- Epigoni
:"This is an article about the Greek myth. For the epic on the subject, see
Epigoni (epic) . For the play by Sophocles, seeThe Progeny . For the successors of Alexander the Great (also called Epigoni) seeDiadochi "In
Greek mythology , Epigoni (Greek Ἐπίγονοι, meaning "offspring") are the sons of theArgive heroes who had fought and been killed in the first Theban war, the subject of the Greek "Thebaid", in whichPolynices and six allies (theSeven Against Thebes ) 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.According to
Apollodorus , [Apollodorus, [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Apollod.+3.7.2 3.7.2] .] they were:
*Aegialeus , son ofAdrastus
* Alcmaeon, son ofAmphiaraus
*Amphilochus , son of Amphiaraus
*Diomedes , son ofTydeus
*Euryalus , son ofMecisteus
*Promachus , son ofParthenopaeus
*Sthenelus son ofCapaneus
*Thersander son ofPolynices To this list, Pausanias [Pausanias, [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Paus.+2.20.5 2.20.5] .] also adds:
*Polydorus son ofHippomedon 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 had promised victory if Alcmaeon was chosen their leader, and so he was. [Apollodorus, [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Apollod.+3.7.2 3.7.2] .] Aegialeus was killed byLaodamas , son of Eteocles, but Alcmaeon killed Laodamas. [Apollodorus, [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Apollod.+3.7.3 3.7.3] .] The Thebans were defeated and, by the counsel of the seerTeiresias , fled their city. However, Pausanias says that Thersander was their leader, [Pausanias, [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Paus.+7.3.1 7.3.1] , [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Paus.+9.9.4 9.9.4] .] that Laodamas fled Thebes with the rest of the Thebans, [Pausanias, [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Paus.+9.5.13 9.5.13] , [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Paus.+9.9.5 9.9.5] .] and that Thersander became king of Thebes. [Pausanias, [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Paus.+9.5.14 9.5.14] .]As a poetic theme
"Epigoni" (in Greek, "Επίγονοι"; "The Progeny") is the title of an early Greek epic on this subject; [Herodotus, [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Hdt.+4.32.1 4.32.1] .] 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" ("Epigonoi" or "The Progeny") is also the title of a lost
Greek tragedy bySophocles . 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 [Pausanias, [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Paus.+2.20.5 2.20.5] .] andDelphi . [Pausanias, [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Paus.+10.10.4 10.10.4] .]Notes
References
* Apollodorus, "The Library", (Loeb Classical Library, No. 121, Books I-III), English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, Harvard University Press (1921), ISBN 0-674-99135-4 [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Apollod.+toc ] .
* Herodotus, "The Histories", (Loeb Classical Library, No. 118, Books III-IV), English Translation by A. D. Godley, Harvard University Press (1920), ISBN 0-674-99131-1 [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Hdt.+toc ] .
* Pausanias, "Description of Greece", (Loeb Classical Library, Arcadia, Boeotia, Phocis and Ozolian Locri; Books VIII-X), English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., Harvard University Press (1918), ISBN 0-674-99328-4 [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Paus.+toc ] .
*"Greek Epic Fragments" ed. and tr. Martin L. West. (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press) 2003.
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