Why did Polyneices attack Thebes with the Seven?

Why did Polyneices attack Thebes with the Seven?

Polynices and Eteocles had been cursed by their father Oedipus, the former king of Thebes, to battle over their patrimony.

Who was Polyneices fighting for?

Eteocles and Polynices were the sons of the classic Greek tragic hero and Theban king Oedipus, who fought each other for the control of Thebes after their father abdicated. The Oedipus story is part of the Theban cycle and told most famously by the Greek poet Sophocles.

Why was Polyneices a traitor?

Both brothers, however, were killed, and their uncle Creon became king. After performing an elaborate funeral service for Eteocles, he forbade the removal of the corpse of Polyneices, condemning it to lie unburied, declaring him to have been a traitor.

Who attacks Thebes in Seven Against Thebes?

Hippomedon
In Aeschylus’ tragedy Seven Against Thebes, Hippomedon is one of the seven champions who attack the seven gates of Thebes. Aeschylus describes him as very large and powerful. He bears the image of a fire-breathing typhon on his shield and attacks the gate of Athena Onca, and is confronted by Hyperbius, son of Oenops.

What happened between Polynices and Eteocles?

As time passed, and the two sons aged, Eteocles claimed the throne for himself, exiling his older brother Polyneices. Polyneices then gathered a giant army and attacked Eteocles for the throne. Neither of the two sons won because they both ended up killing each other in battle.

Why did Eteocles fight Polynices?

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.

What role do Polyneices and Eteocles play following Oedipus’s exile from Thebes?

After Oedipus was banished from the city, Antigone’s two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, were meant to share the kingship. But Eteocles exiled Polyneices and made himself sole ruler. Before his death, Oedipus cursed his two sons, saying that they would die at each other’s hands.

What happened in Seven Against Thebes?

During their assault on the city’s seven gates, Capaneus was struck by Zeus’s lightning bolt; Amphiaraus was swallowed up by the earth; Polyneices and Eteocles killed each other, fulfilling Oedipus’s curse; and the others were killed by the guards at Thebes.

Why does Oedipus curse Polynices?

Polynices, who had expelled his blind father from Thebes and left him to live as a beggar, has come to ask his father’s support in overthrowing his brother. Oedipus, enraged at his son’s request, stretches out his accusing arms and levies his dreadful curse, by which each son would die at the hands of the other.

What is the Seven Against Thebes in general terms?

“Seven Against Thebes” tells how, when the shamed Oedipus stepped down as king of Thebes, he gave the kingdom to his two sons, Eteocles and Polynices (Polyneices), on the understanding that they would alternate the throne every year.

What happened to Polyneices and Eteocles in Seven Against Thebes?

Seven Against Thebes. The twins Eteocles and Polyneices, who had been cursed by their father, Oedipus, failed to agree on which of them was to succeed to the Theban throne and decided to rule in alternate years. As Eteocles’ turn came first, Polyneices withdrew to Argos, where he married Argeia, daughter of King Adrastus.

What is the story of Eteocles and Polynices?

Eteocles and Polynices were the sons of the classic Greek tragic hero and Theban king Oedipus, who fought each other for the control of Thebes after their father abdicated. The Oedipus story is part of the Theban cycle and told most famously by the Greek poet Sophocles.

How did Polynices gain the rule of Thebes?

At first, they had agreed to rule Thebes jointly by alternating years in power, but after his first year, Eteocles refused to step down. To gain the rule of Thebes, Polynices needed warriors, but Theban men within the city would only fight for his brother. Instead, Polynices gathered a group of men from Argos.

What happened to Polyneices in Antigone?

In Antigone …city and his crown, and Polyneices, who was attacking Thebes. Both brothers, however, were killed, and their uncle Creon became king. After performing an elaborate funeral service for Eteocles, he forbade the removal of the corpse of Polyneices, condemning it to lie unburied, declaring him to have been a traitor.….