Cadmus and his wife Harmonia ended their days exiled to Illyria and were finally turned into snakes. But the family of Cadmus thrived until his descendant Menoeceus bore two children, Creon and his sister Jocasta. Jocasta married her distant cousin Laius.
After Laius became king of Thebes, the oracle at Delphi told him that he would die at the hands of his own son. When Jocasta gave birth to a boy, Laius ordered that the baby be left to die on the slopes of Mount Cithaeron. He fastened the baby’s feet together with an iron pin and gave him to a shepherd to leave in the wilderness.
The kindly shepherd could not bear to leave the baby to die. He gave him to a friend from the city of Corinth. The friend in turn gave the boy to Polybus, the king of Corinth, and his wife Merope. They loved him as their own and gave him the name Oedipus (“swollen foot”) because of the injury from his pierced ankles.
Oedipus grew up happily as a prince of Corinth, but one of his friends told him that he was not a true son of the king. Oedipus went to Polybus, but he wouldn’t tell Oedipus anything. Eager to discover the truth, Oedipus journeyed to the oracle at Delphi to find out if he was adopted. The priestess did not answer his question. She gave him the terrible news that he was going to kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus loved his parents, so he fled Delphi vowing that he would never return home and commit such terrible acts.
Oedipus made his way east feeling sad and hopeless. At a place where three roads met, he was forced into a ditch by a man in a chariot who hit him with a stick. Oedipus pulled the man from the chariot and killed him with his sword. Then he killed the rest of the party, except one who got away.
When Oedipus came to Thebes, he found the city in an uproar. A terrible creature called the Sphinx had arrived. This beast—with the head of a woman, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle—was an offspring of the ancient monsters Typhon and Echidna. The Sphinx perched on a mountain outside the city and swooped in to catch her victims. The creature always asked the terrified citizen a riddle, promising she would let him go if he answered correctly. Of course, no one knew the answer and so all were eaten by the Sphinx.
King Laius had left town to ask the oracle at Delphi what the city could do to rid itself of this murderous beast. When he didn’t return, the people believed he was dead. The acting king, Jocasta’s brother, Creon, offered the kingdom and the hand of Queen Jocasta to anyone who could drive the Sphinx away.
When Oedipus arrived, the winged creature flew down to block his way. The Sphinx expected him to be terrified, but Oedipus calmly sat down on a stone and waited. The monster posed the riddle: “What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at midday, and three in the evening?”
The Sphinx was ready for another tasty meal, but Oedipus said: “The answer is man. An infant crawls on all fours during the morning of its life, then walks on two legs as an adult, then finally uses the third leg of a cane in his twilight years.”
The Sphinx was defeated. She threw herself off a cliff to her death, and Oedipus entered Thebes as a hero. He took the crown and married the still-young queen. In time the couple had four fine children, two boys and two girls. It seemed to Oedipus as if all of his troubles were over.
Thebes was a happy, wealthy city for many years. One day things began to go terribly wrong. The cattle stopped bearing young and so did the women. A plague settled on the city, killing young and old. Sacrifices to the gods changed nothing, and the local oracles had no answers. Finally the people asked Oedipus to do something. He had saved them from the Sphinx—could he not rescue them again? “Oedipus, protect us. Come, save our city! You have brought nothing but good fortune to us. If you can’t help us, you will soon rule over a wilderness.”
And Oedipus replied: “My friends, I know about the ills that plague this city, but no one is more sick than I. I have sent my brother-in-law, Creon, to the oracle of Apollo at Delphi to see if the god might reveal to us the cause of this evil.”
Creon returned to Thebes with the oracle’s advice. The oracle said the citizens were suffering because they allowed the murder of King Laius to go unpunished. Unless the city brought his murderer to justice, the curse would remain. Oedipus knew very little about the previous king. Creon explained that Laius had been killed by a band of robbers while he was on the way to Delphi. His whole party had been killed, save for one servant who ran away. The city, then suffering under the Sphinx, could not spare any men to chase the murderers. After the monster was gone and a new king was on the throne, it seemed best to forget the murder.
