[Greek heroic] Antigone was the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, and her best known story is in the Antigone of Sophocles, which is one part of the Theban Saga. After Oedipus left the throne, and when he two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, came of age, they agreed to rule Thebes in alternate years. Eteocles, at the end of his first year of rule, reneged on the agreement and refused to step down. Polynices then raised an army of traditional enemies of Thebes and led them against his city. (This story is recounted in Aeschylus' play Seven Against Thebes.) The battle ends with the defeat of the invading army, but Eteocles and Polynices are both dead, killed by each other's hand. Creon, who now assumes power in Thebes, declares that, as he was the protector of the city, Eteocles' body will be properly buried, but Polynices, because he attacked the city, will be left unburied on the battlefield. Antigone decides she must disobey, arguing that a law of man which violates religious law is no law at all....
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