Ismene

Also known as: Ismenè · Family: Thebes · Role: daughter of Oedipus · First appears: Aeschylus, The Seven Who Fought Against Thebes — Scene 5

Ismene, also known as Ismenè, is a daughter of Oedipus and sister of Antigone, Eteocles, and Polynices. In Euripides, Jocasta is named as her parent, while Creon is her elder kin. After Eteocles and Polynices fall, she and Antigone approach to mourn their brothers: “For see, they come to bitter deed called forth, Ismene and the maid Antigone, To wail their brothers' fall;”

In Antigone, Ismene refuses Antigone’s request to bury Polynices, citing Creon’s authority and the citizens’ power, and accepts submission to those who rule. Creon spares her, saying that only Antigone acted, but when Ismene tries to share responsibility, Antigone rejects the claim. The two sisters are then confined inside the palace under guard.

In Oedipus At Colonos, Ismene reunites with Oedipus and Antigone after searching for them. She warns Oedipus that Creon intends to place him near Thebes under Theban control, and reports that Apollo’s oracle is known to Oedipus’s sons as they pursue the throne. Oedipus reveals that she and Antigone share his hidden birth doom, then releases them from serving him and declares them fatherless. He entrusts both daughters to Theseus, who promises to protect and escort them home, though he later forbids them from approaching Oedipus’s resting-place.