ANTIGONE
Oh my brother! You’re absolutely determined?
POLYNEIKES
That’s right. Please don’t get in my way. My job
is to take that road, no matter what deadly
consequences Father predicts for me—
he and his Furies. But you two—I hope
Zeus will protect your future, so you can
carry out my wishes after I’m killed.
Let me leave—say goodbye. For you’ll
never again see me alive.
POLYNEIKES pulls away from her arms.
ANTIGONE
This breaks my heart.
POLYNEIKES
Don’t let it.
ANTIGONE
Who wouldn’t feel grief for a brother 1570
when he’s headed toward certain death?
POLYNEIKES
If that’s my fate, then I must die.
ANTIGONE
Don’t die. Please listen to me!
POLYNEIKES
You must stop this. My mind’s made up.
ANTIGONE
And I am truly devastated.
Now that I’m sure I’ll lose you.
POLYNEIKES
No, Fate will determine how my life goes.
I pray that you two never come to harm.
All men know that you don’t deserve it.
Exit POLYNEIKES.
OLD MEN
We’ve just seen 1580
the blind stranger
start a new round
of deadly violence—
unless Fate working
its will is the true cause.
You’ll never hear us declare
that a god wills something in vain:
for Time always keeps watch
over the gods’ decrees—
ruining somebody’s chances, 1590
then rescuing somebody else
the very next morning
when his turn comes.
A crash of thunder.
That was thunder! O Zeus!
OEDIPUS
Children! Children!
Is there someone nearby
who could bring Theseus?
There is no better man.
ANTIGONE
Father, why do we need Theseus here?
OEDIPUS
Because Zeus sends that thunder, and its great wings 1600
will carry me to Hades. Find him now.
More and louder thunder.
OLD MEN
Look, Zeus throws down
a great unspeakable
blast of fire!
Terror races
to the tips of my hair,
my spirit cowers,
the lightning strikes again—
crackles down the sky—
forcing what? To be born. 1610
I am afraid. Lightning never
erupts to no purpose, it always
portends something horrendous.
O mighty sky! O Zeus!
OEDIPUS
Daughters, the death promised to your father
is at hand. Nothing can stop it now.
ANTIGONE
How do you know? What warnings have you had?
OEDIPUS
It’s beyond doubt. Quickly now, someone go
find the king and bring him back to me.
Another blast of thunder.
OLD MEN
Yes! Yes! Hear it! That voice of raging thunder 1620
is yet again all around us!
Be gentle with us, god, gentle—
if you are about to darken
our motherland.
Forgive us, if we’ve sheltered
a man you despise.
Don’t punish our compassion!
I ask that of you, Zeus!
OEDIPUS
Is he nearby? Will he find me alive,
children, when he comes? Will my mind be clear? 1630
ANTIGONE
Why do you worry that your mind’s unsound?
OEDIPUS
I promised I’d repay Theseus
for his kindness. Now I must give him
everything he has earned.
LEADER
(calling offstage)
You there, my son, we need you! Come!
Break off the sacrifice to seagod Poseidon,
leave the crevice among the high rocks
and come back! The stranger is moved
to provide you, your city, your friends,
with the fruits of your kindness to him. 1640
Move quickly, King.
Enter THESEUS and his Men.
THESEUS
What’s all this noise,
this frantic summons—from both
my people and our guest?
Did Zeus’ lightning upset you? Did
a hailstorm raise a sudden uproar?
A storm like that, when a god sends it,
inspires every kind of fear.
OEDIPUS
We’re reassured, King, now that you’ve come.
A god’s behind this good timing. 1650
THESEUS
What’s happened, son of Laios?
OEDIPUS
My life is weighted to sink down.
I must not die without fulfilling
my guarantees to you and Athens.
THESEUS
What makes you think your death is imminent?
OEDIPUS
The gods themselves told me. Every sign
I was promised has now been given me.
THESEUS
Which sign made it entirely clear?
OEDIPUS
A great crash of thunder and bolts of lightning
flashing from the All-Powerful’s hand. 1660
THESEUS
I believe you. You’ve made some prophecies,
not one of them false. What should I do now?
OEDIPUS
I will describe, son of Aigeus,
how the future of Athens will become
impervious to the ravages of time.
