Jocasta in the context of "Menoeceus"

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⭐ Core Definition: Jocasta

In Greek mythology, Jocasta (/ˈkæstə/ ), also rendered as Iocaste (Ancient Greek: Ἰοκάστη Iokástē [i.okástɛː]) and Epicaste (/ˌɛpɪˈkæst/; Ἐπικάστη Epikástē), was Queen of Thebes through her marriages to Laius and her son, Oedipus. She is best known for her role in the myths surrounding Oedipus and her eventual suicide upon the discovery of his identity.

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👉 Jocasta in the context of Menoeceus

In Greek mythology, Menoeceus (/məˈnsiəs, -sjs/; Ancient Greek: Μενοικεύς Menoikeús "strength of the house" derived from menos "strength" and oikos "house") was the name of two Theban characters. They are related by genealogy, the first being the grandfather of the second.

  • Menoeceus, father of Creon, Jocasta and Hipponome and both grandfather and father-in-law of Oedipus. He was the Theban son of Pentheus and a descendant of the Spartoi through his grandfather Echion.
  • Menoeceus, son of Creon and possibly Eurydice, named after his grandfather. According to Hyginus and Statius, during the reign of Eteocles when the Seven against Thebes laid siege to the city, Creon's son committed suicide by throwing himself from the walls. This was in concordance with Tiresias foretelling that if anyone of the Spartoi should perish freely as sacrifice to Ares, Thebes would be freed from disaster. The Thebans were ultimately victorious. The battle is memorialized in Seven Against Thebes, the play by Aeschylus. Some records say that that Menoeceus was the grandfather of Creon and Jocasta and his son (Creon and Jocasta's father) was named Oscalus. The Greek writer Pausanias visited the site of Menoeceus tomb in the 2nd century AD and recorded that Menoeceus committed suicide "in obedience to the oracle from Delphi, at the time when Polyneices and the host with him arrived from Argos. On the tomb of Menoeceus grows a pomegranate-tree. If you break through the outer part of the ripe fruit, you will then find the inside like blood. This pomegranate-tree is still flourishing."

A later Menoeceus was a contemporary of Epicurus, to whom the philosopher wrote a letter summarizing his ethical doctrines.

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Jocasta in the context of Antigone

In Greek mythology, Antigone (/ænˈtɪɡəni/ ann-TIG-ə-nee; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη, romanizedAntigónē) 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.

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Jocasta in the context of Eteocles

In Greek mythology, Eteocles (/ɪˈtəklz/; Ancient Greek: Ἐτεοκλῆς) was a king of Thebes, the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta or Euryganeia. Oedipus killed his father Laius and married his mother without knowing his relationship to either. When the relationship was revealed, he was expelled from Thebes. The rule passed to his sons Eteocles and Polynices. However, because of a curse from their father, the two brothers did not share the rule peacefully and died as a result, ultimately killing each other in battle for control of the city. Upon his death, Eteocles was succeeded by his uncle, Creon.

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Jocasta in the context of Polynices

In Greek mythology, Polynices (also Polyneices) (/ˌpɒlɪˈnsz/; Ancient Greek: Πολυνείκης, romanizedPolyneíkes, 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.

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Jocasta in the context of Ismene

In Greek mythology, Ismene (/ɪsˈmn/; Ancient Greek: Ἰσμήνη, romanizedIsmḗnē) 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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Jocasta in the context of Hipponome

In Greek mythology, Hipponome (Ancient Greek: Ἱππονόμης means "horse-keeper") was the daughter of Menoeceus from Thebes and thus sister of Creon and Jocasta. She married Alcaeus, son of Perseus and Andromeda, and had children by him, a son Amphitryon and two daughters Anaxo and Perimede. In other accounts, the wife of Alcaeus was named Astydamia, daughter of Pelops or Laonome, daughter of Guneus.

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Jocasta in the context of Oedipodea

The Oedipodea (Ancient Greek: Οἰδιπόδεια, romanizedOidipódeia) is a lost poem of the Theban cycle, a part of the Epic Cycle (Επικὸς Κύκλος). The poem was about 6,600 verses long and the authorship was credited by ancient authorities to Cinaethon (Κιναίθων), a barely-known poet who probably lived in Sparta. Eusebius says that he flourished in 764/3 BC. Only three short fragments and one testimonium survived.

The Oedipodea told the story of the Sphinx and Oedipus and presented an alternative view of the Oedipus myth. According to Pausanias, Cinaethon states that the marriage between Oedipus and his own mother, Jocasta, was childless; his children had been born from another engagement with Euryganeia (Εὐρυγανεία), daughter of Hyperphas (Ὑπέρφας). That is all we know about these two characters.

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Jocasta in the context of Epicaste

Epicaste (/ˌɛpɪˈkæst/; Ancient Greek: Ἐπικάστη Epikaste) or Epicasta (/ˌɛpɪˈkæstə/) is a name attributed to five women in Greek mythology.

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