Amphiaraus- Greek HeroHero"The Seer of Argos"

The Seer of Argos

Amphiaraus descended from the seer Melampus and inherited his gift of prophecy. Apollo favored him. He fought as well as he prophesied, and he married Eriphyle, sister of King Adrastus of Argos. The marriage settled a feud between the two men over the Argive throne: they agreed that Eriphyle would arbitrate any future disputes between them.

The Seven against Thebes

When Polynices sought Argive help to reclaim the Theban throne, Amphiaraus read the signs and saw death for every champion but Adrastus. He refused to march and hid himself away. But Polynices offered Eriphyle the Necklace of Harmonia, and she revealed her husband's hiding place. The old pact bound him. He had to go.

Before leaving, Amphiaraus charged his young sons to kill Eriphyle when they came of age.

The Earth Swallows Him

The champions fell at Thebes as Amphiaraus had foreseen. As he fled the Theban warrior Periclymenus, Zeus hurled a thunderbolt and split the earth before his chariot. Amphiaraus dropped into the chasm, chariot and horses and all. The ground closed over him. Zeus made him immortal beneath the earth, and his prophetic gift survived the descent.

The Oracle at Oropus

At Oropus, on the border between Attica and Boeotia, a sanctuary rose where Amphiaraus had vanished. Visitors sacrificed a ram and slept on its fleece. In their dreams, the hero spoke. Pausanias describes the shrine and its rites. Herodotus names it among the oracles consulted by Croesus of Lydia.