In Greek mythology, Ismene (/ɪsˈmiːniː/; Ancient Greek: Ἰσμήνη, romanized: Ismḗnē) was a Theban princess. She was the daughter and half-sister of Oedipus, king of Thebes, daughter and granddaughter of Jocasta, and sister of Antigone, Eteocles, and Polynices. She appears in several tragic plays of Sophocles, including Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone. She also appears at the end of Aeschylus' Seven Against Thebes.
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👉 Ismene in the context of Antigone
In Greek mythology, Antigone (/ænˈtɪɡəni/ ann-TIG-ə-nee; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη, romanized: Antigónē) was a Theban princess and a character in several ancient Greek tragedies. She was the daughter of Oedipus, king of Thebes; her mother/grandmother was either Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She was the sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.
Antigone appears in three 5th century BC tragic plays written by Sophocles, known collectively as the three Theban plays, with her being the protagonist of the eponymous tragedy Antigone. She makes a brief appearance at the end of Aeschylus' Seven against Thebes, and her story was also the subject of Euripides' now lost play of the same name.
In this Dossier
Ismene in the context of Oedipus at Colonus
Oedipus at Colonus (also Oedipus Coloneus; Ancient Greek: Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ, Oidipous epi Kolōnō) is the second of the three Theban plays of the Athenian tragedian Sophocles. It was written shortly before Sophocles's death in 406 BC and produced by his grandson (also called Sophocles) at the Festival of Dionysus in 401 BC.
In the timeline of the plays, the events of Oedipus at Colonus occur after Oedipus Rex and before Antigone; however, it was the last of Sophocles's three Theban plays to be written. The play describes the end of Oedipus's tragic life. Legends differ as to the site of Oedipus's death; Sophocles set the place at Colonus, a village near Athens and also Sophocles's own birthplace, where the blinded Oedipus has come with his daughters Antigone and Ismene as suppliants of the Erinyes and of Theseus, the king of Athens.
Ismene in the context of Polynices
In Greek mythology, Polynices (also Polyneices) (/ˌpɒlɪˈnaɪsiːz/; Ancient Greek: Πολυνείκης, romanized: Polyneíkes, lit. 'manifold strife' or 'much strife') was the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta or Euryganeia, and the brother of Eteocles, Antigone, and Ismene. When Oedipus discovered that he had killed his father and married his mother, he blinded himself and left Thebes, leaving Polynices and Eteocles to rule jointly. However, due to a curse placed upon them by Oedipus, their agreement quickly fell apart, and a war for the kingdom ensued. During battle, the brothers killed one another.
Polynices is a central character in the Theban Cycle, a set of stories famous in ancient Greece. He is most well-known from three 5th century BC tragic plays by Sophocles known as the Three Theban Plays: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone, with his death and burial being the main driver of the plot of Antigone. He also features prominently in the Thebaid, Aeschylus' play Seven Against Thebes, and Statius' Thebaid. The story and his character was also of interest to ancient Greek philosophers, and was discussed by Aristotle, Plato, and Epictetus.
Ismene in the context of Euryganeia
In Greek mythology, Euryganeia (Ancient Greek: Εὐρυγάνεια, romanized: Eurygáneia) was a Theban queen. She was one of Oedipus' wives, and in rarer traditions the mother of his four notable children, Eteocles, Polynices, Antigone and Ismene.
Ismene in the context of Hyperphas
In Greek mythology, Hyperphas (Ancient Greek: Ὑπέρφαντος) was a leader of the Phlegyans and an ally of the Thebans. He was the father of Euryganeia who, according to Pausanias, married Oedipus after the death of Iocaste; Pausanias also maintains that it was she, and not Iocaste, who bore Oedipus his four children (Eteocles, Polynices, Antigone and Ismene). Defending this version, Pausanias refers to the poem Oedipodea and to a painting by Onasias, which depicted Euryganeia in grief over the conflict between her sons.
According to Hesiod, Hyperphas had another daughter, Euryanassa, who became the mother of Minyas by Poseidon.
Ismene in the context of Laodamas
Laodamas (/leɪˈɒdəməs/; Ancient Greek: Λᾱοδάμᾱς, romanized: Lāodámās, lit. 'tamer of the people') refers to five different people in Greek mythology.
- Laodamas, son of Eteocles, inherited Thebes from his father. In one version of the myth (different from the one recounted in Sophocles' Antigone), he was responsible for the deaths of his aunts Antigone and Ismene, whom he prosecuted for having buried Polynices. They sought refuge in the temple of Hera, but Laodamas set fire to it and thus killed them. During the battle of the Epigoni, he was killed by Alcmaeon after he killed Aegialeus. Other sources state that he survived and fled to the Encheleans in Illyria, and subsequently led an expedition to Thessaly.
- Laodamas, son of Antenor and Theano, thus brother of Crino, and numerous sons, including Acamas, Agenor, Antheus, Archelochus, Coön, Demoleon, Eurymachus, Glaucus, Helicaon, Iphidamas, Laodocus, Medon, Polybus and Thersilochus. Laodamas was a Trojan warrior killed by Ajax.
- Laodamas, a Lycian killed by Neoptolemus during the Trojan War.
- Laodamas, son of Hector and Andromache and brother of Astyanax. Unlike Astyanax, he was spared by the Greeks and stayed by his mother's side.
- Laodamas, a prince of Scheria as son of King Alcinous and Arete of the Phaecians. He was the brother of Nausicaa, Halius and Clytoneus. Alcinous gives Odysseus Laodamas's chair, "whence he bade his son give place, valiant Laodamas, who sat next him and was his dearest". He is the most handsome of the Phaeacians, and the best boxer in the games held in Odysseus's honor. He and his brothers were also the winners of the foot-racing contest. Laodamas asks Odysseus to join in the games. After Odysseus is rebuked by Euryalus, he challenges any of the Phaeacians save Laodamas. Laodamas and Halius are the best dancers among the Phaeacians.