Antigone
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.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
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 SharmanHis "Antigone" was written when he was forty-five, and when Euripides had already gained a prize.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume I | John LordSo 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 BakerThe 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 HardwickOf these, the Œdipus Tyrannus and the Antigone are the most admired.
The Student's Mythology | Catherine Ann White
British Dictionary definitions for Antigone
/ (ænˈtɪɡənɪ) /
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)
[ (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
[ (an-tig-uh-nee) ]
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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