Seven Against Thebes - War

The Seven Against Thebes was a famous war between the Argive army, led by seven champions, and the city of Thebes. The war was set after the reign of Oedipus in Thebes, and a generation before the Trojan War.

The tales were popular during the classical Greek period. Paintings and sculptures of this event were also favourite subjects of the ancient Greeks.

• Origin of the War

• In Argos

• War Against Thebes

• Antigone

Origin of the War

Oedipus went into exile after he learned of his involvement of his father's death. Only his daughters, Antigone and Ismene, were loyal to their father. Antigone acted as her father's guide as he wandered through Greece, while Ismene brought news to them of home (Thebes).

Oedipus' two sons were more interested in power and the kingdom of Thebes.

According to Sophocles' play, Oedipus at Colonus, Oedipus died in Colonus, a town in Attica. Oedipus befriended the Athenian hero, Theseus. There are also other versions of Oedipus' wandering and death. In most versions he cursed both his sons because they could not settle their quarrel peacefully.

See Oedipus in the House of Thebes.

The Thebans decided that his two sons, Eteocles (Ἐτεοκλἣς) and Polyneices (Πολυνείκης), would rule Thebes in alternate years, after Oedipus was exiled. Eteocles ruled in the first year at Thebes. However after his term ended, Eteocles refused to let his brother rule Thebes. He banished Polyneices from Thebes.

Polyneices fled to Argos, seeking help from King Adrastus.

In Argos

Polyneices (Πολυνείκης) went to Argos as a suppliant. At the same time another prince arrived named Tydeus (Τυδεύς), son of Oeneus, king of Calydon and of Periboea. Tydeus had also been exiled by Agrius for killing either his uncle or brother.

Both princes arrived in Argos at night, got into a quarrel with one another, and fought. Adrastus (Ἄδραστου), king of Argos, looked outside of the palace and saw two men in armour fighting. One had a lion depicted on his shield, while the other shield had a wild boar. Polyneices' shield had a lion to represent his father's expulsion of the Sphinx, part-lion part-woman creature. The boar on Tydeus' shield represented the Calydonian Boar.

Adrastus immediately recognised the signs he had received from a seer that he should marry his daughters to a lion and a boar. Both exiled princes became guests of Adrastus. The two guests married Adrastus' daughters, and the king promised to restore both son-in-laws in their respective kingdom.

Polyneices married Argeia, who bore him Thersander. The device on Polyneices' shield was the Sphinx.

Tydeus married Adrastus' other daughter, Deïpyle (Deipyle), who became the mother of the hero Diomedes. Tydeus was described as a short warrior. Tydeus' device was a wild-boar, probably the image of the Calydonian Boar.

The problem was that Adrastus' brother-in-law, Amphiaraüs (Amphiaraus or Ἀμφιάραος), a warrior seer, did not want to go to Thebes because he knew the expedition was doomed to fail and only Adrastus would survive the war.

Amphiaraüs was the son of Oicles and Hypermnestra, and a descendant of one of the greatest seers, Melampus. Amphiaraüs was one of the heroes who had sailed on the Argo with Jason (see the Argonauts), and he was the second hero to wound the boar in Calydon after Atalanta drew first blood (see Calydonian Boar Hunt). He married Eriphyle, sister of Adrastus.

Adrastus and Amphiaraüs had previously had an argument which resulted in Adrastus losing the throne. When Adrastus was restored to the throne, the brother and husband decided to let Eriphyle settle any future quarrel between the two men.

To make Eriphyle decide in his favour, Polyneices bribed Eriphyle with the necklace from Harmonia. This necklace was a wedding gift to Harmonia, made by the god Hephaestus, which was a curse to later owners. Amphiaraüs had no choice but to join his brother-in-law in the futile war. Amphiaraüs made his sons, Alcmeon and Amphilochus, promise to avenge his death upon both the Thebans and his wife (their mother).

Adrastus and Amphiaraüs raised the Argive army, and five other Argive leaders joined the rank: his brother Mecisteus (Μηκιστεύς); Capaneus (Καπανεύς), son of Hipponoüs and Astynome; his cousin or nephew (?), Hippomedon (Ἱππομέδων); and Eteoclus (Ἐτεοκλυς), son of Iphis. Parthenopaeüs (Parthenopaeus or Παρθενοπαἳος) was either the son of Atalanta, or the son of Talaus, which would also make him the brother of Adrastus. Tydeus also agreed to join them, provided that Adrastus helped him later in Calydon.

Note that Polyneices and Tydeus were foreigners; they were not counted as two of the seven Argive champions by most writers, though they took a very active role in the war. Though, some writers do count Polyneices and Tydeus, and leave out Mecisteus and Adrastus in the list of seven.

War Against Thebes

The Argive army stopped at Nemea for water and encountered a nurse and the infant Opheltes. As the nurse left the infant in the crib outside, she showed the Argives where the spring was. The infant died from snakebite. Amphiaraüs (Amphiaraus) saw this as the doom of the expedition. They held funeral games for the infant that became known as the Nemean Games.

When they arrived in Thebes, Adrastus sent Tydeus into the city as an embassy. Tydeus demanded Eteocles to surrender and challenged any Theban to single combat. He defeated all of the Thebans who faced him. Eteocles sent fifty men to ambush Tydeus outside the city, but Tydeus killed them all except Maeon. Maeon was left alive to tell Thebes and their king what had happened.

