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In Greek mythology
Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
, Polynices or Polyneices (Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
: ?????e????, transl.
Transliteration

Transliteration is the practice of transcribing a word or text written in one writing system into another writing system or system of rules for such practice....
 Polyneíkes, "manifold strife") was the son of Oedipus
Oedipus

Oedipus was a Greek mythology monarch of Thebes, Greece. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family....
 and Jocasta
Jocasta

In Greek mythology, Jocasta, also known as Jocaste , Epikast?, or Iokast? was a daughter of Menoeceus and Queen consort of Thebes, Greece....
. His wife was Argea
Argea

In Greek mythology, Argea or Argia was a daughter of King Adrastus of Argos, and of Amphithea, daughter of Pronax. She was married to Polynices, the exiled king of Thebes , and bore him three sons: Thersander, Adrastus, and Timeas....
. His father, Oedipus, was discovered to have killed his father and married his mother, and was expelled from Thebes, leaving his sons Eteocles
Eteocles

In Greek mythology, Eteocles was a king of Thebes , the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta or Euryganeia. The name is from earlier *Etewoklewes , meaning "truly glorious"....
 and Polynices to rule. Because of a curse put on them by their father, the sons did not share the rule peacefully and died as a result.

Oedipus's curse
In the Thebaid
Thebaid (Greek poem)

The Thebaid is an Ancient Greece epic poem of uncertain authorship sometimes attributed by early writers to Homer. It told the story of the war between the brothers Eteocles and Polynices, and was regarded as forming part of a Theban Cycle....
, the brothers were cursed by their father for their disrespect towards him on two occasions.






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In Greek mythology
Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
, Polynices or Polyneices (Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
: ?????e????, transl.
Transliteration

Transliteration is the practice of transcribing a word or text written in one writing system into another writing system or system of rules for such practice....
 Polyneíkes, "manifold strife") was the son of Oedipus
Oedipus

Oedipus was a Greek mythology monarch of Thebes, Greece. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family....
 and Jocasta
Jocasta

In Greek mythology, Jocasta, also known as Jocaste , Epikast?, or Iokast? was a daughter of Menoeceus and Queen consort of Thebes, Greece....
. His wife was Argea
Argea

In Greek mythology, Argea or Argia was a daughter of King Adrastus of Argos, and of Amphithea, daughter of Pronax. She was married to Polynices, the exiled king of Thebes , and bore him three sons: Thersander, Adrastus, and Timeas....
. His father, Oedipus, was discovered to have killed his father and married his mother, and was expelled from Thebes, leaving his sons Eteocles
Eteocles

In Greek mythology, Eteocles was a king of Thebes , the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta or Euryganeia. The name is from earlier *Etewoklewes , meaning "truly glorious"....
 and Polynices to rule. Because of a curse put on them by their father, the sons did not share the rule peacefully and died as a result.

Oedipus's curse


In the Thebaid
Thebaid (Greek poem)

The Thebaid is an Ancient Greece epic poem of uncertain authorship sometimes attributed by early writers to Homer. It told the story of the war between the brothers Eteocles and Polynices, and was regarded as forming part of a Theban Cycle....
, the brothers were cursed by their father for their disrespect towards him on two occasions. The first of these occurred when they served him using the silver table of Cadmus
Cadmus

Cadmus or Kadmos , in Greek mythology mythology, was a Phoenician prince, the son of Agenor and the brother of Phoenix , Cilix and Europa ....
 and a golden cup, which he had forbidden. The brothers then sent him the haunch of a sacrificed animal, rather than the shoulder, which he deserved. Enraged, Oedipus prayed to Zeus that the brothers would die by each other's feet. However, in Sophocles
Sophocles

Sophocles was the second of the three classical Greece tragedy whose work has survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus and earlier than those of Euripides....
' Oedipus at Colonus
Oedipus at Colonus

Oedipus at Colonus is one of the three Theban plays of the Athenian tragedian Sophocles. It was written shortly before Sophocles' death in 406 BC and produced by his grandson at the Festival of Dionysus in 401 BC....
, Oedipus desired to stay in Thebes but was expelled by Creon. His sons argued over the throne, but Eteocles gained the support of the Thebans and expelled Polyneices, who went to Oedipus to ask for his blessing to retake the city, but instead was cursed to die at his brother's foot.

Quarrel over the rule of Thebes


There are several accounts of how Eteocles and Polyneices shared the rule after Oedipus' departure from the city. In Hellanikos' account, Eteocles offers his brother his choice of either the rule of the city or a share of the property. In Pherekydes, however, Eteocles expels Polyneices by force, and keeps the rule of Thebes and the inheritance. Apollodorus
Apollodorus

Apollodorus of Athens son of Asclepiades, was a Greeks scholar and grammarian. He was a pupil of Diogenes of Babylon, Panaetius, and the grammarian Aristarchus of Samothrace....
 and Diodorus state that the brothers agree to divide the kingship between them, switching each year. Eteocles, however, was allotted the first year, and refused to surrender the crown.

