Seven against Thebes

Seven against Thebes Summary | Background Summary

Laius, King of Thebes, kidnapped, assaulted and murdered the young son of his friend Pelops. As punishment, the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi decreed that if Laius did not father any children, the city of Thebes would be safe: if he did have children, the city would be destroyed.

Laius had one son, Oedipus. The Oracle foretold that Oedipus would one day kill his father and marry his mother. This led Laius to injure the baby's feet deliberately so he would be unable to walk, and left him to die in the wilderness. Oedipus was rescued by a farmer and raised to adulthood.

One day on the road to Thebes, Oedipus' adopted father was killed by Laius, who is in turned was killed by Oedipus. Laius was regarded as a tyrant in Thebes, and so the people regarded Oedipus as a hero and made him their king. As king, Oedipus solved the Riddle of The Sphinx (a half-woman, half-lion) who had been terrorizing the city. Oedipus then married Jocasta (who was actually his mother), ruled Thebes and fathered several children - among them Eteocles, Polyneices, Antigone and Ismene.

Thebes failed to prosper under Oedipus' rule, and when it was discovered that it was the result of Oedipus' crimes (killing his father and having incestuous relations with his mother) Jocasta committed suicide and Oedipus blinded himself. Eteocles and Polyneices conspired to kill Oedipus in the hopes that the curse on Thebes would be lifted, but before he died, Oedipus cursed them.

After Oedipus' death, Eteocles and Polyneices agreed that they would rule Thebes in turn, for one year at a time. Eteocles ruled first, while Polyneices went to Argos and married a princess. At the end of the first year, Eteocles refused to give up the throne. Polyneices persuaded his father in law, the King of Argos, to join with him and win the throne of Thebes by force. The play begins as the armies of Polyneices and the King of Argos have begun their attacks.