Greek myths and legends
Seven against Thebes
At the very beginning there was a prophecy that foretold terrible things for the Theban king Oedipus. When his destiny was fulfilled (murderer of his own father, husband of his own mother, etc.), Oedipus lost everything he had, including his throne. And that brings us to the story of the Seven's war campaign against Thebes.
King Oedipus' sons began to fight for the vacant throne. Uncle Creon advised them to take turns ruling each year. The first to ascend the throne was Eteocles, but after a year he reneged on his promise and banished his brother Polyneices from Thebes instead of handing over the reigns.
Polyneices took refuge in Argos with King Adrastus. At a similar time, Thydeus (son of King Oineus of Calydonia), who was known as a cruel and ruthless warrior, also found refuge there. He was banished from Calydon because he murdered his cousins. He was barred from the throne, so he went in search of allies.
The oracle advised Adrastus to "harness to his two-wheeled chariot the boar and the lion that fight in his house." He was unclear what this meant until he realized that Tychicus had a boar in his family crest and Polyneices a lion. In order to fulfil the prediction, he married his daughter Déipylé to Týdeus and his daughter Argeia to Polyneices.
It was necessary to decide which city the joint army would conquer first. The choice fell on Thebes because it was closer. Amphiaraos made a prediction about the outcome, and it was not good, although it had the support of the gods, namely Athena and Zeus, from the beginning. It was that all but Adrastus would fall in battle. Amphiaraos therefore did not want to take part in the fighting, but was persuaded by a precious necklace that had been handed down from generation to generation since the founder of the House of Harmony.
After the conquerors reached Thebes, they realized that the city would not be easy to control because of its massive walls. Adrastus tricked the defenders out of the walls and inflicted heavy losses. The Thebans then retreated back into the walls. Adrastus then divided the army into seven groups, each with its own commander, and attacked one of the seven gates of the city.
The first to fall in the battle was Capaneus, who stood out for his strength and pride. He even claimed that no one was as strong as him, not even Zeus himself. Zeus killed him with lightning for this insult. The second fallen was Parthenopaios, on whom the defenders threw a huge boulder. Tydeus fell after he went to Thebes under the protection of the gods to negotiate for the Thebans to hand over the government to Polyneices. On his return journey, 50 warriors were sent against him, killing 49 of them. He fell after being hit in the stomach with a spear. His protector Athena went to Zeus for the elixir to save his life. When she arrived back at Thetis, she saw Amphiaraos kill the Theban warrior and carry his dismembered head to Thetis. The latter put his mouth to it to drink its brains so that he could increase his fighting prowess. At that moment, Athena disgustedly poured the elixir on the ground and Thydeus died. Subsequently, Hippomedon also fell. The war was to be decided by a duel between the Theban brothers. But they both fell in the battle.
The Thebans then went on the offensive, and Amphiaraos fled. Just as his pursuers were about to hit him with arrows, Zeus struck the ground with lightning and Amphiaraos disappeared beneath it. Thus, only King Adrastus emerged alive from the fighting, and he jumped on his winged horse (Arion) and disappeared.
Thebes defended itself, but only for ten years. It was conquered by the descendants of the battle of the "seven against Thebes", called Epigones. Among them, for example, was Adrastus' son Aigialeus.