CHAPTER XXII.

THE HOUSE OF LABDACUS.

§ 158. The Misfortunes of Thebes. Returning to the descendants of Inachus, we find that the curse which fell upon Cadmus when he slew the dragon of Mars followed inexorably every scion of his house. His daughters, Semele, Ino, Autonoë, Agave,— his grandsons, Melicertes, Acteon, Pentheus,-lived sorrowful lives, or suffered violent deaths. The misfortunes of one branch of his family, sprung from his son Polydorus, remain to be told. The curse seemed to have spared Polydorus himself. His son Labdacus, also, lived a quiet life as king of Thebes, and left a son, Laïus upon the throne. But ere long Laïus was warned by an oracle that there was danger to his throne and life if his son, new-born, should reach man's estate. He, therefore, committed the child to a herdsman, with orders for its destruction; but the herdsman, moved with pity, yet not daring entirely to disobey, pierced the child's feet, purposing to expose him to the elements on Mount Citharon.

§ 159. Edipus.1 — In this plight the infant was given to a tender-hearted fellow-shepherd, who carried him to King Polybus of Corinth and his queen, by whom he was adopted and called Edipus, or Swollen-foot.

Many years afterward, Edipus, learning from an oracle that he was destined to be the death of his father, left the realm of his reputed sire, Polybus. It happened, however, that Laïus was then driving to Delphi, accompanied only by one attendant. In a narrow road he met Edipus, also in a chariot. On the refusal of the youthful stranger to leave the way at their command, the attendant

1 Sophocles, Edipus Rex, Edipus Coloneus, Antigone; Euripides, Phoenissæ; Apollod. 35. §§ 7, 8.

killed one of his horses. Edipus, consumed with rage, slew both Laïus and the attendant; and thus unknowingly fulfilled both oracles.

Shortly after this event, the city of Thebes, to which Edipus had repaired, was afflicted with a monster that infested the highroad. It was called the Sphinx. It had the body of a lion, and the upper part of a woman. It lay crouched on the top of a rock, and arresting all travellers who came that way, propounded to them a riddle, with the condition that those who could solve it should pass safe, but those who failed should be killed. Not one had yet succeeded in guessing it. Edipus, not daunted by these alarming accounts, boldly advanced to the trial. The Sphinx asked him, "What animal is it that in the morning goes on four feet, at noon on two, and in the evening upon three?" Edipus replied, “Man, who in childhood creeps on hands and knees, in manhood walks erect, and in old age goes with the aid of a staff." The Sphinx, mortified at the collapse of her riddle, cast herself down from the rock and perished.

§ 160. Edipus, the King. In gratitude for their deliverance, the Thebans made Edipus their king, giving him in marriage their queen, Jocasta. He, ignorant of his parentage, had already become the slayer of his father; in marrying the queen he became the husband of his mother. These horrors remained undiscovered, till, after many years, Thebes, being afflicted with famine and pestilence, the oracle was consulted, and, by a series of coincidences, the double crime of Edipus came to light. At once, Jocasta put an end to her life by hanging herself. As for Edipus, horror-struck,

When her form

He saw, poor wretch! with one wild fearful cry,
The twisted rope he loosens, and she fell,
Ill-starred one, on the ground. Then came a sight
Most fearful. Tearing from her robe the clasps,
All chased with gold, with which she decked herself,
He with them struck the pupils of his eyes,
With words like these: "Because they had not seen
What ills he suffered, and what ills he did,

They in the dark should look, in time to come,
On those whom they ought never to have seen,
Nor know the dear ones whom he fain had known."
With such like wails, not once or twice alone,
Raising his eyes he smote them, and the balls,
All bleeding, stained his cheek.1

