Antigone

Antigone was the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta. After Oedipus's exile, her brothers Eteocles and Polynices fought for the throne of Thebes and killed each other in single combat. Their uncle Creon, now king, decreed that Eteocles would receive a hero's burial while Polynices — who had attacked the city — would be left unburied, his body left to rot as a warning.

To leave a body unburied was the ultimate dishonor in Greek culture, condemning the soul to wander restlessly. Antigone defied Creon's decree and buried Polynices, performing the sacred funeral rites. When caught, she defended her actions: divine law required burial of the dead, and no mortal king could override the laws of the gods.

Creon sentenced Antigone to be sealed alive in a tomb. His son Haemon, Antigone's fiance, pleaded for her life. Tiresias the prophet warned that the gods were displeased. Creon relented, but too late — Antigone had hanged herself in the tomb, Haemon killed himself beside her, and Creon's wife Eurydice took her own life upon learning of her son's death.