Chapter 2
At the palace gates Antigone convinces Ismene to help her bury their brother Polyneices, defying Creon’s edict. The Guard reports that a corpse was found unburied and that, while patrolling, he observed a woman performing burial rites on the body; the woman is identified as Antigone. Creon summons Antigone, interrogates her, and she confesses without denial, stating that the divine law outranks his decree. Creon sentences her to be locked alive in a rock‑cut cave, condemning her to a living tomb.
Ismene then enters, declares she aided Antigone and shares the guilt, pleading for mercy but is rebuffed. Haemon, Creon’s son and Antigone’s betrothed, confronts his father, urging clemency and arguing that the people support Antigone; Creon dismisses him, insisting the law must stand. A chorus provides lyrical commentary on war, fate, and the gods, framing the personal conflict within the larger divine order.
Teiresias, the blind prophet, appears and warns Creon that the gods are angry at the impiety of leaving Polyneices unburied and punishing his sister; he foretells ruin if Creon does not reverse his decree. Creon initially scoffs, accusing the seer of profit‑seeking, but the warning unsettles him.
Messengers arrive bearing the news of the tragic climax: Haemon, having discovered Antigone dead in the sealed tomb, attempts to kill his father, fails, and then kills himself with his sword. Queen Eurydice, hearing the commotion, rushes to the tomb, sees her son dead, and, overwhelmed with grief, hangs herself. A second messenger confirms these events and reports that Eurydice’s suicide was a direct response to Haemon’s death.
Creon, now alone, publicly acknowledges his folly, laments the loss of his son and wife, and declares his intent to end his own life, pleading for the gods’ forgiveness as the chorus mourns the collapse of the royal house. The chapter ends with Creon’s desperate repentance and the city’s lament over the cascade of deaths caused by his rigid law.