
English: 
Antigone has violated the post-battle edict of king Creon:
 She has just buried her brother Polyneices,  
 traitor of Thebes. 
 As consequence, she has been arrested for
 civil disobedience in wartime and is brought to the king.
you, however, tell me—not at length, but briefly
did you know that an edict had forbidden this?
I knew it. How could I not? It was public.
And even so you dared overstep that law?
Yes, since it was not Zeus 
that published me that edict, and
since not of that kind are the laws which Justice who dwells with the gods below established among men.
Nor did I think that your decrees were of such force,
that a mortal could override the unwritten
and unfailing statutes given us by the gods.

Modern Greek (1453-): 
σὺ δ᾽ εἰπέ μοι μὴ μῆκος, ἀλλὰ συντόμως,
ᾔδησθα κηρυχθέντα μὴ πράσσειν τάδε;
ᾔδη• τί δ᾽ οὐκ ἔμελλον; ἐμφανῆ γὰρ ἦν.
καὶ δῆτ᾽ ἐτόλμας τούσδ᾽ ὑπερβαίνειν νόμους;
οὐ γάρ τί μοι Ζεὺς ἦν ὁ κηρύξας τάδε
οὐδ᾽ ἡ ξύνοικος τῶν κάτω θεῶν Δίκη
τοιούσδ᾽ ἐν ἀνθρώποισιν ὥρισεν νόμους.
οὐδὲ σθένειν τοσοῦτον ᾠόμην
τὰ σὰ κηρύγματα
ὥστ᾽ ἄγραπτα κἀσφαλῆ θεῶν
νόμιμα δύνασθαι θνητὸν ὄνθ᾽ ὑπερδραμεῖν.
οὐ γάρ τι νῦν γε κἀχθές, 
ἀλλ᾽ ἀεί ποτε ζῇ ταῦτα,

Modern Greek (1453-): 
κοὐδεὶς οἶδεν ἐξ ὅτου ᾽φάνη.
τούτων ἐγὼ οὐκ ἔμελλον,
ἀνδρὸς οὐδενὸς φρόνημα δείσασα,
ἐν θεοῖσι τὴν δίκην δώσειν.
θανουμένη γὰρ ἐξῄδη, τί δ᾽ οὔ;
κεἰ μὴ σὺ προὐκήρυξας.
εἰ δὲ τοῦ χρόνου πρόσθεν θανοῦμαι,
κέρδος αὔτ᾽ ἐγὼ λέγω.
ὅστις γὰρ ἐν πολλοῖσιν ἐς ἐγὼ κακοῖς ζῇ,
πῶς ὅδ᾽ oὐχὶ κατθανὼν κέρδος φέρει;
οὔτοι συνέχθειν, ἀλλὰ συμφιλεῖν ἔφυν.
κάτω νυν ἐλθοῦσ᾽, εἰ φιλητέον, φίλει κείνους•
ἐμοῦ δὲ ζῶντος οὐκ ἄρξει γυνή.

English: 
For their life is not of today or yesterday, but for all time,
and no man knows when they were first put forth.
Not for fear of any man's pride was I about to owe
a penalty to the gods for breaking these.
Die I must, that I knew well, how could I not?
That is true even without your edicts.
But if I am to die before my time,
I count that a gain.
When anyone lives as I do, surrounded by evils, 
how can he not carry off gain by dying?
It is not my nature to join in hate, but in love.
Then, go down to hell and love them if you must.
While I live, no woman will rule me.
