Cadmus
Cadmus was the Phoenician prince who founded Thebes, sowed dragon's teeth, and brought the alphabet from Phoenicia to Greece.
The Legend of Cadmus
Brother of Europa, Cadmus was sent by his father to find her after Zeus abducted her. The oracle at Delphi told him to follow a cow and build a city where it lay down — this became Thebes. He killed a dragon sacred to Ares, and Athena told him to sow its teeth. Armed warriors sprang up; Cadmus threw a stone among them, and the survivors became the founders of Theban nobility. He married Harmonia, daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, and their descendants included Dionysus, Oedipus, and Antigone — a dynasty plagued by divine curses.
Parents
Agenor and Telephassa
Symbols
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Cadmus
🗡 heroFounder of Thebes who brought the alphabet to Greece
The Phoenician prince who founded Thebes, sowed dragon's teeth to raise an army, and gave Greece the gift of writing.
Cadmus and the Spartoi
🗡 herofoundation, writing
The Phoenician prince who founded Thebes and introduced the Greek alphabet, whose sowing of dragon teeth produced the first Theban warriors.
Anchises
🗡 heroLove, royalty, Troy
Trojan prince beloved by Aphrodite and father of Aeneas, the legendary founder of Rome
Pelops
🗡 heroFounder of the Peloponnese dynasty
Pelops was the prince served as food to the gods by his father Tantalus, restored to life with an ivory shoulder, and founder of the cursed dynasty that ruled Mycenae.
Perseus
🗡 heroSlayer of Medusa, founder of Mycenae
Perseus was the demigod son of Zeus and Danaë who slew Medusa, rescued Andromeda, and founded the great city of Mycenae.
Perseus
🗡 heroHero who slew Medusa
The son of Zeus and Danae who beheaded Medusa, rescued Andromeda, and founded the Perseid dynasty of Mycenae.
Anaxibia
🗡 heroMarriage, royalty
Mycenaean princess who married Strophius of Phocis and raised the young Orestes in secret
Paris
🗡 heroPrince who caused the Trojan War
Paris was the Trojan prince whose judgement of three goddesses and abduction of Helen ignited the Trojan War — the most consequential act of desire in Western mythology.
Jason
🗡 heroLeader of the Argonauts
The hero who assembled the Argonauts and sailed to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece, aided by Medea's sorcery.
Aeneas
🗡 heroTrojan survivor who founded Rome
Aeneas was a Trojan prince, son of Aphrodite, who survived Troy's fall and became the ancestor of Rome.
Bellerophon
🗡 heroThe hero who tamed Pegasus
The Corinthian hero who tamed the winged horse Pegasus and slew the Chimera, but fell from heaven when he tried to reach Olympus.
Oebalus
🗡 heroLaconian Kingship, Foundation
Early king of Sparta whose descendants included Castor, Pollux, and Helen.