Menoeceus
Young Theban prince who killed himself to save Thebes after Tiresias prophesied the city needed royal blood.
The Legend of Menoeceus
He threw himself from the walls of Thebes — and he was barely old enough to fight. During the siege of the Seven against Thebes, Tiresias declared that Thebes would fall unless a descendant of the Spartoi sacrificed himself. Menoeceus, son of Creon and grandson of the dragon-sown warriors, volunteered despite his father's desperate attempts to send him away. He stabbed himself on the walls in full view of both armies. The earth swallowed his blood, and Thebes held. Euripides makes this scene the emotional heart of The Phoenician Women. Creon, who would later deny burial to Polynices, first lost his own son to the same war.
Parents
Creon, Eurydice
Symbols
Fun Fact
Menoeceus's sacrifice directly parallels Iphigenia's — both are royal children killed for an army's survival.
Explore Further
Menoeceus
🗡 herosacrifice, prophecy
A young Theban nobleman who sacrificed himself by leaping from the city walls to fulfil Tiresias's prophecy that only royal blood could save Thebes from the Seven.
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🗡 heroheroism
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