EPIGONI
The
War of the EPIGONI
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The EPIGONI are the sons of the
SEVEN AGAINST
THEBES. Wishing to avenge their fathers, they
took Thebes ten years
after the first war, and pulled down the walls.
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Background
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Because of Oedipus'
curse, his sons Polynices and Eteocles 1 decided to
divide their inheritance, the throne of
Thebes, by a sharp sword.
The Theban conflict for power became a conflict
between kingdoms when the exiled Polynices received
military aid from King
Adrastus 1 of
Argos. An army was raised,
the army of the SEVEN
AGAINST THEBES, which attempted to take the
city but failed. Of the
SEVEN only
Adrastus 1 survived,
and the brothers who had originated the conflict
killed each other. As Eteocles 1 had died, the
Regent Creon 2 (his
uncle) took power, but after some time he was
succeeded by Laodamas 2, son of Eteocles 1, who
became king of Thebes. It
is during the reign of Laodamas 2, and ten years
after the war of the
SEVEN, that the war
of the EPIGONI took place, when their Argive army
invaded Boeotia, and attacked
Thebes.
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Who decides between war and peace
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These wars were made possible because Eriphyle
let herself be bribed, first by Polynices, who gave
her the Necklace of Harmonia 1, and later by
Thersander 1, son of Polynices, who gave her the
Robe of Harmonia 1 [for details about these
incidents, see Robe &
Necklace of Harmonia 1]. It is also told that
when the first bribe resulted in
Amphiaraus, her
husband, going to war, he, on leaving for
Thebes (and knowing that
he would not return), instructed his sons, that
they should slay their mother and march once more
against Thebes.
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The EPIGONI gather
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Thersander 1, son of Polynices and Argia 1
(daughter of Adrastus
1), was determined to sit on the throne he
believed should have belonged to his father, by
deposing his cousin Laodamas 2, son of Eteocles 1,
now king of Thebes. The
EPIGONI appointed as their commander in chief
Alcmaeon 1, son of
Amphiaraus and
Eriphyle, following an oracle that predicted them
victory under his leadership. This time they made
sure that the army marching against
Thebes would be strong
enough. For that purpose, they added to their
forces from Argos
contingents from
Messenia,
Arcadia,
Corinth, and
Megara.
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Battle at Glisas
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So, having gathered this notable army, the
EPIGONI first laid waste the surrounding villages,
but when the Thebans advanced against them in open
field at Glisas, a fierce battle took place, and in
it King Laodamas 2 was killed by Alcmaeon 1. Also
Aegialeus 1, son of King
Adrastus 1 of
Argos, was killed in the
battle at Glisas. When Laodamas 2 was dead (though
some say he did not die at Glisas but withdrew to
Illyria), the Thebans fled within the walls.
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Tiresias' last
advice
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As the war was practically lost, the seer
Tiresias told the
Thebans to send a herald to treat with the EPIGONI,
while themselves took to flight. The Thebans
followed his counsel, and while the talks were
taking place, they mounted their children and women
on wagons, and fled from the city.
Tiresias fled with his
fellow citizens, but he soon died when they arrived
by night to the spring called Tilphussa. Having
travelled far enough, the Theban refugees built a
new city Hestiaea, where they settled down.
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Polynices' heir takes over
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In the meanwhile, the EPIGONI took the city.
Among others they captured
Tiresias' daughter,
whom they dedicated to
Delphi [see
Tiresias]. Most Argive
commanders returned rich to ther countries after
having sacked Thebes, but
the city they handed over to Thersander 1, who
became king.
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List of the EPIGONI
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Adrastus 4, son of Polynices and Argia 1,
is also counted among the
ACHAEAN LEADERS.
Polynices is son of
Oedipus, and Argia 1 is
daughter of Adrastus 1
and Amphithea 1 [Eur.IA.253ff.; Pau.2.20.5].
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Aegialeus 1, son of
Adrastus 1, married
Comaetho 4, daughter of
Tydeus 2 and sister of
Diomedes 2.
Diomedes 2, in turn,
married Aegialeus 1's daughter Aegialia, who took a
lover (Cometes 2, see below) while
Diomedes 2 was
fighting at Troy. Some say
that Cyanippus, one of the
ACHAEAN LEADERS,
is his son, but others say he is son of
Adrastus 1.
Adrastus 1 died of
grief when he learned that his son Aegialeus 1 had
perished in the battle at Glisas, killed by King
Laodamas 2 of Thebes.
[Apd.1.8.6, 1.9.13, 3.7.2-3; Hdt.5.68;
Hyg.Fab.71; Pau.2.18.4-5; Try.159].