Oedipus scolded the people for failing to avenge their king. He vowed that he would find the murderer and cleanse the city. The first thing he did was call together the citizens. Whoever had information about the death of Laius was to come forward and tell everything he knew.
No one did. The people suggested the king seek the counsel of the prophet Tiresias. Oedipus had already sent for the seer and expected him at any moment. Tiresias arrived but was reluctant to speak.
“Tiresias, you must help me,” Oedipus said. “Tell us who killed Laius.”
“Let me go home, Oedipus. The words I have to say would not please you but only add to your sorrows,” Tiresias said.
“My sorrows? How could you make matters worse when my city is suffering? Reveal what you know or face my anger,” Oedipus commanded.
“All right, I’ll speak. It’s you, Oedipus. You’re the murderer you seek!”
“That’s impossible, you liar! Did Creon pay you to say this? Is this a plot to seize my throne?” Oedipus asked.
“Forget Creon,” Tiresias answered. “I may be blind in my eyes, but you are blind in your ears and mind! Let me leave or I’ll tell you even worse things.”
Oedipus was outraged. “Get out of here!”
After Tiresias left, Oedipus accused Creon of trying to steal his throne. Creon said he was innocent, but Oedipus did not believe him. Jocasta scolded both men—her husband and her brother—for arguing in public. She assured Oedipus that his fears were foolish. She believed the prophet’s words were worthless. She told Oedipus that Laius had been told that his own son would kill him, but that was impossible. His only son had died as a baby. Laius was murdered by bandits at a place where three roads met.
A chill went down the spine of Oedipus. He demanded details. Finally he asked if there were any witnesses still alive. Jocasta said there was a shepherd who had seen the murder. He had asked to be sent far into the fields when Oedipus became king.
Oedipus insisted that she send for the shepherd. He explained that he had once killed a man at a crossing place of three roads, but he had been alone. If the witness told him there was one man, and not a group of bandits, then Oedipus would be afraid he might have killed the king. But he knew the king could not have been his father.
Before the shepherd arrived, an elderly messenger from Corinth came to Thebes. He bore the sad news that King Polybus had died of old age. Oedipus wept to hear about the death, but he was happy that the prophecy of Delphi could not come true. He could not kill his father if the king were already dead. Jocasta told him she had been right all along and oracles were worthless. Oedipus confessed that he was afraid he might still marry his mother by some horrible twist of fate. Jocasta dismissed the idea: “Oedipus, seers have no knowledge of the future. It’s best to enjoy one’s life not worrying about the fears buried deep inside us.”
The messenger from Corinth asked if there was anything he could do to ease the king’s mind. Oedipus told the old man about the prophecies and how he fled Corinth to make sure they would not come true. The old man said he knew for certain that Polybus and Merope were not the true parents of Oedipus. He himself had given Oedipus to them as a baby. The messenger had received him from a shepherd who had rescued him from death in the wilderness. He could prove it, because Oedipus would still have a scar on his ankles.
Jocasta turned white as a ghost. She ran into the palace crying out that Oedipus should never learn who he really was. But Oedipu
s was determined to unravel the mystery.
The shepherd who had witnessed the murder of Laius at last arrived. Oedipus began to question him in the presence of the messenger from Corinth. The shepherd confessed that he had given the baby Oedipus to the Corinthian messenger. He had also seen Oedipus kill Laius.
Oedipus forced the old man to tell him who his real father was. The shepherd said it was King Laius himself.
Oedipus realized that he had fulfilled the prophecy. He had murdered his father and married his mother. “No! No! No! O radiant sun, may I look on you today for the last time. I am cursed in my birth, cursed in my marriage, cursed in my killing.”
Jocasta was so upset to learn that she had married her own son that she hung herself. Oedipus found her dead and then gouged out his own eyes. He exiled himself from Thebes to roam the earth as a penniless beggar. His only companion was his daughter, Antigone. He left the kingdom and the care of his other children, Ismene, Eteocles, and Polynices, in the charge of Creon. Oedipus and Antigone wandered Greece for years, shunned by all.
The sons of Oedipus, Eteocles and Polynices, inherited the rule of the city from their uncle Creon when they came of age. The brothers agreed to share the throne, taking turns as king year by year. When the first year was over, Eteocles refused to step down and drove his brother from the city. Polynices fled to Argos, but not before he stole the necklace and robe the gods had given to his ancestor Harmonia.
