THE ROYAL HOUSE

OF THEBES
 How Thebes Came To Be
cadmus the founder and the first king of thebes He was the son of King Agenor and
Queen Telephassa of the Phoenician city of Tyre

Europa’s brothers were sent to search for her

Cadmus went to Apollo’s oracle at Delphi
Apollo told Cadmus to found his own city

Founding Thebes did not come without its challenges

• Cadmus had to fight a fierce dragon

• Athena then told him to sow the earth with the dragon’s teeth
• Armed men sprang from the furrows and killed each other
survived and became Cadmus’ helpers
 CADMUS AND HIS CHILDREN
• It is believed that Cadmus first introduced the alphabet to Greece
• Cadmus married Harmonia
• Harmonia was given a necklace from Aphrodite

Cadmus and Harmonia had 4 daughters and 1 son

Semele was a princess of Thebes daughter of the hero Cadmus and Harmonia. She was the only mortal to
become the parent of a god.

Ino was a queen of Thebes in Greek mythology, the daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia. She was the
second wife of King Athamas, with whom she had two children

Agave was the eldest daughter of Cadmus She was the queen of the Maenads, followers of Dionysus
(also known as Bacchus).

Autonoe She was married to Aristaeus, and had two children, Actaeon and Macris. Her son, Actaeon, was
a capable hunter, who was torn to pieces by his hounds, punished for seeing the goddess Artemis naked.

Polydous as a king of Thebes.

All of their daughters experienced great tragedy in their lives Cadmus and Harmonia were turned
into serpents
 The Reign of King Laius and Jocasta
• With Laius as King, Apollo’s oracle at Delphi began to play a large role in their family’s fortunes
• The oracle told Laius a prophecy
• Laius tried to prevent fate
• Laius was killed several years later

Oedipus and the Sphinx

The details of Laius’ murder were not investigated because of the Sphinx
• The Sphinx had the winged body of a lion, and the breast and face of a woman
• As travelers passed, the Sphinx would ask them her riddle
• The Sphinx had caused Thebes to grow close to famine
• Her riddle was, “What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the
evening?
• Oedipus, a traveler from Corinth, successfully answered the riddle by answering “human being”
• The Sphinx, in disbelief, killed herself
 The Reign of Oedipus
 Oedipus became king and was given Jocasta as his wife
 Together, they had 2 sons and 2 daughters
 Polyneices, Eteocles, Antigone, and Ismene
 When Polyneices and Eteocles had grown into men, Thebes succumbed to a terrible plague Oedipus sent
Creon to Delpi
 Creon said the plague would lift when the murderer of Laius was punished Oedipus sent for Teirsias Teirsias
told Oedipus he, himself was the killer he sought
 Oedipus ordered him out of his sight

 Jocasta told Oedipus the prophecy told to Laius and of his murder
 Oedipus tells of his prophecy and that he killed a group of men at a place where 3 roads meet
 Oedipus sent for the surviving shepherd
 In the meantime, a messenger from Corinth arrived to tell Oedipus of Polybus’ death
 Jocasta told him there was no truth in prophecy
 The messenger then tells Oedipus he wasn’t Polybus’ son and he himself received him from a
shepherd, a servant of Laius
 The shepherd confessed that he didn’t leave Laius’ son to die, but instead, gave him to the messenger
 Jocasta killed herself and Oedipus blinded himself
 After Oedipus Oedipus lived on in Thebes and resigned from the throne, as did his
son, Polyneices
 The Thebans then accepted Creon as their ruler
 After many years, the Thebans decided to expel Oedipus
 Antigone guided her father after he was driven out of the city
 Ismene stayed in Thebes to keep them informed
 Shift In Power After Oedipus left, his two sons fought for their right to the throne
 Eteocles succeeded and exiled his brother from Thebes
 Polyneices resided in Argos and rallied an army together to march against Thebes
 Oedipus’ death In the meantime, Antigone and Oedipus had traveled to Colonus
 Apollo told Ismene he would be received by the King of Athens with all honor
 Ismene went to Colonus to tell Oedipus of Apollo’s words and was with him when he
dies
 King Theseus sent Antigone and Ismene safely home
Polyneices Attacks Thebes
 When Antigone and Ismene returned home, their brothers were fighting
 Polyneices was accompanied by 6 other men
 Each man attacked one of the 7 Great Gates of Thebes
 Neither side gained any advantage
 The outcome was to be determined by a battle between Polyneices and Eteocles
 Neither was victorious and they killed each other
 Polyneices’ last wish was to be buried in his homeland </li></ul>
22. Creon’s Rule
 The battle restarted, and the Thebans were victorious
 Creon became King
 Only one of Polyneices’ men survived, Adrastus
 Creon made it law that none of the men against Thebes should be buried there
 Antigone disobeyed Creon and buried him herself
 She was sentenced to death
 The House of Oedipus, the last of the royal family of Thebes, was no more
The Seven Against Thebes

 Adrastus and the mothers and sons of the dead went to Theseus, King of Athens, to ask him to
convince Creon to allow his men be buried in Thebes
 Theseus decided that if the people of Athens consented, he would ask Creon
 Theseus pleaded to Creon, but he ignored it
 The Athenians then marched against Thebes and conquered
 The 5 dead men were burned on a pyre and peace overcame their mothers
 Their sons vowed to take vengeance upon Thebes when they were grown
 These were Tydeus, Capaneus, Adrastus, Hippomedon, Parthenopeus, Amphiaraus, and Polynices
himself. During the battle, they were confronted at the seven gates of Thebes
 Ten years later, they marched to Thebes and were victorious
 The Thebans fled and their city was destroyed
 The only remains was Harmonia’s necklace, which was taken to Delphi to be shown to pilgrims
 REFRENCES

Works Cited Hamilton, Edith. Mythology . New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1942.
Greek-Style Sphinx from the Delphi Museum. Flickr.com . 26 May 2006.Antigone from
the Beijing Capital Museum. Flickr.com . 29 August 2007. Join Scribd Today!
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