Antiope
nymphA nymph or princess loved by Zeus, who bore the twins Amphion and Zethus, builders of Thebes' walls.
The Myth
Antiope was the daughter of the river god Asopus — or, in other accounts, of King Nycteus of Thebes. Zeus came to her in the form of a satyr and she conceived twins. When her pregnancy was discovered, she fled to Sicyon to escape her father's wrath, marrying King Epopeus there.
Her uncle Lycus eventually dragged her back to Thebes, where his wife Dirce treated Antiope with vicious cruelty, keeping her imprisoned for years. Antiope gave birth to her sons Amphion and Zethus in captivity, but they were exposed on Mount Cithaeron and raised by shepherds. When the twins grew to manhood and learned their mother's fate, they returned to Thebes, killed Lycus, and tied Dirce to a wild bull as punishment for her cruelty.
Amphion became a legendary musician whose lyre-playing moved the very stones to build Thebes' walls, while Zethus became a man of action and cattle. Their mother's suffering had produced the founders of one of Greece's greatest cities.
Explore Further
Amphion and Zethus
heroAmphion and Zethus were twin sons of Zeus and Antiope who built the walls of Thebes — Zethus...
Dirce
heroThe queen of Thebes who tormented Antiope and was killed by being tied to a wild bull by Antiope's...
Zeus
godSupreme ruler of the Olympian gods and lord of the sky. Zeus overthrew his father Kronos and...
Asopus
godRiver god of the Asopus in Boeotia, father of many nymphs.
Mount Ida (Crete)
placeMount Ida was the highest peak in Crete, home to the cave where the infant Zeus was hidden from his...
Mount Ida (Troy)
placeMount Ida near Troy was the mountain from which the gods observed the Trojan War and where Paris...
Mount Olympus (Sacred)
placeThe highest mountain in Greece and mythological home of the twelve Olympian gods, whose...
Mount Othrys
titanThe real mountain in central Greece that mythology designated as the Titans' fortress during their...
Mount Parnassus
placeMount Parnassus was the mountain above Delphi sacred to Apollo and the Muses — the symbolic home of...
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.
Zeus (King)
godZeus was the king of the Olympian gods, ruler of the sky, wielder of the thunderbolt — the supreme...