Polynices
Polynices was the son of Oedipus who raised an army of seven champions to take Thebes from his brother Eteocles — the brothers killed each other in single combat.
The Legend of Polynices
Son of Oedipus and Jocasta, Polynices was exiled from Thebes when his brother Eteocles refused to share the throne. He fled to Argos, married the daughter of King Adrastus, and persuaded him to mount the expedition of the Seven against Thebes. He bribed Amphiaraus's wife Eriphyle with Harmonia's cursed necklace to force the reluctant seer to join. The assault failed: all seven captains died, and Polynices and Eteocles killed each other, fulfilling Apollo's curse. When Creon refused Polynices burial, Antigone defied the decree. His story links Delphi, Argos, and the doomed house of Thebes.
Parents
Oedipus and Jocasta
Children
Thersander
Symbols
Fun Fact
The Seven Against Thebes was one of the great epic cycles — now almost entirely lost, known mainly through Aeschylus and Statius.
Explore Further
Adrastus
🗡 heroKing who led the Seven Against Thebes
Adrastus was the only survivor of the Seven Against Thebes — he escaped on his divine horse Arion and later led the Epigoni to avenge their fathers.
Eteocles
🗡 heroKing of Thebes who refused to share
Eteocles was the son of Oedipus who refused to share the throne of Thebes with his brother Polynices, sparking the war of the Seven — and dying in mutual fratricide.
Agamemnon
🗡 heroKing of Mycenae
Agamemnon led the Greek coalition against Troy but was murdered upon return by his wife Clytemnestra.
Creon
🗡 heroNone recorded
King of Thebes who ruled after Oedipus and decreed death for Antigone
Promachus
🗡 heroEpigoni, Vengeance, Thebes
Son of Parthenopaeus and member of the Epigoni who succeeded in sacking Thebes where his father had failed.
Idomeneus
🗡 heroKing of Crete at Troy
Idomeneus was the king of Crete who led eighty ships to Troy and was among the fiercest fighters — his story continued in a vow that cost him his son.
Neleus
🗡 herokingship
Son of Poseidon and Tyro, founder of Pylos, father of Nestor, killed by Heracles for refusing purification.
Sarpedon
🗡 heroNone recorded
Lycian prince and ally of Troy in the Trojan War, son of Zeus
Tenes
🗡 heroPurity, Betrayal, Apollo
Prince of Colonae and first ruler of Tenedos, killed by Achilles despite his divine protection by Apollo.
Haemon
🗡 heroNone recorded
Son of Creon and fiancé of Antigone who died beside her in defiance of his father
Sarpédon
🗡 heroSon of Zeus who died at Troy
Sarpedon was a son of Zeus and the greatest Lycian warrior at Troy — his death forced Zeus to confront the limits of even divine power.
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.