In
Greek mythology, the Epigoni or Epigonoi (; from grc-gre,
Ἐπίγονοι, meaning "offspring") are the sons of the
Argive heroes, the
Seven against Thebes, who had fought and been killed in the first Theban war, the subject of the ''
Thebaid'', in which
Polynices and his allies attacked
Thebes because Polynices' brother,
Eteocles, refused to give up the throne as promised. The second Theban war, also called the war of the Epigoni, occurred ten years later, when the Epigoni, wishing to avenge the death of their fathers, attacked Thebes.
List of Epigoni
According to the mythographer
Apollodorus
Apollodorus (Ancient Greek, Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: ...
, they were:
*
Aegialeus, son of
Adrastus
In Greek mythology, Adrastus or Adrestus (Ancient Greek: Ἄδραστος or Ἄδρηστος), (perhaps meaning "the inescapable"), was a king of Argos, and leader of the Seven against Thebes. He was the son of the Argive king Talaus, but was ...
*
Alcmaeon, son of
Amphiaraus
*
Amphilochus, son of Amphiaraus
*
Diomedes
Diomedes (Jones, Daniel; Roach, Peter, James Hartman and Jane Setter, eds. ''Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary''. 17th edition. Cambridge UP, 2006.) or Diomede (; grc-gre, Διομήδης, Diomēdēs, "god-like cunning" or "advised by ...
, son of
Tydeus
*
Euryalus, son of
Mecisteus
*
Promachus, son of
Parthenopaeus
*
Sthenelus, son of
Capaneus
In Greek mythology, Capaneus (; Ancient Greek: Καπανεύς ''Kapaneús'') was a son of Hipponous and either Astynome (daughter of Talaus) or Laodice (daughter of Iphis), and husband of Evadne, with whom he fathered Sthenelus. Some call his w ...
*
Thersander, son of
Polynices
To this list, the geographer
Pausanias also adds:
*
Polydorus, son of
Hippomedon
*
Adrastus
In Greek mythology, Adrastus or Adrestus (Ancient Greek: Ἄδραστος or Ἄδρηστος), (perhaps meaning "the inescapable"), was a king of Argos, and leader of the Seven against Thebes. He was the son of the Argive king Talaus, but was ...
and
Timeas, sons of Polynices
Hyginus also makes note of:
*
Biantes and
Tlesimenes, sons of Parthenopaeus
The war
Both Apollodorus and Pausanias tell the story of the war of the Epigoni, although their accounts differ in several respects. According to Apollodorus, the
Delphic oracle
Pythia (; grc, Πυθία ) was the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as the Pythoness ...
had promised victory if Alcmaeon was chosen their leader, and so he was. Aegialeus was killed by
Laodamas
Laodamas (; Ancient Greek: Λᾱοδάμᾱς, ''Lāodámās'', literally "tamer of the people") refers to five different people in Greek mythology.
* Laodamas, son of Eteocles, inherited Thebes from his father.Pausanias, 9.5.13 In one version of ...
, son of Eteocles, but Alcmaeon killed Laodamas. The Thebans were defeated and, by the counsel of the seer
Teiresias, fled their city. However, Pausanias says that Thersander was their leader, that Laodamas fled Thebes with the rest of the Thebans, and that Thersander became king of Thebes.
As a poetic theme
''
Epigoni'' was an early Greek epic on this subject; it formed a sequel to the ''
Thebaid'' and therefore was grouped by Alexandrian critics in the
Theban cycle. Some counted it not as a separate poem but as the last part of the ''Thebaid''. Only the first line is now known:
:Now, Muses, let us begin to sing of younger men ...
''
Epigoni'' was a lost
Greek tragedy
Greek tragedy is a form of theatre from Ancient Greece and Greek inhabited Anatolia. It reached its most significant form in Athens in the 5th century BC, the works of which are sometimes called Attic tragedy.
Greek tragedy is widely believed t ...
by
Sophocles. A few lines from this text have long been known because they were quoted in commentaries and lexica by ancient scholars. An additional fragment of several lines was discovered in 2005.
In art
There were statues of the Epigoni at
Argos and
Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...
.
[ Pausanias]
10.10.4
Notes
References
*
Apollodorus
Apollodorus (Ancient Greek, Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: ...
, ''Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts,
Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*
Herodotus;
''Histories'',
A. D. Godley (translator), Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Harvard University Press, 1920;
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*
Pausanias, ''Pausanias Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*
Hyginus, ''Fabulae'', Mary Grant (translator and editor), University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies, no. 34
Online Version at ToposText.
External links
*
{{Authority control
de:Epigone