Antigone

by Sophocles

Published December 1902

A muscular version of Sophocles' timeless masterpiece, offering a profound reflection on the nature of power, democracy and human rights.

The war has ended, but with peace comes conflict. Antigone's brother Polyneices lies on the battlefield where he fell, his burial outlawed by Creon, the new king of Thebes. Should Antigone obey Creon, or must she follow her conscience and lay her beloved brother to rest?


The Theban Plays

by Sophocles

Published 26 April 1973
‘O Light! May I never look on you again,
Revealed as I am, sinful in my begetting,
Sinful in marriage, sinful in shedding of blood!’

 

The legends surrounding the royal house of Thebes inspired Sophocles (496–406 BC) to create a powerful trilogy of mankind’s struggle against fate. King Oedipus tells of a man who brings pestilence to Thebes for crimes he does not realise he has committed, and then inflicts a brutal punishment upon himself. With profound insights into the human condition, it is a devastating portrayal of a ruler brought down by his own oath. Oedipus at Colonus provides a fitting conclusion to the life of the aged and blinded king, while Antigone depicts the fall of the next generation, through the conflict between a young woman ruled by her conscience and a king too confident in his own authority.

E. F. Watling’s masterful translation is accompanied by an introduction, which examines the central themes of the plays, the role of the Chorus, and the traditions and staging of Greek tragedy.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.


Oedipus Rex

by Sophocles, E H Plumptre, and William-Alan Landes

Published December 1911

This edition of Oedipus Tyrannus is abridged from the full edition and differs mainly in the omission of an English translation. It contains an introduction, the Greek text and commentary in English. The full editions of all the plays, including Oedipus Tyrannus, are also available from Bristol Classical Press.


Electra

by Sophocles

Published 1 January 1920
A Queen masterminds the murder of her Husband and takes the throne with her new lover. Her Daughter, Electra, grows up in the grip of a cruel regime, swearing revenge. Her Son Orestes, exiled as a boy and raised in the arms of the rebels, waits to embark on a holy mission to reclaim his country.

Two decades later a twist of fate brings Brother and Sister together; united by hate but divided by faith. With the country on the brink of civil war, the most powerful family in the Kingdom are torn apart from the inside as their dark past once again becomes the present.

The revolution will be televised, but are The Gods watching?

DumbWise reinvent the murderous Greek myth of power and prophecy as a lyrical modern epic with a live punk-rock score.

Oedipus at Colonus

by Sophocles and Nicholas Rudall

Published 1 June 1988
With this brilliant new translation of Oedipus at Colonus, Nicholas Rudall completes his presentation of the Oedipus trilogy. This play forms a bridge between the events in Oedipus the King and Antigone (both also available in the Plays for Performance series), completing the focus on Oedipus. It begins with the arrival of Oedipus in Colonus after years of wandering; it ends with Antigone setting off toward her own fate in Thebes.