Eteocles- Greek FigureMortal"King of Thebes"

The Curse of Oedipus

Eteocles was a son of Oedipus and Jocasta, born of the incestuous union that neither parent understood until it was too late. After Oedipus blinded himself and went into exile, he cursed both sons — they had let him be driven out, had done nothing to keep him. They would divide their inheritance by the sword.

Seizure of the Throne

The brothers agreed to rule Thebes in alternating years. Eteocles took the throne first. When his year ended, he refused to yield power to Polynices, breaking their pact and banishing his brother from the city. In Aeschylus, Eteocles is a determined defender of Thebes, focused on the city's survival above all. In Euripides, he is more openly power-hungry, calling tyranny divine and telling Jocasta he would never willingly surrender the throne.

The Defense of Thebes

When Polynices returned with the army of the Seven champions from Argos, Eteocles organized the defense of Thebes's seven gates, assigning a Theban warrior to each based on the character of the attacking champion. He received reports on each of the Seven — the boastful Capaneus, the savage Tydeus — and matched them with the right defenders.

The Duel

When Eteocles learned that Polynices stood at the seventh gate, he chose to face his brother himself. His companions begged him not to go, to let another man fight and avoid fulfilling their father's curse. Eteocles went anyway. The brothers met in single combat before the walls and killed each other.

Creon took the throne. He honored Eteocles with full funeral rites as the city's defender but forbade burial for Polynices, denouncing him as a traitor — his corpse left for dogs and birds. It was this decree that drove Antigone to defy the king and die for it.