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The Royal House of Thebes
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Transcript of The Royal House of Thebes
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The Royal House of Thebes
Santina Betti
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The Royal House of Thebes
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How Thebes Came To Be
Europa’s brothers were sent to search for her
Cadmus went to Apollo’s oracle at Delphi
Apollo told Cadmus to found his own city
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How Thebes Came To Be
Founding Thebes did not come without its challenges Cadmus had to fight a fierce dragon Athena then told him to sow the earth
with the dragon’s teeth Armed men sprang from the furrows and
killed each other 5 survived and became Cadmus’ helpers
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Cadmus and His Children
It is believed that Cadmus first introduced the alphabet to Greece
Cadmus married HarmoniaHarmonia was given a necklace from
Aphrodite
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Cadmus and His Children
Cadmus and Harmonia had 4 daughters and 1 son Semele, Ino, Agave, Autonoe, and
Polydous All of their daughters experienced great
tragedy in their livesCadmus and Harmonia were turned
into serpents
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The Reign of King Laius and JocastaWith Laius as King, Apollo’s oracle at
Delphi began to play a large role in their family’s fortunes
The oracle told Laius a prophecyLaius tried to prevent fate Laius was killed several years later
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The Sphinx
The details of Laius’ murder were not investigated because of the Sphinx
The Sphinx had the winged body of a lion, and the breast and face of a woman
As travelers passed, the Sphinx would ask them her riddle
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The Sphinx
The Sphinx had caused Thebes to grow close to famine
Her riddle was, “What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?
Oedipus, a traveler from Corinth, successfully answered the riddle by answering “man”
The Sphinx, in disbelief, killed herself
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The Reign of Oedipus
Oedipus became king and was given Jocasta as his wife
Together, they had 2 sons and 2 daughters Polyneices, Eteocles, Antigone, and
Ismene
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The Reign of Oedipus
When Polyneices and Eteocles had grown into men, Thebes succumbed to a terrible plague
Oedipus sent Creon to Delphi
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The Reign of Oedipus
Creon said the plague would lift when the murderer of Laius was punished
Oedipus sent for TeirsiasTeirsias told Oedipus he, himself was
the killer he soughtOedipus ordered him out of his sight
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The Reign of Oedipus
Jocasta told Oedipus the prophecy told to Laius and of his murder
Oedipus tells of his prophecy and that he killed a group of men at a place where 3 roads meet
Oedipus sent for the surviving shepherd
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The Reign of Oedipus
In the meantime, a messenger from Corinth arrived to tell Oedipus of Polybus’ death
Jocasta told him there was no truth in prophecy
The messenger then tells Oedipus he wasn’t Polybus’ son and he himself received him from a shepherd, a servant of Laius
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The Reign of Oedipus
The shepherd confessed that he didn’t leave Laius’ son to die, but instead, gave him to the messenger
Jocasta killed herself and Oedipus blinded himself
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After Oedipus
Oedipus lived on in Thebes and resigned from the throne, as did his son, Polyneices
The Thebans then accepted Creon as their ruler
After many years, the Thebans decided to expel Oedipus
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Antigone
Antigone guided her father after he was driven out of the city
Ismene stayed in Thebes to keep them informed
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Shift In Power
After Oedipus left, his two sons fought for their right to the throne
Eteocles succeeded and exiled his brother from Thebes
Polyneices resided in Argos and rallied an army together to march against Thebes
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Oedipus’ death
In the meantime, Antigone and Oedipus had traveled to Colonus
Apollo told Ismene he would be received by the King of Athens with all honor
Ismene went to Colonus to tell Oedipus of Apollo’s words and was with him when he dies
King Theseus sent Antigone and Ismene safely home
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Polyneices Attacks Thebes
When Antigone and Ismene returned home, their brothers were fighting
Polyneices was accompanied by 6 other men
Each man attacked one of the 7 Great Gates of Thebes
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Polyneices Attacks Thebes
Neither side gained any advantageThe outcome was to be determined
by a battle between Polyneices and Eteocles
Neither was victorious and they killed each other
Polyneices’ last wish was to be buried in his homeland
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Creon’s Rule
The battle restarted, and the Thebans were victorious
Creon became KingOnly one of Polyneices’ men
survived, AdrastusCreon made it law that none of the
men against Thebes should be buried there
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Antigone
Antigone disobeyed Creon and buried him herself
She was sentenced to deathThe House of Oedipus, the last of the
royal family of Thebes, was no more
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The Seven Against Thebes
Adrastus and the mothers and sons of the dead went to Theseus, King of Athens, to ask him to convince Creon to allow his men be buried in Thebes
Theseus decided that if the people of Athens consented, he would ask Creon
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The Seven Against Thebes
Theseus pleaded to Creon, but he ignored it
The Athenians then marched against Thebes and conquered
The 5 dead men were burned on a pyre and peace overcame their mothers
Their sons vowed to take vengeance upon Thebes when they were grown
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The Seven Against Thebes
Ten years later, they marched to Thebes and were victorious
The Thebans fled and their city was destroyed
The only remains was Harmonia’s necklace, which was taken to Delphi to be shown to pilgrims
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Works Cited
Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1942.
Greek-Style Sphinx from the Delphi Museum. Flickr.com. 26 May 2006.
Antigone from the Beijing Capital Museum. Flickr.com. 29 August 2007.