One of the Seven against Thebes. He was saved by the swift steed Arion.
Adrastus
King of Tyre and father of Cadmus and Europa.
Agenor
Son of Amphiaraus and Eriphyle hence one of the Epigoni later generation who leads a second
assault on Thebes.
Alcmaeon
One of the Seven against Thebes. He was swallowed by the earth and became a cult hero.
Amphiaraus
Twin sons of Antiope and Zeus. They will eventually overthrow Lycus and Dirce and gain the
kingship of Thebes. Amphion was a skilled musician and built the walls of Thebes with his song.
Zethus was a herdsman.
Amphion and Zethus
Daughter of Nycteus. She bore to Zeus in the guise of a satyr Amphion and Zethus.
Antiope
Region in central Greece where Thebes is located. Its name means cow land.
Boeotia
Son of Agenor and brother of Europa. Founder of Cadmeia Thebes and credited with the
introduction of the writing. There is a tradition that Cadmus and Harmonia were transformed into
serpents.
Cadmus
Town in Attica that offers Oedipus his final resting place and his transformation to heroic stature.
The story of Oedipus last days is dramatized in Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus.
Colonus
Brother of Jocasta, uncle and brother in law to Oedipus. Sometime regent and eventual king of
Thebes. With the death of Polynices and Eteocles his life will end in grief at the loss of his wife
and son, arising from his conflict with Antigone.
Creon
Wife of Lycus. Because of her treatment of their mother Antiope Amphio and Zethus will tie her
to a bull which will drag her to her death.
Dirce
Greek term that refers to the sons of the Seven against Thebes who mount a second and
successful attempt on Thebes. It literally means later generation.
Epigone
Wife of Amphiaraus, whom Polynices bribes with the gift of Harmonias necklace to persuade
her husband to join the expedition of the Seven against Thebes.
Eriphyle
Son of Oedipus and brother of Polynices. He refuses to surrender the throne of Thebes to his
brother who in retaliation mounts an expedition known as the Seven against Thebes. Poynices
and Eteocles will kill each other in the battle.
Eteocles
Daughter of Agenor and sister of Cadmus. Abducted by Zeus in the form of a bull and brought to
Crete. She becomes the mother of Minos.
Europa
Son of Creon and fiance of Antigone. He will kill himself when he learns of Antigones suicide.
Haemon
Wife of Cadmus and daughter of Ares and Aphrodite. Her necklace will cause a great deal of
trouble in the later generations. There is a tradition that Cadmus and Harmonia were transformed
into serpents.
Harmonia
Daughter of Oedipus and sister of Antigone.
Ismene
Wife of Laius and mother and wife of Oedipus. When she learns the truth of her marriage she
hangs herself.
Jocasta
Son of Cadmus and father of Laius. The descendants of this line are often referred to as the
Labdacidae or descendants of Labdacus.
Labdacus
Son of Labdacus. Husband of Jocasta and father of Oedipus. Cursed by Pelops for abduction of
his son Chrysippus.
Laius
Regent of Thebes. Usurps the throne and pursues Antiope in hopes of killing her sons the rightful
heirs. Antiopes sons Amphion and Zethus will eventually kill both Lycus and his wife Dirce for
their treatment.
Lycus
Son of Europa.
Minos
Wife of Amphion.
Niobe
Son of Laius and Jocasta. Fated to kill his father and marry his mother. As an infant, his ankles
were pierced and he was given to a shepherd to expose on the mountain side. Instead he was
brought to Corinth and raised by the king and queen there. Eventually anxious of his origins he
will travel to the oracle at Delphi and learn of his fate. At a crossroads he meets and kills his
father and comes to Thebes answers the riddle of Sphinx and receives the hand of the queen his
mother in marriage. He will eventually learn of his sins and become an exile for the rest of his
life finding his final rest at Colonus in a grove of the Eumenides.
Oedipus
Opheltes or snake child was killed by a serpent. The Seven killed the serpent and established the
Nemean Games in honor of the boy.
Opheltes
Pelops curses Laius the father of Oedipus for the abduction of his son Chrysippus.
Pelops and Chrypsippus
King and queen of Corinth and foster parents of Oedipus.
Polybus and Merope
Son of Oedipus and brother of Eteocles. Eteocles refused to surrender the throne of Thebes to his
brother who in retaliation mounted an expedition known as the Seven against Thebes. Polynices
and Eteocles will kill each other in the battle.
Polynices
The unsuccessful expedition mounted by Polynices to gain the throne of Thebes.
Seven against Thebes
Greek term meaning sown men and referring to the children of the teeth of the serpent that
Cadmus sowed in Theban soil. Most of the Spartoi will kill each other until only five remain.
These five become the founders of Theban families.
Spartoi
A Monster that terrorizes the city of Thebes. Oedipus solves the famous riddle and seals his fate.
The term literally means strangler.
Sphinx
The city founded by Cadmus in Boeotia. Originally named Cadmeia but eventually named
Thebes after Thebe the wife of Zethus.
Cadmeia
Descended from the Theban Spartoi who had lived for seven generations of men. He had been
both a man and a woman and was gifted with oracular vision but physical blindness. He
attempted to counsel Pentheus to accept the new god Dionysus and tried to warn Oedipus to end
his search for the truth and he upbraided Creon for his treatment of Antigone. In the Underworld
he gives Odysseus vital information.