Soon, I myself, with no hand guiding me,
will lead you to the place where I must die.
Never reveal that place to anyone—
not how it’s hidden, nor its whereabouts.
It will endure, an ever-present defense, 1670
more powerful than a rampart of shields,
or allies with spears racing to save you.
As for those mysteries speech would profane,
you will see what they are, once you are there,
alone. I will not reveal them now, not
to these people, not even to the children
I love. No, you must keep all those secrets.
When you’re near death, tell them to your successor.
Let him teach his heir, and so on forever.
In this way, your own city will survive 1680
unscathed any attack launched by the Thebans.
Many cities, even well-governed cities,
slide smoothly into violence.
Though the gods act slowly, they see clearly
men who cease to believe and go mad.
Keep this from happening to you, son of Aigeus.
But you don’t need such tutoring from me.
Now we must move toward that place,
for god’s power drives me on.
Don’t linger, follow where I lead. 1690
Daughters, in some uncanny way
I have become your guide, as you
once guided your father. Come with me, but
don’t touch me with your hands, let me find
the sacred tomb with no help, and the ground
where it’s my destiny to be buried.
This way. That’s right. Through here. Down this path
my guide Hermes escorts me, he and the dark goddess.
OEDIPUS, with uncanny ease, leads his daughters and THESEUS toward the grove, his voice still heard after he van
ishes offstage. THESEUS, ANTIGONE, and ISMENE, one by one, follow OEDIPUS out of sight.
O light—dark to me now,
though once you were mine—I feel 1700
your warmth on my body one last time.
I’m going down, to hide my death
in Hades. Come, dearest stranger:
bless you, bless this land, bless your people.
And in your prosperous state,
remember me when I am dead,
the source of your boundless well-being.
OLD MEN
If she, the unseen goddess,
accepts my solemn prayer,
and if you, god of the night people, 1710
will hear me out, Aidoneus, Aidoneus!
I pray you let this stranger go
untortured and undamned
down to the dark fields of the dead,
down to the house of Styx.
Troubles beyond reason
besieged him. In return
a just god shall pull him clear.
Earth Goddesses! And you,
invincible apparition! 1720
Savage guard-dog! Rumor
has told us for ages that you
kennel at Hades’ gate, snarling
from cavernous jaws at every
stranger who walks past.
Hear me, Death!
Son of Earth and Tartaros!
Let the hound clear a path
for this stranger who craves
the sunken fields of the dead. 1730
Grant him eternal rest.
Enter MESSENGER.
MESSENGER
Townsmen, I could shorten my news to this:
Oedipus is gone. But the full story
of what happened out there cannot be cut short,
nor did the things themselves happen quickly.
LEADER
Is he dead—that tormented man?
MESSENGER
You can be sure
this man has left our common life behind.
LEADER
How? Did the gods take him? Did he feel pain?
MESSENGER
How it happened will take your breath away.
How he left, you saw. None of his loved ones 1740
knew the way, but he knew where to lead us.
As soon as he neared the gateway where you climb
down those steep brass steps rooted in the earth,
he paused—within a maze of crossing paths—
where a bowl had been hollowed from a rock shelf.
There the immortal pact that Theseus
made with Peirithous is written in stone.
He stood between that basin and the rock
of Thoricos, easing himself to the ground
beside a hollow pear trunk and a stone tomb. 1750
He peeled off all his filthy clothes, then called
to his daughters, asking them to bring water
from the stream nearby, so he could bathe
and then pour out some libations.
The green hill of Demeter rose close by
in plain sight. They climbed it, and soon
carried out these duties for their father.
First they washed him and then they dressed him
in white clothes customary for the dying.
When he was content with what had been done, 1760
every last one of his orders obeyed,
Zeus of the Underworld thundered, and the girls
shuddered when they heard it. Then, clinging
to their father’s knees, they cried out and kept
pounding their breasts and weeping and shouting.
When he heard them crying, he wrapped his arms
around both their bodies and told them,
“Children, this day will end your father’s life.
All the acts I lived for have come to pass.
No longer will you need to care for me— 1770
a burden, I know, that has not been easy.
But let one word relieve you of this hardship:
for no man loves you more than I love you.
Now you must live out your lives without me.”
