Ismene
Daughter of Oedipus and sister of Antigone, cautious where Antigone was defiant
The Legend of Ismene
Ismene was the younger daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, and sister to Antigone, Eteocles, and Polynices. In Sophocles' Antigone, she serves as a foil to her fierce sister. When Antigone resolved to bury Polynices in defiance of Creon's decree, Ismene begged her not to, arguing that as women they were powerless against the state and that the dead would understand. Antigone rejected her caution and acted alone. After Antigone's arrest, Ismene tried to share the blame and die alongside her, but Antigone refused this too, saying Ismene had chosen survival over justice. Creon ultimately spared Ismene, leaving her as the last surviving member of the doomed house of Oedipus.
Parents
Oedipus and Jocasta
Symbols
Fun Fact
She is the sole survivor of the house of Oedipus, burdened with being the last one left standing
Explore Further
Chrysothemis
🗡 heroNone recorded
Obedient daughter of Agamemnon who accepted her mother's rule where Electra rebelled
Haemon
🗡 heroNone recorded
Son of Creon and fiancé of Antigone who died beside her in defiance of his father
Creon
🗡 heroNone recorded
King of Thebes who ruled after Oedipus and decreed death for Antigone
Electra
🗡 heroAvenger of Agamemnon
Daughter of Agamemnon who plotted with her brother Orestes to avenge their father's murder by killing their mother Clytemnestra.
Antigone
🗡 heroChampion of divine law over human law
Daughter of Oedipus who defied King Creon's decree to bury her brother Polynices. Her story is one of mythology's most powerful explorations of conscience versus authority.
Clytemnestra
🗡 heroQueen who murdered Agamemnon
Clytemnestra murdered Agamemnon on his return from Troy, driven by rage over Iphigenia's sacrifice.
Hypermnestra
🗡 heromercy
The only one of the fifty Danaids who refused to murder her husband Lynceus on their wedding night.
Absyrtus
🗡 herotragedy
Son of King Aeetes of Colchis, murdered and dismembered by his sister Medea to slow their father's pursuit.
Iphigenia
🗡 heroPrincess sacrificed for the Trojan War
Iphigenia was Agamemnon's eldest daughter, sacrificed at Aulis to gain winds for Troy — or rescued at the last moment by Artemis and whisked to Tauris.
Alcestis
🗡 heroWife who died for her husband
Alcestis was the devoted wife who volunteered to die in place of her husband Admetus — the only person willing to make the sacrifice.
Althaea
🗡 heroNone recorded
Queen of Calydon and mother of Meleager who killed her own son by burning the magical brand that the Fates had tied to his life at birth
Macaria
🗡 heroSelf-Sacrifice, Female Heroism, Heraclidae
Daughter of Heracles who voluntarily sacrificed herself so that the Heraclidae could defeat Eurystheus.