In those days Adrastus ruled over Argos. He welcomed refugees from many Greek cities. Aside from Polynices, he also gave a home to Tydeus, a son of the late King Oeneus of Calydon. Tydeus had murdered a relative in anger and fled to Adrastus for protection. Neither Tydeus nor Polynices were happy living in exile. They often fought.
One day when they had set upon each other with swords drawn, Adrastus came either to stop the fight or to encourage them to kill each other. Suddenly he noticed that Polynices had a lion painted on his shield. The shield of Tydeus was decorated with a boar. The oracle at Delphi had once told him to “bind his daughters to a lion and boar,” but he had not understood the message. He now married his two daughters to Polynices and Tydeus. Then he promised both men he would help them regain their kingdoms, starting with Thebes.
Adrastus recruited the finest warriors in Argos, including his brother-in-law Amphiaraus, a gifted seer. Amphiaraus could foresee the grim outcome of the war and refused to go. His wife Eriphyle had an eye for fine gifts. Polynices came to her secretly and offered her the necklace and robe of Harmonia if she would change her husband’s mind. She took the bribe and talked her husband into joining Adrastus. Amphiaraus made his son vow to avenge what he knew would be his certain death before the walls of Thebes.
Seven warriors set out leading a vast army. They were King Adrastus, the seer Amphiaraus, Polynices, Tydeus, and three nobles named Capaneus, Parthenopaeus, and Hippomedon. Each warrior would lead an assault on one of the seven gates of Thebes.
With an army marching on Thebes, Apollo once again spoke through his oracle at Delphi. The priestess declared that whichever side possessed Oedipus—or at least his bones—would win the war. Oedipus had become a prize desired by both his sons.
Oedipus and Antigone had wandered to an outlying district of Athens called Colonus. Here the old blind man sat down on a rock in a sacred grove and declared to his daughter he would never leave. He had been told that one day he would die in a place sacred to the dark Furies. The local people were horrified when they discovered Oedipus lived among them. Theseus, the king of Athens, promised to protect Oedipus from harm.
Ismene, the other daughter of Oedipus, found her father and told him of recent events in Thebes. Soon Creon arrived to urge Oedipus to think well of Thebes and Eteocles. Oedipus told Creon to leave him alone. Then Creon revealed that he was holding Antigone and Ismene hostage to make sure that Oedipus returned to Thebes. Fortunately, Theseus returned to rescue the women and drive Creon away.
It wasn’t long before Polynices arrived and begged his father for help. He said he was the elder son, and Eteocles should give up the throne to him: “I know I have been a poor son, father, but that can change. We are both exiles, you and I, driven from our city unjustly. Please, come with me and we will win!”
Oedipus cursed his son, saying he and his brother were doomed to slay each other before the walls of Thebes. Polynices realized his fate was sealed. He left Colonus, making his sisters promise to give him a decent burial.
With only Theseus in attendance, Oedipus walked to a hidden part of the grove and prepared to die. He saluted the life-giving earth and the shining sky. Then suddenly, Oedipus was gone. How he died or where his body lay, none could say except Theseus, who was pledged to silence. When Oedipus died, so did all hope for his sons. For his daughters, it seemed that only suffering lay ahead.
When Polynices arrived at Thebes, the seven captains met before the city. They swore by Ares, Hera, and the god Panic that they would either reduce Thebes to rubble or die. Then they drew lots to see which gate each leader would attack. By chance or by the curse of Oedipus, Polynices was assigned the gate held by his brother Eteocles.
Tiresias informed the people of Thebes that the only way they could save their city was by human sacrifice. The victim must be a descendant of the warriors who grew from dragon’s teeth. Menoeceus, a son of Creon, had a deep love for Thebes and killed himself outside the walls in view of the enemy.
