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I know all too well I’m going to die�
how could I not?—it makes no difference
what you decree. And if I have to die
before my time, well, I count that a gain.
When someone has to live the way I do,
surrounded by so many evil things,
how can she fail to find a benefit
in death?

*Strong female characters did not exist before modern times*

*Old books are boring and outdated*

Antigone premiered in 441 B.C.E. She's still as relevant today as she was centuries ago.

Each time I re-read this masterpiece, I am in awe of its brilliance. I can say with absolute certainty that Antigone is my favorite classic. I first read it in high school. I read the classics because I had to, not because I enjoyed them. Does any teenager enjoy reading? I suppose some of them do. I was more concerned with friends, cool accessories, and rock bands. If you had asked me then what the best book ever written was, I would have said Twilight. (I'm sure some of you are wondering why you even added me as a friend on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ). But even then, at the peak of my teenage angst, I knew Antigone was special. I've read it several times, and it still holds up.

You know how each time you re-watch Titanic, you hope it won't hit the iceberg? Well, each time I re-read Antigone, I hope she gets a happy ending. I know what happens in the end, but I'm saddened regardless. I expect two things from Greek mythology: incest and tragedy. I don't like the first one, but I'm kind of into angst.


*spoilers*

Medea is fascinating, but she's also batshit crazy. Electra is dumb as a post, and I can't stand her. Prometheus deserved better. Iphigenia also deserved better. Antigone's daddy, Oedipus, is the epitome of tragedy. The dude married (unknowingly) his mother. And that's not even the craziest thing in the book. Antigone's book shouldn't have been able to top all that drama, but it did.

I have been a stranger here in my own land: All my life.

I'm sure most of you have heard the story of Oedipus. The man is so legendary Freud named his complex after him. To say Antigone had a lot of family issues would be an understatement. She finds out her father is also her brother, her mother is also her grandmother, her father/brother killed her grandfather, her two brothers died fighting on opposite sides of the civil war, and her uncle refuses to give one of her fallen brothers a proper burial, and her sister is useless.

Antigone's father is in self-imposed exile, and her mother and brothers are gone. Honor is the only thing that she has left. She decides to bury her brother despite her uncle's threats, knowing that the outcome of such an act is certain death. Her uncle warns her, and her sister begs her to obey his command, but Antigone is too brave and honorable to give in. She doesn't fear death. She embraces it.



Haemon, Creon's son and Antigone's betrothed, takes her side over his father's. He pleads with his father to spare Antigone's life, but Creon remains unmoved. Antigone is punished by being locked inside a tomb while still alive. To spare herself the agony, Antigone takes her own life. When Haemon arrives, he discovers her lifeless body and takes his life as well. Creon regrets his decision, but his realization comes too late.

And so ends the tale of brave Antigone. She stood alone against Creon and his cronies and kept her honor. She proved to be everything a sister should be and more.

Then when I'm out of strength —but only then —I will be stopped.