Cadmus and the Spartoi
The Phoenician prince who founded Thebes and introduced the Greek alphabet, whose sowing of dragon teeth produced the first Theban warriors.
The Legend of Cadmus and the Spartoi
Cadmus was sent by his father King Agenor of Tyre to find his sister Europa, abducted by Zeus in the form of a bull. Unable to find her, Cadmus consulted the Oracle at Delphi, which told him to abandon the search and follow a cow until it collapsed from exhaustion; where it fell, he should found a city. The cow lay down in Boeotia, and Cadmus founded Thebes. To sacrifice the cow to Athena, he sent his companions to a spring guarded by a dragon sacred to Ares. The dragon killed his men, and Cadmus slew it. Athena told him to sow the dragon's teeth. Armed warriors — the Spartoi, "sown men" — sprang from the earth. Cadmus threw a stone among them, causing them to fight each other until only five survived. These five became the founding families of Thebes. Cadmus married Harmonia, daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, at a wedding attended by all the gods.
Parents
Agenor, Telephassa
Symbols
Fun Fact
Cadmus was credited with bringing the Phoenician alphabet to Greece — and this is historically accurate. The Greek alphabet was adapted from Phoenician script around the 8th century BC, and the myth preserves this cultural memory. The element cadmium is named after him (via the Latin "cadmia" for zinc ore found near Thebes). Every letter you're reading descends from the writing system a Phoenician prince supposedly introduced when he founded a Greek city.
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
🗡 heroFounder of Thebes
Cadmus was the Phoenician prince who founded Thebes, sowed dragon's teeth, and brought the alphabet from Phoenicia to Greece.
Spartoi
🐉 creaturewarriors
Armed warriors who sprang fully grown from dragon's teeth sown in the earth, ancestors of Theban nobility
Echion
🗡 heroSpartoi, City Foundation, Cadmus
One of the Spartoi who survived to help found Thebes, and father of the doomed seer Pentheus.
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.
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.
Anchises
🗡 heroLove, royalty, Troy
Trojan prince beloved by Aphrodite and father of Aeneas, the legendary founder 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.
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.
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.
Erichthonius
🗡 heroNone recorded
Earth-born king of Athens raised by Athena, credited with inventing the four-horse chariot
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.