Thebes (Boeotia)
placeThe city of Cadmus and Oedipus, setting of more Greek tragedies than any other place.
The Myth
Thebes was mythology's cursed city. Founded by Cadmus who sowed dragon's teeth, it was ruled by Oedipus who killed his father and married his mother, then torn apart by the war of his sons Eteocles and Polynices. Antigone died defying Creon's law there. Dionysus returned there to punish his own family. The cycle of Theban myths provided material for more surviving Greek tragedies than any other setting.
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Thebes
placeThebes was the great city of Boeotia, founded by Cadmus who sowed dragon teeth, and the setting for...
Polynices
heroPolynices was the son of Oedipus who raised an army of seven champions to take Thebes from his...
Theban Cycle
conceptThe cycle of myths surrounding the cursed royal house of Thebes, from Cadmus's founding through...
Antigone
heroDaughter of Oedipus who defied King Creon's decree to bury her brother Polynices. Her story is one...
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...
Dionysus
godGod of wine, ritual madness, and theatrical performance. Dionysus was the only Olympian born of a...
Dionysus Eleuthereus
godAn epithet of Dionysus as the Liberator, worshipped at the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens where the...
Eteocles
heroEteocles was the son of Oedipus who refused to share the throne of Thebes with his brother...
Oedipus
heroThe tragic king of Thebes who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother, fulfilling a...
Oedipus Prophecy
conceptThe Delphic prophecy that Oedipus would kill his father Laius and marry his mother Jocasta, which...
Sparta
placeSparta was the austere military state whose warriors were the most feared in Greece — whose stand...