House of Cadmus
The royal dynasty of Thebes founded by the Phoenician prince Cadmus who sowed the dragon's teeth
The Meaning of House of Cadmus
The House of Cadmus encompasses the ruling dynasty of Thebes across several generations, beginning with the Phoenician prince who founded the city. Cadmus came to Greece searching for his sister Europa, whom Zeus had abducted. The oracle at Delphi told him to abandon his search and follow a cow until it collapsed, then found a city there. He killed a sacred dragon guarding a spring, and Athena told him to sow its teeth, from which armed warriors sprang. Five survived to become the Spartoi, the founding nobles of Thebes. Cadmus married Harmonia, daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, but their line was cursed. Their daughters suffered terribly: Semele was burned alive bearing Dionysus, Agave tore apart her own son Pentheus in a Bacchic frenzy, Ino went mad and leapt into the sea, and Autonoe lost her son Actaeon to Artemis's wrath.
Parents
None recorded
Symbols
Fun Fact
Cadmus was credited by the Greeks with bringing the Phoenician alphabet to Greece, transforming Western civilisation
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
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💭 conceptDynasty, fate
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The ruling dynasty of Troy descended from Dardanus through Tros, Ilus, and Laomedon to Priam and his fifty sons
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💭 conceptepic, dynasty
The cycle of myths surrounding the cursed royal house of Thebes, from Cadmus's founding through Oedipus's tragedy to the war of the Seven and their sons.
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💭 conceptDynasty, curse
The cursed royal dynasty of Mycenae descended from Pelops, encompassing the Trojan War generation
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💭 conceptNarrative
The cursed royal dynasty of Mycenae whose generations of bloodshed and vengeance form the darkest saga in Greek mythology
Theban Royal Family
💭 conceptDynasty, Thebes
The cursed ruling house of Thebes spanning from Cadmus through Oedipus to the fratricidal war of his sons
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💭 conceptDynasty, Argos
The royal lineage descending from Danaus and his fifty daughters, central to the mythology of Argos
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💭 conceptDynasty, lineage
The vast family tree stemming from Aeolus son of Hellen, encompassing many of Greece's greatest heroic houses
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💭 conceptDynasty, conquest
The descendants of Heracles who claimed the Peloponnese and established the Dorian kingdoms of Sparta, Argos, and Messenia
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💭 conceptDynasty, flood, origin
The lineage descending from Deucalion and Pyrrha, the survivors of Zeus's great flood who repopulated Greece
Seven Against Thebes
💭 conceptwar, curse
The doomed military expedition of seven champions against the seven gates of Thebes, organised by Polynices to reclaim the throne from his brother Eteocles.
Niobe's Punishment
💭 conceptNarrative
The destruction of a queen's fourteen children by Apollo and Artemis for her boast of superiority to the goddess Leto