The Thebaid or Thebais (Ancient Greek: Θηβαΐς, Thēbais), also called the Cyclic Thebaid, is an Ancient Greek epic poem of uncertain authorship (see Cyclic poets) sometimes attributed by early writers to Homer, for example, by the poet Callinus and the historian Herodotus. It told the story of the war between the brothers Eteocles and Polynices, and was regarded as forming part of a Theban Cycle. Only fragments of the text survive.
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👉 Thebaid (Greek poem) 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.
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Thebaid (Greek poem) in the context of Theban Cycle
The Theban Cycle (Greek: Θηβαϊκὸς Κύκλος) is a collection of four lost epics of ancient Greek literature which tells the mythological history of the Boeotian city of Thebes. They were composed in dactylic hexameter verse and believed to be recorded between 750 and 500 BC. The epics took place before the Trojan War and centered around the Theban royal family.
The epics of the Theban Cycle were the Oedipodea, the Thebaid, the Epigoni, and the Alcmeonis.
Thebaid (Greek poem) in the context of Epigoni
In Greek mythology, the Epigoni or Epigonoi (/ɪˈpɪɡənaɪ/; from Ancient Greek: Ἐπίγονοι, meaning "offspring") are the sons of the Argive heroes, the Seven against Thebes, who had fought and been killed in the first Theban war, the subject of the Thebaid, in which Polynices and his allies 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.
Thebaid (Greek poem) in the context of Epigoni (epic)
Epigoni (Ancient Greek: Ἐπίγονοι, Epigonoi, "Progeny") was an early Greek epic, a sequel to the Thebaid and therefore grouped in the Theban cycle. Some ancient authors seem to have considered it a part of the Thebaid and not a separate poem.
Thebaid (Greek poem) in the context of Alcmeonis
The Alcmeonis (Ancient Greek: Ἀλκμεωνίς, Alkmeonis, or Ancient Greek: Ἀλκμαιωνίς, Alkmaiōnis) is a lost early Greek epic which is considered to have formed part of the Theban cycle. There are only seven references to the Alcmeonis in ancient literature, and all of them make it clear that the authorship of the epic was unknown. It told the story of Alcmaeon's killing of his mother Eriphyle for having arranged the death of his father Amphiaraus, whose murder was narrated in the Thebaid. One of the surviving fragments is quoted by Athenaeus in the Deipnosophistae: he chose it because it describes a funeral banquet. The lines have very little in common with descriptions of feasts in the Iliad and Odyssey.