While Eteocles ruled Thebes, Polyneices visited first king Theseus
Theseus

For other uses, see Theseus Theseus was a legendary king of Athens, son of Aethra , and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, with whom Aethra lay in one night....
 in Athens
Athens

Athens , the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the List of cities by time of continuous habitation, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
, then king Adrastus
Adrastus

Adrastus or Adrestus , traditionally translated as "nonparticipant" or "uncooperative", was a legendary king of Argos during the war of the Seven Against Thebes....
 in Argos
Argos

Argos is a city in Greece in the Peloponnese near Nafplion, which was its historic harbour, named for Nauplius ....
, where he married Argea, the king's daughter, after he raped her. He enlisted Adrastus' help in attacking Thebes. Polynices engendered the support of the prophet Amphiaraus
Amphiaraus

In Greek mythology, Amphiaraus was the son of Oicles and Hypermnestra, and husband of Eriphyle. Amphiaraus was the King of Argos along with Adrastus? the brother of Amphiaraus' wife, Eriphyle? and Iphis ....
 by offering his wife Eriphyle
Eriphyle

In Greek mythology, Eriphyle, daughter of Talaus, was the mother of Alcmaeon and the wife of Amphiaraus. Eriphyle persuaded Amphiaraus to take part in the raid that initiated the mythic tale of the Seven Against Thebes, though she knew he would die....
 the cursed necklace of Harmonia. The Seven Against Thebes
Seven Against Thebes

The Seven against Thebes is a mythic narrative whose classic statement is found in the play by Aeschylus concerning the battle between the Seven led by Polynices, traditional Theban enemies, and the army of Thebes, Greece headed by Eteocles and his supporters....
 then attacked Thebes, but were ultimately unsuccessful. During the attack on Thebes, Polyneices and Eteocles engaged in single combat. Both brothers died in the battle.

Burial


In Sophocles
Sophocles

Sophocles was the second of the three classical Greece tragedy whose work has survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus and earlier than those of Euripides....
' tragedy Antigone
Antigone (Sophocles)

Antigone is a tragedy by Sophocles written before or in 442 BC. Chronologically, it is the third of the three Theban plays but was written first....
, Polynices' story continues after his death. King Creon
Creon

Creon is a figure in Greek mythology best known as the ruler of Thebes,_Greece in the legend of Oedipus. He was the father of Menoeceus and Megara by his wife, Eurydice of Thebes....
, who ascended to the throne of Thebes, decreed that Polynices was not to be buried. Antigone
Antigone

Antigone is the name of two different women in Greek mythology. The name may be taken to mean "unbending", coming from "anti-" and "-gon / -gony" , but has also been suggested to mean "opposed to motherhood" or "in place of a mother" based from the root gone, "that which generates" ....
, his sister, defied the order, but was caught. Creon decreed that she was to starve to death, this in spite of her betrothal to his son Haemon. Antigone's sister, Ismene
Ismene

Ismene is the name of two women of Greek mythology. The more famous is a daughter and sister of Oedipus, daughter and granddaughter of Jocasta, and sister of Antigone, Eteocles, and Polynices....
, then declared she had aided Antigone and wanted the same fate. Creon imprisoned Antigone in a sepulchre
Sepulchre

A sepulchre, or sepulcher, is a type of tomb or burial chamber. In ancient Hebrew practice, sepulchres were often carved into the rock of a hillside....
; meanwhile the gods, through the blind prophet Tiresias
Tiresias

In Greek mythology, Tiresias was a blind prophet of Thebes , famous for being transformed into a woman for seven years. He was the son of the shepherd Everes and the nymph Chariclo; Tiresias participated in fully seven generations at Thebes, beginning as advisor to Cadmus himself....
, expressed their disapproval of Creon's decision, which convinced him to rescind his order. He then went to bury Polyneices himself, and release Antigone. However, she had already hanged herself rather than be buried alive. When Creon arrived at the tomb where she was to be interred, his son Haemon
Haemon

In Greek mythology, Haemon was the son of Creon and Eurydice of Thebes.When Oedipus stepped down as King of Thebes , he gave the kingdom to his two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, who both agreed to alternate the throne every year....
 made as if to attack him and then killed himself. When Creon's wife, Eurydice
Eurydice of Thebes

In Greek mythology, Eurydice was the wife of Creon, a king of Thebes, Greece. She appears briefly in Sophocles Antigone , to kill herself after learning that her son Haemon and his betrothed, Antigone, had both committed suicide....
, was informed of their death, she, too, took her own life.

See also

  • Epigoni
    Epigoni

    In Greek mythology, 'Epigoni' are the sons of the Argive heroes who had fought and been killed in the first Theban war, the subject of the Thebaid , in which Polynices and six allies attacked Thebes, Greece because Polynices' brother, Eteocles, refused to give up the throne as promised....