Sophocles: Antigone

Sophocles’ Antigone is among the greatest and most famous of all works of Greek literature, and it is often the play that is read first, whether in Greek or in translation, by those who are beginning to study Greek tragedy. But it is by no means an easy play, and the reader requires careful guidance if he is to appreciate its subtleties and come to grips with its problems. In this edition the introduction includes an account of the myth, a brief survey of the main interpretative issues, and a bibliography. The text is newly constituted in the light of the latest scholarly research, with an abbreviated critical apparatus. The facing translation stays as close to the Greek wording as English idiom allows, one of its purposes being to show how the Greek is to be construed. The commentary is designed to elucidate the play, not to discuss points of grammar or philology, though the reader is alerted to all serious textual uncertainties. While full account is taken of recent developments in scholarship and literary criticism, the needs of the complete beginner are constantly borne in mind, and almost all the notes are accessible to readers with no Greek at all. Copious references are provided to places where further discussion can be found.