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Antigone in a sentence

We have spoken of the oath upon the sword—the oath of ancient Scythia, the oath of the Antigone of Euripedes.
A Cursory History of Swearing | Julian Sharman
His "Antigone" was written when he was forty-five, and when Euripides had already gained a prize.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume I | John Lord
So Antigone sadly returned to Athens, and the blind king groped his way among the thick underbrush and fallen trees.
Stories of Old Greece and Rome | Emilie Kip Baker
The celebrated tragedy of Antigone, by Sophocles, owes its chief interest and pathos to the popular faith on this subject.
Traditions, Superstitions and Folk-lore | Charles Hardwick
Of these, the Œdipus Tyrannus and the Antigone are the most admired.
The Student's Mythology | Catherine Ann White

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Antigone

[ (an-tig-uh-nee) ]

A tragedy by Sophocles. It concerns the punishment of Antigone for burying her brother, an act that was forbidden because he had rebelled against his own city. Antigone argues that the burial is required by divine law as opposed to human law.

Browse