In Greek mythology, Capaneus was a son of Hipponous and husband of Evadne, with whom he fathered Sthenelus. Greek mythology comprises the collected narratives of Greek gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines, originally created and spread within an oral-poetic tradition. ... In Greek mythology, Hipponous referred to several people: One was the father of Capaneus and Periboea with Astymone. ... In Greek mythology, there were two people named Evadne. ... In Greek mythology, Sthenelus refers to four different people. ...

According to the legend, Capaneus had immense strength and body size and was outstanding warrior. He was also notorious for his arrogance. He stood just at the wall of Thebes at the siege of Thebes and shouted that Zeus himself could not stop him from invading it. Zeus struck and killed Capaneus with a thunderbolt, and Evadne threw herself on her husband's funeral pyre and died. His story may be found in Aeschylus, Euripides, and the Roman poet Statius. The Oath of the Seven Chiefs, an 1897 illustration from Stories from the Greek Tragedians by Alfred Church Seven Against Thebes is a play by Aeschylus concerning the battle between Eteocles and the army of Thebes and Polynices and his supporters, traditional Theban enemies. ... For the ancient capital of Upper Egypt, see Thebes, Egypt. ... Aeschylus (525 BC—456 BC; Greek: Αισχυλος) was a playwright of ancient Greece. ... Euripides (ca. ... Publius Papinius Statius, (c. ...

In the Divine Comedy, Dante sees Capaneus in the seventh circle of Hell. Along with the other blasphemers, or those "violent against God", Capaneus is condemned to lie supine on a plain of burning sand while fire rains down on him. He continues to curse the deity (whom, being a pagan, he addresses as "Giove" i.e. Jupiter) despite the ever harsher pains he thus inflicts upon himself, so that God "thereby should not have glad vengeance." Dante shown holding a copy of The Divine Comedy, next to the entrance to Hell, the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory and the city of Florence, in Michelinos fresco. ...

Virgil strongly condemns Capaneus, but many readers of the Comedy have perceived heroism in his defiance of God's whims even under torture.