Seven Against Thebes

One of the seven surviving tragedies by the Athenian playwright Aeskhylus (Aeschylus) which was produced in 467 BCE.

Seven Against Thebes is the continuation of the tragic story of Oedipus, the cursed king of the city of Thebes; the eldest of the two sons of Oedipus, Eteokles (Eteocles), took the throne of Thebes after his father’s self-imposed exile and the younger son, Polynikes (Polynices) was forced into exile in Argos where he formed a coalition of seven armies to reclaim the city.

The seven armies Polynikes formed were led by Amphiaraus; Kapaneus (Capaneus); Eteoklus (Eteoclus); Hippomedon; Parthenopaeus; and Tydeus; the city of Thebes was called the City of Seven Gates and thus each army was to attack one of the gates.

Before the attack, Polynikes went to his exiled father and begged for his blessing but Oedipus cursed Polynikes and predicted that Polynikes and his brother, Eteokles, would both die without honor in the battle for the city; the attack failed and the two brothers died on each other’s spear.

This is a tragedy in the truest sense of the word, the play is fraught with noble intentions and profoundly sad results; if you wish to read this play I suggest The Complete Greek Tragedies, Aeschylus II, edited by David Grene and Richmond Lattimore, ISBN 0226307948; you can find this book at your library in the 800 section or you can order it through the Book Shop on this site which is linked to Amazon.com.