The Theban Cycle is a collection of four lost epics of ancient Greek literature which related the mythical history of the Boiotian city of Thebes. They were composed in dactylic hexameter verse and were probably written down between 750 BCE and 500 BCE. Often the Theban epics are counted as part of the "Epic Cycle", along with the Trojan War cycle. The epic is a broadly defined genre of poetry, which retells in a continuous narrative the life and works of a heroic or mythological person or group of persons. ... At the moment this page contains a list of links. ... Boeotia (Greek Βοιωτια; see also List of traditional Greek place names) was the central area of ancient Greece. ... For the ancient capital of Upper Egypt, see Thebes, Egypt. ... Dactylic hexameter is a form of meter in poetry or a rhythmic scheme. ... The Trojan War cycle was a collection of eight Ancient Greek epic poems that related the history of the Trojan War. ...
The stories in the Theban Cycle were traditional ones: the two Homeric epics, the Iliad and Odyssey, display knowledge of many of them. The most famous stories in the Cycle were those of Oidipous and of the "seven against Thebes", both of which were heavily drawn on by later writers of Greek tragedy. Bust of Homer in the British Museum For other uses, see Homer (disambiguation). ... The Iliad (Greek Ιλιάς, Ilias) tells part of the story of the siege of the city of Ilium, i. ... The Odyssey (Greek Ὀδυσσεία) is the second of the two great Greek epic poems ascribed to Homer, the first of which is the Iliad. ... Oedipus or Œdipus, less commonly Oidipous, was the mythical king of Thebes, son of Laius and Jocasta, who, unknowingly, killed his father and married his mother. ... 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. ... Tragedy is one of the oldest forms of drama. ...
The epics of the Theban Cycle were as follows:
The Oidipodeia, attributed to Kinaithon: told the story of Oidipous' solution to the Sphinx's riddle, and presumably of his incestuous marriage to his mother Epikaste or Jocasta.
The Thebaid, of uncertain authorship but sometimes attributed in antiquity to Homer: told the story of the war between Oidipous' two sons Eteokles and Polyneikes, and of Polyneikes' unsuccessful expedition against the city of Thebes with six other commanders (the "seven against Thebes"), in which both Eteokles and Polyneikes were killed.
The Epigonoi, attributed in antiquity to either Antimachos of Teos or Homer: a continuation of the Thebaid, which told the story of the next generation of heroes who attacked Thebes, this time successfully.
The Alkmeonis, of unknown authorship: told the story of Alkmaon's murder of his mother Eriphyle for having arranged the death of his father Amphiaraos (told in the Thebaid).
The Trojan War cycle, also widely known as the Epic Cycle, was a collection of eight Ancient Greek epic poems that related the history of the Trojan War.
The phrase "Epic Cycle" is sometimes used of a longer cycle that included the Titanomachy, the ThebanCycle, and the Trojan cycle, but is widely used to refer to just the Trojan cycle.
A longer Epic Cycle included the Titanomachy and the Thebancycle, which in turn comprised the Oedipodea, the Thebaid, the Epigoni and the Alcmeonis, as well as the Trojan War cycle.
It is this use which has given rise to the application of the term cycle to a series of prose or poetical romances which have for a centre one subject, whether a person, as in the Alexander, Arthurian or Charlemagne cycles, or an object, such as the ring of the Nibelungenlied.
The most important poems of the Trojan legendary cycle are the Cypria of Stasinus (q.v.); the Aethiopis and Iliou Persis (Sack of Troy) of Arctinus (q.v.); the Little Iliad of Lesches (q.v.); the Nosli of Hagias or Agias; the Telegonia of Eugammon.
To the Thebancycle belong: the Thebais or Expedition of A mphiaraus and the Epigoni of Antimachus.
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