Reflections on Sophocles’ Antigone
This is a three part series recorded in the late 1980’s. Gil Bailie shows how Sophocles expands the horizon of the play from what appears to be a conflict between duty to the state and duty to god to include the vast scope of human endeavor whose only limit is our mortality. Sophocles is asking his 5th century BCE audience what it means to be human.
There exists a gospel/musical rendition of Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus featuring Morgan Freeman and the Blind Boys of Alabama. The original play was written at the end of Sophocles’ life and only performed after his death. The musical is a late 20th century AD update on the story that I believe those interested in our work will enjoy. A video recording of the entire performance is posted on YouTube. The player below starts at the point in the play where the specific choral ode from Sophocles’ Antigone which Gil highlights in part 1 of this series has been incorporated into the later work. We’ve also linked to an online English translation of the Greek text. It would be best to listen to Gil’s unpacking of the main elements in this story first. Enjoy!