Holding each other close, all of them sobbed,
and when they had finished their lamenting,
as the sounds died away, there was stillness.
Suddenly an enormous voice called him,
making everyone’s hair rise in terror.
For the god called many times and his voice 1780
echoed from all sides: “You there, Oedipus!
You! Oedipus! Why do we hesitate?
You’ve waited far too long. Far too long!”
Now that he knew it was the god calling,
he asked King Theseus to stand by him.
And when the king approached, Oedipus said,
“Dear friend, will you promise, by giving your
right hand to my daughters, while they give you
their hands, that you will never willingly
forsake them, and that you will always act 1790
as their friend, providing what they will need?”
And like a prince, with no hesitation,
Theseus swore to the stranger that he would.
And after this promise, Oedipus at once
embraced his children with enfeebled hands,
and said, “Daughters, you must have the courage
to leave this place now. Don’t look back
at things you must not see, and must not hear.
Leave quickly as you can. Let Theseus,
who is entitled to do so, remain 1800
to witness all that will happen here.”
That’s what he said, we all heard him, and followed
his daughters as they left, tears blurring
our own eyes. When we had walked on awhile,
we looked back and saw he was gone, and saw
our king, his hand screening his eyes, reacting
to the shock of a terrifying sight, something
he could not bear to look at, something still
happening. A moment later, we saw him
silently saluting the Earth, then the sky 1810
where the Olympian gods live, his arms
opened in prayer.
But the exact nature
of the death Oedipus died, no man
but Theseus could tell you. Zeus didn’t
incinerate him with a lightning blast,
no sudden squall blew inland from the sea.
So it was either a god spiriting
him away, or else the Earth’s lower world—
for he felt nothing but welcoming kindness. 1820
When this man vanished, there was no sorrow.
He suffered no sickness. His death, like no
other man’s, was a cause for wonder.
If anyone listening doesn’t believe me,
I have no interest in persuading him
that I am not some credulous fool.
LEADER
Where are the girls and their escort now?
MESSENGER
Not far away. The sounds of their grief
growing louder tells you they’re almost here.
ANTIGONE
(anguished cries)
No reason now 1830
for we two woeful sisters
to hold back the full
wretchedness that we feel—
the doomed blood of our father
flowed at birth into our blood.
As long as our father lived
we suffered its relentless agony.
Even from his last moments,
we take with us things seen and things
suffered that defy understanding. 1840
LEADER
What did you see?
ANTIGONE
Friends, we can only guess.
LEADER
Then he’s gone?
ANTIGONE
In the very way you’d wish—
because it wasn’t the war god or the waves,
it was the endless marsh of death that drew
him away, in a weird, sudden vanishing.
And now, Sister, there’s a deathly darkness
clouding our vision—for how can we stand
our harsh life to come, drifting across some
remote back country, or over breaking seas? 1850
ISMENE
I don’t know. I’d rather murderous Hades
forced me to share my agèd father’s death.
I’m shaking. I can’t face the life ahead.
LEADER
You two sisters,
loving daughters,
accept what the god brings.
Do not inflame yourselves
with so much grieving.
You should not regret
the path your life took. 1860
ANTIGONE
Yes, there was something
to treasure in our pain.
What gave me no comfort then
did, in the end, console me.
Yes it did—while I held him
lovingly in my arms.
Dear Father, loved one, you
will wear Earth’s darkness
forever, but even down there
you won’t be denied 1870
my love and her love.
LEADER
Then what took place . . .
ANTIGONE
. . . was what he desired.
LEADER
How so?
ANTIGONE
To die on foreign earth
was his wish. He will sleep
in that dark grave forever.
And the mourners he left
behind are not dry-eyed.
With my own eyes pouring
I grieve for you, Father. 1880
I don’t know how to stop,
my ache is so huge.
I know your wish was to die
in a distant country.
But now you have died
bereft of my care.
ISMENE
Poor desolate Sister,
what will come of us both,
now that Father is gone?
LEADER
Since the way he met death 1890
was a blessing, children,
stop grieving. Not one of us
escapes misfortune.
ANTIGONE
Sister, we must go back there.
ISMENE
To do what?
ANTIGONE
I’m filled with . . .
ISMENE
With what?