The slaughter that followed was brutal. The Argive leader Capaneus scaled the walls of the town, shouting that not even Zeus could stop him from taking Thebes. In answer, a lightning bolt killed the boastful warrior. A huge boulder crushed the skull of another Argive captain, Parthenopaeus, while his fellow captain Hippomedon was also slain. A Theban warrior named Melanippus attacked Tydeus and mortally wounded him. As Tydeus lay dying, Athena asked Zeus to make the young man immortal. Zeus agreed, but the seer Amphiaraus knew Athena’s plans. He hated Tydeus for dragging him into this war, so he cut off the head of Melanippus and brought it to Tydeus. Tydeus broke open the skull and ate his enemy’s brains. Athena was so disgusted she smashed the vial containing the potion of immortality. Tydeus died in the dirt. Soon after, Amphiaraus avoided a spear in the back only to be swallowed by a great opening in the earth.
Of the seven who had marched against Thebes, only Adrastus and Polynices remained. The king of Argos fled the battlefield on the divine horse Arion, offspring of Demeter and Poseidon. But Polynices stood before the walls of the city and called forth Eteocles. In the no-man’s-land between the two armies the brothers met.
Polynices and Eteocles ran at each other with spears ready. They threw and missed, then clashed like wild boars with swords drawn. Whenever one would strike, the other would meet the weapon with his shield. Then Eteocles slipped on a pebble and gave Polynices the chance to drive his spear through his brother’s calf. Wounded, Eteocles hurled his own spear through the breast of his brother. Both wounded men stumbled across the dust in agony, then took up their swords to continue the fight. Eteocles stepped back with his left foot, then swung his sword and pierced his brother’s side. The elder brother fell to the ground, seemingly dead. Just as Eteocles dropped his own weapon, Polynices rose with his last breath and plunged his sword into his brother. Side by side the two sons of Oedipus lay in death, ruling the bloody battlefield.
Creon once again assumed rule of Thebes and gathered the bodies of the fallen Theban warriors for burial. He ordered that the enemy—including his nephew Polynices—be left to rot on the battlefield. Anyone who buried them would be killed. Everyone was shocked. Without burial, the dead were doomed to wander the far banks of the River Styx for a hundred years in misery. No Greek would deny burial to even their worst enemy for fear of offending the gods.
Antigone and Ismene returned to Thebes, having nowhere else to go. Antigone was determined to give Polynices a decent burial. Even her engagement to Creon’s son Haemon and the pleas of Ismene to reconsider would not change her mind. She sprinkl
ed dust on the body of her brother.
Creon was shocked to discover his own niece had disobeyed him: “Antigone, do you admit that you did this shameful deed or do you deny it?”
“I admit it proudly,” she answered. “Zeus and Justice demand a proper burial for the dead. You are a fool to think you can stand against the gods!”
“And you are a fool to think you can stand against me!” Creon said.
Antigone stood firm. “Go ahead and kill me! I would rather die honoring the gods than live under your wicked rules.”
Creon ordered her to be sealed in a cave until she was dead. Haemon pleaded with his father to spare his bride, but his words couldn’t bend Creon’s will.
Tiresias appeared before the new king and told him he was offending the gods. “Change your mind,” he warned, “or you will suffer more than you can imagine.”
Creon hesitated, and by then it was too late. Antigone had hung herself in her cave. Haemon, seeing his love dead, struck out at his father with his sword and then plunged it into his own heart. When Creon’s wife heard that their son was dead, she committed suicide. Like Oedipus before him, Creon at last realized that men were helpless before the will of the gods.
Jason and the Argonauts
Deucalion and Pyrrha, the couple that escaped the great flood sent by Zeus, had a greatgrandson named Athamas. Athamas became king of Orchomenus, not far from Thebes. He married a woman named Nephele (“cloud”) and together they had a son named Phrixus and a daughter named Helle. Later Athamas married Ino, daughter of King Cadmus of Thebes. She bore Athamas two sons and then began to plot the death of Phrixus to put her own boys on the throne.
Ino bribed the women who stored seed grain for the kingdom to dry the seeds. Naturally, the grain did not grow and Orchomenus faced starvation. Athamas sent heralds to Delphi to ask Apollo how to save his kingdom. Ino convinced the heralds to tell the king that the only way to save Orchomenus was to sacrifice Phrixus to Zeus.
Heroes of Olympus Page 13