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Alcmaeon 1. After capturing
Thebes, Alcmaeon 1
learned that his mother Eriphyle had been bribed to
his undoing as well as to his father's. So, in
accordance with an oracle given to him by
Apollo, Alcmaeon 1 killed
his own mother, perhaps in conjunction with his
brother Amphilochus 1. But he was haunted by the
ERINYES of his mother's
murder and, having gone mad, he first went to
Arcadia, where he was
received by Oicles. Thence he came to the court of
Phegeus 1 at Psophis, who having purified him, gave
him his daughter Arsinoe 1. Nevertheless, the
fields were believed to have become barren on his
account, and so he departed to Achelous, who
purified him again and gave him his daughter as
well. But his second wife asked for the necklace of
Harmonia 1 that Arsinoe 1 had received from
Alcmaeon 1. And when he tried to get it back from
his first wife, Phegeus 1 understood he was being
deluded by Alcmaeon 1, and sent his sons Pronous 1
and Agenor 3 to kill him, or perhaps killed him
himself. Alcmaeon 1 is counted among the
SUITORS OF HELEN
[see also Robe & Necklace
of Harmonia 1]. Parentage:
Amphiaraus &
Eriphyle. Mates & Offspring: Alcmaeon 1
was father of Clytius 11 by Alcinoe 1; of Acarnan 1
and Amphoterus 1 by Callirrhoe 2; of Amphilochus 2
and Tisiphone 2 by Manto 1 [Apd.3.7.2-7;
Hes.CWE.68.15, 99; Hyg.Fab.245; Pau.6.17.6].
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Amphilocus 1. Some say that Amphilochus
1, son of Amphiaraus,
was killed by Apollo at
Soli in Cilicia (Asia Minor). Amphilochus 2, who
not always is well distinguished from Amphilochus
1, was a son of Alcmaeon 1 and Manto 1; he was
killed in single combat by Mopsus 2, probably his
half-brother [Apd.3.7.2-5, 3.10.8.; Hdt.3.91;
Hes.Mel.1, 8; QS.14.366].
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Biantes 1. Son of Parthenopaeus, one of
the SEVEN
[Hyg.Fab.71].
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Diomedes 2.
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Euryalus 1. Son of Mecisteus 1 [see
SEVEN AGAINST
THEBES]. Euryalus 1 is also counted among the
ARGONAUTS, the
ACHAEAN LEADERS,
and among those who hid inside the
WOODEN HORSE.
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Polydorus 1. Son of Hippomedon 1 [see
SEVEN AGAINST
THEBES].
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Promachus 1. Son of Parthenopaeus [see
SEVEN AGAINST
THEBES].
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Sthenelus 2. Son of Capaneus [see
SEVEN AGAINST
THEBES]. Sthenelus 2 is also counted among the
SUITORS OF HELEN,
the ACHAEAN
LEADERS, and among those who were inside the
WOODEN HORSE. His
son Cometes 2 was Aegialia's lover during the
absence of Diomedes 2
[Apd.3.7.2, 3.10.8; Apd.Ep.6.10; Eur.IA.246;
Hom.Il.2.564; Hyg.Fab.97, 108; Pau.2.18.5;
QS.12.314ff.; Vir.Aen.2.61].
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Thersander 1, son of Polynices, married
Amphiaraus' daughter
Demonassa 4, and had by her a son Tisamenus 1, who
in time became king of
Thebes. Some say that
Thersander 1 was killed by
Telephus, son of
Heracles 1, when the
Achaean fleet, sailing against
Troy, arrived by mistake in
Mysia. But others count him among those who hid
inside the WOODEN
HORSE [Apd.3.7.2; Apd.Ep.3.17; CYP.1;
Hdt.4.147, 6.52; Hyg.Fab.71, 108; Pau.9.5.14-15;
Pin.Oly.2.43; Vir.Aen.2.61].
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Timeas. Son of Polynices [Pau.2.20.5].
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Three lists of the
EPIGONI
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Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.20.5:
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Adrastus 4, Aegialeus 1, Alcmaeon 1, Amphilochus
1, Diomedes 2,
Euryalus 1, Polydorus 1, Promachus 1, Sthenelus 2,
Thersander 1, Timeas.
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Hyginus, Fabulae 71:
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Aegialeus 1, Alcmaeon 1, Biantes 1,
Diomedes 2, Polydorus
1, Sthenelus 2, Thersander 1, Tlesimenes.
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Apollodorus, Library 3.7.2-3:
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Aegialeus 1, Alcmaeon 1, Amphilocus 1,
Diomedes 2, Euryalus
1, Promachus 1, Sthenelus 2, Thersander 1.
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