Theban Cycle
conceptThe 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.
The Myth
The Theban Cycle traced the doom of Thebes from its founding by Cadmus, who sowed the teeth of a dragon sacred to Ares and reaped a harvest of armed men called Spartoi. Cadmus married Harmonia, but their house was cursed — their grandson Pentheus was torn apart by Maenads of Dionysus. Laius, a later king, received a prophecy from Apollo that his son would kill him. That son, Oedipus, fulfilled the prophecy, then solved the Sphinx's riddle and married his own mother Jocasta. When the truth emerged, Jocasta hanged herself and Oedipus blinded himself. His sons Eteocles and Polynices fought for the throne; Polynices recruited the Seven Against Thebes, and the brothers killed each other. Antigone defied King Creon to bury Polynices. Ten years later, the Epigoni — sons of the Seven — conquered Thebes. Tiresias the prophet witnessed it all across seven generations.
Parents
Cadmus (founder)
Symbols
Fun Fact
The Theban Cycle provided material for more surviving Greek tragedies than the Trojan War: Aeschylus's Seven Against Thebes, Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone, and Euripides' Phoenician Women and Bacchae. Antigone's decision to obey divine law over state law has been cited in legal arguments from the Nuremberg Trials to modern civil disobedience cases. She remains international law's most-cited fictional character.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
Thebes
placeThebes was the great city of Boeotia, founded by Cadmus who sowed dragon teeth, and the setting for...
Epigoni
conceptThe sons of the Seven against Thebes who returned a generation later and successfully sacked the...
Cadmus
heroCadmus was the Phoenician prince who founded Thebes, sowed dragon's teeth, and brought the alphabet...
Cadmus and the Spartoi
heroThe Phoenician prince who founded Thebes and introduced the Greek alphabet, whose sowing of dragon...
Thebes (Boeotia)
placeThe city of Cadmus and Oedipus, setting of more Greek tragedies than any other place.
Tiresias
heroThe most famous seer in Greek mythology, blinded by the gods but given the gift of prophecy in...
Seven Against Thebes (Detail)
conceptThe doomed military expedition of seven champions against the seven gates of Thebes, organised by...
Oedipus Prophecy
conceptThe Delphic prophecy that Oedipus would kill his father Laius and marry his mother Jocasta, which...
Trojan Horse
conceptThe hollow wooden horse used by the Greeks to infiltrate and destroy Troy. Devised by Odysseus, it...
Trojan War
conceptThe Trojan War was the central event of Greek mythology — a ten-year siege of Troy by a Greek...
Polynices
heroPolynices was the son of Oedipus who raised an army of seven champions to take Thebes from his...
Sacred Band of Thebes
conceptAn elite Theban military unit of 150 male couples who fought alongside their lovers, undefeated for...