Tiresias
One of the Seven against Thebes and father of Diomedes.
Tydeus
Phoenician city. Original home of Europa and Cadmus.
Tyre
_________________One of the Seven against Thebes. He was saved by the swift steed Arion.
_________________King of Tyre and father of Cadmus and Europa.
_________________Son of Amphiaraus and Eriphyle hence one of the Epigoni later generation
who leads a second assault on Thebes.
_________________One of the Seven against Thebes. He was swallowed by the earth and
became a cult hero.
________________and_______________Twin sons of Antiope and Zeus. They will eventually
overthrow Lycus and Dirce and gain the kingship of Thebes. One was a skilled musician and
built the walls of Thebes with his song. The other was a herdsman.
_________________Daughter of Nycteus. She bore twin sons to Zeus who woed her in the guise
of a satyr.
________________Region in central Greece where Thebes is located. Its name means cow land.
_________________Son of Agenor and brother of Europa. Founder of an eponymous city and
credited with the introduction of the writing. There is a tradition that he and his wife were
transformed into serpents.
Town in Attica that offers Oedipus his final resting place and his transformation to heroic stature.
The story of Oedipus last days is dramatized in Sophocles Oedipus at _______________.
_________________Brother of Jocasta, uncle and brother in law to Oedipus. Sometime regent
and eventual king of Thebes. With the death of Polynices and Eteocles his life will end in grief at
the loss of his wife and son, arising from his conflict with Antigone.
_________________Wife of Lycus. Because of her treatment of their mother Antiope, Amphion
and Zethus will tie her to a bull which will drag her to her death.
_________________Greek term that refers to the sons of the Seven against Thebes who mount a
second and successful attempt on Thebes. It literally means later generation or afterborn.
_________________Wife of Amphiaraus, whom Polynices bribes with the gift of Harmonia’s
necklace to persuade her husband to join the expedition of the Seven against Thebes.
_________________Son of Oedipus and brother of Polynices. He refuses to surrender the throne
of Thebes to his brother who in retaliation mounts an expedition known as the Seven against
Thebes. He and Polynices will kill each other in the battle.
_________________Daughter of Agenor and sister of Cadmus. Abducted by Zeus in the form of
a bull and brought to Crete. She becomes the mother of Minos.
___________________Son of Creon and fiance of Antigone. He will kill himself when he learns
of Antigone’s suicide.
___________________Wife of Cadmus and daughter of Ares and Aphrodite. Her necklace will
cause a great deal of trouble in the later generations. There is a tradition that she and Cadmus
were transformed into serpents.
___________________Daughter of Oedipus and sister of Antigone.
___________________Wife of Laius and mother and wife of Oedipus. When she learns the truth
of her marriage she hangs herself.
___________________Son of Cadmus and father of Laius. His descendants are often referred to
as the Labdacidae.
___________________Son of Labdacus. Husband of Jocasta and father of Oedipus. Cursed by
Pelops for the abduction of his son Chrysippus.
___________________Regent of Thebes. Usurps the throne and pursues Antiope in hopes of
killing her sons the rightful heirs. Antiope’s sons Amphion and Zethus will eventually kill both
him and his wife Dirce for their treatment.
___________________Son of Europa and regent of Crete and the Underworld.
___________________Wife of Amphion.
___________________Son of Laius and Jocasta. Fated to kill his father and marry his mother.
As an infant, his ankles were pierced and he was given to a shepherd to expose on the mountain
side. Instead he was brought to Corinth and raised by the king and queen there. Eventually
anxious of his origins he will travel to the oracle at Delphi and learn of his fate. At a crossroads
he meets and kills his father and comes to Thebes answers the riddle of Sphinx and receives the
hand of the queen his mother in marriage. He will eventually learn of his sins and become an
exile for the rest of his life finding his final rest at Colonus in a grove of the Eumenides.
___________________His name meant snake child because he was killed by a serpent. The
Seven killed the serpent and established the Nemean Games in honor of the boy.
___________________Laius the father of Oedipus is cursed by Pelops for the abduction of
Pelops’ son ___________.
_______________ and____________King and queen of Corinth and foster parents of Oedipus.
___________________Son of Oedipus and brother of Eteocles. Eteocles refused to surrender the
throne of Thebes to his brother who in retaliation mounted an expedition known as the Seven
against Thebes. He and Eteocles will kill each other in the battle.
________________________________The unsuccessful expedition mounted by Polynices to
gain the throne of Thebes.
________________________Greek term meaning sown men and referring to the children of the
teeth of the serpent that Cadmus sowed in Theban soil. These “serpent teeth men” killed each
other until only five remained. These five became the founders of Theban families.
________________________A Monster that terrorizes the city of Thebes. Oedipus solves the
famous riddle and seals his fate. The term literally means strangler.
________________________The final, eponymous name of the city originally founded by
Cadmus in Boeotia, originated from this wife of Zethus.
________________________Descended from the Theban Spartoi who had lived for seven
generations of men. He had been both a man and a woman and was gifted with oracular vision
but physical blindness. He attempted to counsel Pentheus to accept the new god Dionysus and
tried to warn Oedipus to end his search for the truth and he upbraided Creon for his treatment of
Antigone. In the Underworld he gives Odysseus vital information.
________________________One of the Seven against Thebes and father of Diomedes.
________________________Phoenician city. Original home of Europa and Cadmus.