The play Antigone was written around 441 b.c. near the end of Sophocles life and was written and produced in Athens, Greece. Sophocles was born in Colunus, a village near Athens in 495 b.c. He is thirty years younger than Aeschylus and fifteen years older than Euripides. He comes from a family of wealth and excellent reputation.
During this time there were three categories that a Greek play could fall under; tragedy, comedy or satyr. Antigone is considered a Greek tragedy play and the manuscript was circulated in the fifth-century b.c. The publisher of the original and early editions are not known. The most important modern edition of Greek texts are prepared by A.C. Pearson and published by Oxford University Press in 1924. A.C. Pearson’s texts were of great significance because they were widely used school editions which made it easier for students to understand Greek literature. The play was written before Sophocles other two Theban plays;, however, chronologically it cames after the stories in “Ooedipus the King” and “Oedipus at Colonus” and begins where Aeschylus play “Seven Against Thebes” – he third play in an Oedipus-themed trilogy produced by Aeschylus in 467 BC- ends. Antigone is a character who appears in multiple different Greek play’s such as “Oedipus the King” and “Oedipus at Colonus”, . She can be interpreted differently depending upon adaptation. She is a political figure who stands up to the government. She can be a philosophical figure, sparking debates such as law versus conscience. She is a feminist because she does not conform to the gender norms of Greek society at that time. It is up to the theatre producers and patrons to decide.