The gods never move faster than when punishing men with the consequences of their own actions Desperate to gain control over a city ravaged by civil war Creon refuses to bury the body of Antigone&s rebellious brother Outraged she defies his edict Creon condemns the young woman his niece to be buried alive The people daren&t object but the prophet Teiresias warns that this tyranny will anger the gods the rotting corpse is polluting the city Creon hesitates & his fate is sealed Sophocles& great tragic play dramatises the clash between the family & the city & with high poetry & deep tragedy presents an irreconcilable but equally balanced conflict Sophoclean heroine Antigone has become a cultural archetype the symbol of personal integrity & an icon of political freedom whilst her coprotagonist Creon can be interpreted as either a civic saviour or a ruthless tyrant This translation by Don Taylor accurate yet poetic was made for a BBC TV production of the Theban Plays in 1986 which he directed