Cadmus
heroΚάδμος
Founder of Thebes
Cadmus was the Phoenician prince who founded Thebes, sowed dragon's teeth, and brought the alphabet from Phoenicia to Greece.
The Myth
The oracle told him to follow a cow and build where it lay down. He killed a sacred dragon, sowed its teeth, and armed Spartoi rose from the earth. He married Harmonia at a wedding attended by all the gods. In old age, both became serpents and went to Elysium.
Parents
Agenor and Telephassa
Children
Ino, Semele, Agave, Autonoe, Polydorus
Symbols
dragon teethalphabetcowserpent
Fun Fact
The element cadmium was named after Cadmus — found in ores near Thebes, his city.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth: