Seven Against Thebes (play)

Seven Against Thebes is a famous tragedy written by the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus in 467 BC. It tells the story of a great battle for the city of Thebes. The battle is fought between two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, who are fighting for control of the city.

This play was the third part of a trilogy, which is a group of three stories. The first two plays, called Laius and Oedipus, have been lost over time, so we can no longer read or see them. Seven Against Thebes was very popular and won first prize at a big festival in ancient Athens.

The Story Before the Play

The story of Seven Against Thebes begins with a family curse. The father of the two princes, King Oedipus, left the throne after a terrible family secret was revealed. Before he left, he placed a curse on his sons, Eteocles and Polynices. The curse said that they would one day fight each other for the kingdom.

To try and avoid this fate, the brothers made a deal. They agreed to take turns ruling Thebes, with each brother ruling for one year at a time. However, after Eteocles finished his first year as king, he broke his promise and refused to let Polynices have his turn. Feeling betrayed, Polynices went to the nearby city of Argos and gathered an army to take Thebes by force. This army was led by seven great champions, known as the Seven against Thebes.

What Happens in the Play?

The play is set inside the city of Thebes as the enemy army gathers outside its seven gates. Unlike a modern action movie, the play is made up of conversations and speeches. King Eteocles talks with his people and prepares them for the attack.

A scout arrives and describes each of the seven enemy champions attacking the city, including the scary designs on their shields. For each attacker, Eteocles chooses a Theban hero to defend one of the city's seven gates.

The most dramatic moment comes when the scout reveals the champion at the seventh gate: it is Polynices, Eteocles' own brother. At that moment, Eteocles remembers his father's curse. He decides that he must face his brother himself and goes out to fight him.

Later, a messenger returns with news. Thebes has won the battle and the city is safe. But the news is also tragic: the two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, have killed each other in their duel, just as the curse predicted.

A Different Ending

Interestingly, the play's ending was changed about 50 years after Aeschylus wrote it. This was because another play, Antigone by Sophocles, became very popular. The new ending helps connect the two plays.

In the changed ending, a herald announces that the new rulers of Thebes have forbidden anyone from burying Polynices because he was a traitor. However, his sister Antigone bravely declares that she will ignore the order and bury her brother anyway.

The Seven Champions

The Legend Behind the Play

The story of the Seven against Thebes was a very old legend, even in ancient Greece. It was part of the myths about the city of Thebes, which were as famous as the stories of the Trojan War.

The Story Continues: The Epigoni

The legend didn't end with the deaths of the brothers. Ten years later, the sons of the seven champions who had attacked Thebes came to finish what their fathers started. This new generation of heroes was called the Epigoni (which means "the offspring"). They fought a second war against Thebes and, according to the myth, they were successful.

The Lost Plays of the Trilogy

Seven Against Thebes was the final play in a trilogy about the family of Oedipus. The first two plays were called Laius and Oedipus. Unfortunately, these plays were lost over the centuries.

All we have left are a few lines of text that have survived. This means we don't know exactly how Aeschylus told the beginning of the story. There was also a fourth play called The Sphinx, which was a type of funny play called a satyr play, but it has also been lost.

See also

• Lille Stesichorus, a papyrus fragment of the Theban myth by the lyric poet Stesichorus
• Thebaid, an epic poem depicting the same battle by the Roman author Statius, published c. 91–92 AD.