Alcmaeon
heroSon of Amphiaraus who killed his own mother Eriphyle on his father's orders and was driven mad by the Erinyes.
The Myth
He murdered his own mother — because his dead father told him to. Amphiaraus, swallowed by the earth at Thebes, had commanded his sons to avenge his betrayal. Alcmaeon obeyed, killing Eriphyle. The Erinyes immediately drove him mad, and he wandered Greece seeking purification. He was only cleansed on land that had not existed when the murder occurred — newly deposited alluvial soil at the mouth of the Achelous river. He married Callirrhoe, but she demanded the Necklace of Harmonia. When Alcmaeon tried to recover it by deceit, Callirrhoe's brothers killed him. His story was as famous as Orestes's matricide in antiquity but is far less known today.
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Fun Fact
Alcmaeon's story was as famous as Orestes's in antiquity — Aristotle considered it ideal tragic material.
Explore Further
Eriphyle
heroWife of Amphiaraus who twice accepted bribes to send her male relatives to their deaths in war.
Amphiaraus
heroAmphiaraus was a warrior-prophet who foresaw his death in the Seven Against Thebes but marched...
Necklace of Harmonia
conceptA cursed golden necklace crafted by Hephaestus as a wedding gift for Harmonia, bringing destruction...
Orestes
heroOrestes killed his mother to avenge his father — then was acquitted by Athena's court.
Achelous
godAchelous was the god of the mightiest river in Greece and father of the Sirens — he wrestled...
Erinyes
conceptThree terrifying goddesses who punished those guilty of murder, oath-breaking, and crimes against...
Harmonia
godHarmonia was the goddess of harmony and concord, daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, whose wedding...
Thebes
placeThebes was the great city of Boeotia, founded by Cadmus who sowed dragon teeth, and the setting for...
Thebes (Boeotia)
placeThe city of Cadmus and Oedipus, setting of more Greek tragedies than any other place.
Epigoni
conceptThe sons of the Seven against Thebes who returned a generation later and successfully sacked the...
Ajax (Madness)
heroAjax the Great's descent into madness and suicide after losing the contest for Achilles's armor to...
Ajax the Great
heroAjax son of Telamon was the tallest and strongest of the Greek warriors at Troy, a tower of a man...