In Thebes, Teiresias announced that Thebes would fall unless Menoeceus, son of Creon, sacrificed himself to Ares. Creon refused to allow anyone to kill his son, but Menoeceus, having overheard the prophecy, killed himself so that Thebes would win the war.

When fighting began, each Argive leader attacked one of the seven gates of Thebes. But each gate was defended by a Theban champion. Astacus, a Theban noble, had four sons named Amphidocus (Asphodicus), Ismarus, Leades and Melanippus. Each of his sons was more than a match for the Argive heroes. And there was Periclymenus, the mighty son of Poseidon.

Capaneus, who was the first to breach the wall, boasted that not even Zeus could prevent him from burning the city. Zeus killed Capaneus with a thunderbolt for this impious boast. The Theban Melanippus killed Mecisteus, while Hippomedon was killed by Ismarus, and Eteoclus was slain either by Leades or his brother Megareus. Parthenopaeüs (Parthenopaeus) was killed either by Periclymenus or Amphidocus (or Asphodicus).

Tydeus managed to kill Melanippus, but he was fatally wounded in the encounter. The goddess Athena would have saved his life and made him immortal because she was his favourite, but Amphiaraüs duped the hero into devouring Melanippus' brains, thinking that it would heal his wound. When Athena returned with a drug to heal and saw Tydeus devouring his enemy' brains, the goddess was horrified. Disgusted by the sight, Athena left Tydeus to die.

Periclymenus pursued Amphiaraüs, each in their own chariots. Zeus realised that Periclymenus was about to hurl his spear at Amphiaraüs' back. Because Amphiaraüs was his favourite seer, the god took pity on the seer. Zeus split open the earth in front of the following chariot, swallowing Amphiaraüs and his charioteer alive.

Polyneices and Eteocles faced one another in single combat. On this fateful day, Oedipus' curse was about to be fulfilled. They fought and died from each other's sword. In Aeschylus' play, Seven Against Thebes, Eteocles went to defend the seventh gate and knew that he would die by his brother's hand, as he knew from the prophecy that he would slay his own brother. Rather than avoid his fate and be branded as a coward, Eteocles chose to meet his death with his brother.

The Argive army was destroyed. The only surviving Argive leader, Adrastus, fled upon his immortal horse Arion to Athens.

Antigone

Antigone was daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta. She accompanied her father during his exile until he died in Colonus. With the death of her two brothers, Antigone and her sister Ismene mourned for both of their brothers.

After the war, Creon either became king of Thebes or regent for Eteocles' son Laodamas, who was too young to rule the kingdom. Creon gave Eteocles a hero's funeral, while he decreed that Polyneices and the other Argives leaders were not to be given any burial, for attacking Thebes. The bodies were to be left to the dogs and vultures.

Antigone pleaded with her uncle and regent, Creon, to allow her brother's body to be buried; she was refused. Creon, who lost his second son in the war, adamantly decreed again that anyone burying Polyneices or the other Argive leaders, that person would be put to death.

Ismene was afraid to help Antigone bury their brother. Knowing she would face a possible death sentence, Antigone secretly buried her brother, but was caught by Creon's men. Ismene, who was afraid to help Antigone, now also claimed responsibility for burying Polyneices. She said this because she could not bear to lose the last member of her family. She would rather die with her sister. Antigone, however, persuaded Ismene to live. Creon had Antigone entombed alive.

Creon's third son, Haemon, who was betrothed to Antigone, went to Antigone's tomb and killed himself. Eurydice, Creon's wife, who heard the news of her son's death, couldn't bear her grief of losing her last child; she cursed her husband before she hanged herself. Creon's stubbornness and pride resulted in the death of not only his niece, but also caused tragedy to fall upon his own family.

According to the Fabulae, Hyginus told a different story to that of Sophocles' play, Antigone. Antigone with the help of Argeia, Polyneices' wife, buried Polyneices, despite Creon's edict. Argeia managed to escape, but Antigone was captured for defying his law. Creon ordered his son, Haemon, to kill his niece, but Haemon was in love with Antigone. They were actually lovers, and she was pregnant.

Haemon disobeyed his father, and gave Antigone to trusted shepherds to hide her. Haemon returned to his father and claimed that he had killed and buried Antigone.

Years later, the son of Haemon and Antigone, whose name was not given, came to Thebes to take part in the annual games. Creon immediately recognised the youth, because he bore the mark of a Sparti, and he resembled his own son and his niece, Antigone. Creon realised that Haemon had defied his order. Creon ordered his son to kill Antigone in front of him. Haemon was a friend of young Heracles (Hercules), and was still living in Thebes at the time. Heracles unsuccessfully pleaded to spare Antigone, but the king refused.

Haemon obeyed his father, and killed Antigone with his sword. But in front of his father, he took his own life.

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Adrastus, the only surviving leader of the Seven, fled to Athens. He sought Theseus' aid, as a suppliant. His request to Theseus was that he wanted to bury the other Argive leaders who fell in the war. Theseus agreed to help.

When the Thebans refused to release the bodies of the enemy leaders, Theseus attacked Thebes until they surrendered them for burial. Theseus did not enslave or imprison the Thebans, nor did he allow his army to occupy or loot Thebes. He was only there for one reason only, to bury the fallen Argive leaders.

Adrastus returned to Argos with the other bodies for burial. During the funeral, as they fired the pyres of the fallen leaders, Evadne threw herself on her husband's (Capaneus) pyre.

Genealogy

• House of Thebes

• House of Argos