Myth 17
THEBES
and Oedipus
The greatest war except for Troy:
the Seven against Thebes
most of our stories come from Tragedies
lost epic poem: Thebaid: (by Homer?)
second most important Latin epic:
Thebaid by Statius (1st c AD)
Two
foundation Stories
brother of Europa—looking for her
(Phoenix and Cilix had long given up)
Told
by oracle to stop looking
follow a special cow, and found a city instead
in Boeotia (“cow-y”)
Does
so—men attacked by dragon
he
kills it; Athena tells him to knock out the teeth and sow
them into the ground
Armed
men spring up
begin fighting until
just five are left—ancestors of Theban families, “Sparti”
Cadmus serves Ares for 8 years, but gets to
marry Harmonia
(daughter of
Aphrodite and Ares)
famous wedding—wonderful
gifts, but cursed next generation:
Ino, Semele, Agave (and Pentheus), Autonoe and Acteon
Cadmus and Harmonia
Turn into serpents and live in Elysian fields
Second foundation Story:
Twins: Amphion
and Zethus
children of Zeus and Antiope
Twins are opposite in nature:
Amphion—lyre player
Zethus—man of action
Build
walls of city—second founding
Zethus marries Thebe—for city is named
Amphion marries Niobe
Two founding stories:
Cadmus—based on Near East dragon battle
origin of the world story—“down-graded”
—cf. Norse creation from guts of Ymir
Is it really founded by Phoenicians?
Cadmus= “man from the East”
Cadmus brought from the east “phoinikeia grammata”
“scratchings”—Kadmeia
Greek alphabet indeed based on Phoenician
but Cadmus is far too
early (c 1600BC?)
Mythical founder of the Alphabet
Twins—common folktale—two personality types
cf. Rome—founded by twins
Reconcile the tales—upper city and lower
city
Combine in Oedipus
Oedipus
Laius, descended from Polydorus
(Cadmus’ son)
falls in love with a
prince and rapes him—cursed
Marries Jocasta—descended
from “Sparti”
your son will kill you
—he doesn't have sex with his wife
until once by accident
(drunk)
Orders son to be EXPOSED
shepherd takes him, with
pinned feet
—gives him to friend from Corinth
who gives him to king
and queen : Polybus and Merope
Oedipus: “swollen feet”
Oedipus tries to find out if he's adopted
oracle tells him he will
kill his father and marry his mother
vows to never return to
Corinth—goes to Thebes
Kills some guy in a case of road rage
Thebes being hassled by Sphinx
(a “monster” ultimately borrowed
from Egypt)
—eat, but first riddle
The king is dead, it turns out
—Creon (Jocasta's
brother) takes over
whoever solves the riddle
gets to be king and marry queen
Sphinx’s Riddle:
“Goes on four
in the morning, two
at midday, three
at evening”
Sphinx kills herself
Oedipus
and Jocasta get married and have 4 kids
Polynices, Eteocles, Antigone, and Ismene
Already
in Homer, he knows Oedipus married his mom
Book 6
Sophocles: Theban Plays—“trilogy”
Written over 35year period (never performed
together)
Antigone c. 442 BC
Oedipus
the King,
c. 429 BC
Oedipus
at Colonus, 406 BC
Oedipus
the King
(c. 430 BC)
most detailed version of the story
one of the most famous ancient plays
adds (?) many details
Background:
Oedipus is King
Miasma
– blood pollution—has caused a plague in the city
Laius’
killer is still at large
Oedipus
declares an oath and a
curse:
dramatic irony
Summons
Tiresias—who tells him everything, under duress
Oedipus doesn’t believe him, but then
thinks about the crossroads
Messenger—your
“father” Polybus has died
oh, they’re not your parents—I'm the one who found you
Jocasta steps away
The
shepherd … the one who was supposed to expose him
that's
right… you killed the king
Messenger
reports scene of
Oedipus finding Jocasta
Is Oedipus a HERO?
Not
divine, but
· unusual birth
·
quest
· monster
· dangerous woman
· mysterious death
focus, though, on incest and parricide
cf.
Theogony’s
—Cronus and Zeus *had* to kill their fathers
In Oedipus, father killing brings evil
Incest and parricide are for the gods
alone?
His self-blinding—original to Sophocles?
Free-will
Is
Oedipus a slave to fate?
Victim of
curiosity?
Does
he ever do anything wrong, knowingly?
Protect
his people; obey the will of the gods
uses intelligence and courage
A
riddle solver who does not see his own riddle
brother to his own children and husband to mother
Typical
Greek pessimism:
restless curiosity, which leads to even more trouble
—you can’t handle the truth
Famously used by Freud (d. 1939) to explain
childhood development of psyche
SEVEN
against THEBES
Oedipus sons are supposed to share power
Eteocles
reneges, and Polynices seeks help in Argos
Adrastus (king) gather seven great warriors to fight
greatest battle besides Troy
Sophocles:
Oedipus at Colonus (406BC)
army marches
Oedipus is in a suburb of Athens with his
daughters
Colonians want to drive him out—miasma
Who possesses the bones of Oedipus cannot
be captured
Oedipus
curses
his sons, praises his daughters
disappears in the grove
—becomes protective spirit of Athens
Aeschylus—Seven
against Thebes(467 BC)
7
on 7 at each gate
brother on brother
lots of details and back and forth (cf. Iliad)
Euripides,
Phoenician Women (411 BC)
the longest Greek
tragedy
tells the whole story
from POV of Phoenician women, chorus who is trapped in the middle
The Seven are defeated; only Adrastus escapes
Sophocles, Antigone
(442 BC –first of trilogy written)
After
the battle, Creon is king
casts out bodies of attackers to rot
including Polynices (Antigone's brother)
she wants to bury him
Conflict
between political strong man—law and order
versus family connections, honor, the “old way”
Role of women in Greek society: Antigone
and Ismene
Their
agon (lines
441 ff.)
Powerful
woman—the most dangerous kind
—a parthenos
(engaged to Creon's son, Haemon)
Antigone
is sentenced to be buried alive in a cave
obligation of the leader to his polis
Tiresias
warns of terrible omens
Creon tries to retract, but she's hanged
herself
Haemon lunges at father, but kills himself
(Creon's
wife has committed suicide as well)
“Lead me away,
I've been hasty and foolish
Savage fate has ruled my course”
Conflicts:
· State and
individual
·
Men and women
· young and old
· living and dead
· all as family conflict—the
worst family in history
Laws
of custom vs. laws of nature
Untamed
female
Conclusion to Theban saga:
Theseus and Athenians help Adrastus
lead expedition against
Thebes to bury the dead.
Old English Bonus:
Riddle 46:
A man sat a wine with his two wives
and his two sons and
his two daughters,
dear sisters, and their
two sons,
noble and firstborn
children, with each of them
uncle and nephew. In all there were five
men and women sitting
within.
More Old English Riddles
