George Steiner and Antigone

I find it interesting that George Steiner (Antigones) can write such a long and complicated book over what is a fairly easy to read and not overly long play. It shows at least that Antigone, while it may be easy to read, is not simple. However, I disagree with the assertion that Antigone is the finest of Greek tragedy plays. While it is undoubtedly great, it wouldn't be possible without the existence of Oedipus Rex, which to me is the consummate Greek tragedy. Both contain similar themes and issues, with pride standing out as the major one, but while Antigone may be more complex, it is the simplicity of Oedipus Rex that I find makes it ultimately more effective. Both Oedipus and Antigone are characters that suffer from pride, but Oedipus's history clearly makes him the more heroic, and thus the character the audience sympathizes the most with. Steiner states that pride was a complex attribute in Ancient Greek, one they believed was both bad (because the gods hate prideful people) but also necessary for one to be great. In Antigone, both Antigone and Creon suffer from this problem, but without Oedipus's great rise and fall, the drama of Antigone could not have existed.