§ 161. Edipus at Colonus. After these sad events, Edipus would have left Thebes, but the oracle forbade the people to let him go. Jocasta's brother, Creon, was made regent of the realm for the two sons of Edipus. But, after Edipus had grown content to stay, these sons of his, with Creon, thrust him into exile. Accompanied by his daughter Antigone, he went begging through the land. His other daughter, Ismene, at first, stayed at home. Cursing the sons who had abandoned him, but bowing his own will in submission to the ways of God, Edipus approached the hour of his death in Colonus, a village near Athens. His friend Theseus, king of Athens, comforted and sustained him to the last. Both his daughters were, also, with him :

And then he called his girls, and bade them fetch
Clear water from the stream, and bring to him

For cleansing and libation. And they went,
Both of them, to yon hill we look upon,
Owned by Demeter of the fair green corn,
And quickly did his bidding, bathed his limbs,
And clothed them in the garment that is meet.
And when he had his will in all they did,
And not one wish continued unfulfilled,
Zeus from the dark depths thundered, and the girls
Heard it, and shuddering, at their father's knees,
Falling they wept; nor did they then forbear
Smiting their breasts, nor groanings lengthened out;
And when he heard their bitter cry, forthwith
Folding his arms around them, thus he spake :
"My children, on this day ye cease to have
A father. All my days are spent and gone;
And ye no more shall lead your wretched life,

1 Sophocles: Edipus, the King. Translation by E. H. Plumptre.

Caring for me.

My children!

Hard was it, that I know,

Yet one word is strong to loose,
Although alone, the burden of these toils,
For love in larger store ye could not have
From any than from him who standeth here,

Of whom bereaved ye now shall live your life." 1

Antigone

There was sobbing, then silence. Then a voice called him, and he followed. God took him from his troubles. returned to Thebes; - where, as we shall see, her sisterly fidelity showed itself as true as, aforetime, her filial affection.

Her brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, had meanwhile agreed to share the kingdom between them, and to reign alternately year by year. The first year fell to the lot of Eteocles, who, when his time expired, refused to surrender the kingdom to his brother. Polynices, accordingly, fled to Adrastus, king of Argos, who gave him his daughter in marriage, and aided him with an army to enforce his claim to the kingdom. These causes led to the celebrated expedition of the "Seven against Thebes," which furnished ample materials for the epic and tragic poets of Greece. here the younger heroes of Greece make their appearance.

1 Edipus at Colonus, ll. 1600, etc. Translation by E. H. Plumptre.

And

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE YOUNGER HEROES.

§ 162. Their Exploits. The exploits of the sons and grandsons of the chieftains engaged in the Calydonian Hunt and the Quest of the Golden Fleece are narrated in four stories, - the Seven against Thebes, the Siege of Troy, the Wanderings of Ulysses, and the Adventures of Æneas.

§ 163. The Seven against Thebes.1 - The allies of Adrastus and Polynices in the enterprise against Thebes were Tydeus of Calydon, half-brother of Meleager, Parthenopæus of Arcadia, son of Atalanta and Mars, Capaneus of Argos, Hippomedon of Argos, and Amphiaraüs, the brother-in-law of Adrastus. Amphiaraüs opposed the expedition, for being a soothsayer, he knew that none of the leaders except Adrastus would live to return from Thebes ; but on his marriage to Eriphyle, the king's sister, he had agreed that whenever he and Adrastus should differ in opinion, the decision should be left to Eriphyle. Polynices, knowing this, gave Eriphyle the necklace of Harmonia, and thereby gained her to his interest. This was the self-same necklace that Vulcan had given to Harmonia on her marriage with Cadmus; Polynices had taken it with him on his flight from Thebes. It seems

to have been still fraught with the curse of the house of Cadmus. But Eriphyle could not resist so tempting a bribe. By her decision the war was resolved on, and Amphiaraus went to his fate. He bore his part bravely in the contest, but still could not avert his destiny. While, pursued by the enemy he was fleeing along the river, a thunderbolt launched by Jupiter opened the ground, and he, his chariot, and his charioteer were swallowed up.

1 Eschyl. Seven against Thebes; Eurip. Phoenissæ; Apollod. 3:6 and 7; Hygin. Fab. 69, 70; Pausan. 8 and 9; Statius, Thebaid.