Classical Mythology, 7th Edition - obinfonet: dia logou

THE THEBAN SAGA 397
Hippomedon with a war-cry stands before the gates of Athena. ... It was
no mean craftsman who placed this work upon his shield, Typhon, belching
fiery smoke through his mouth, and the encircling hollow of the shield is covered
with wreathed serpents. . . .
[Parthenopaeus the Arcadian] swears . . . that he will violently sack the city
of Cadmeia. . . . Upon his bronze shield he wields the flesh-eating Sphinx, the
reproach of the city. . . .
The sixth I would say is the most virtuous man, the prophet best in might,
strong Amphiaraiis. . . . Upon his shield was no sign, for he did not wish to
seem, but to be, the best. . . . Against him I advise setting wise and virtuous defenders,
for terrible are those whom the gods revere.
Finally the herald describes Polynices, whose threats against his brother are
the most terrible of all. Upon his shield is a double device, a woman leading an
armed man:
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She says she is Justice, as the inscription says: "I will bring this man back, and
he shall possess his father's city and go about its houses."
In these descriptions, Aeschylus has given an impressive picture of the heroic
stature of the Seven, whose individual characters are delineated through the devices
on their shields. Eteocles refuses to be intimidated and arms himself for
battle, denying that Justice is on Polynices' side. He knows that he must kill his
brother, and he knows that in so doing he will be the instrument fulfilling the
curse of Oedipus. When the Chorus asks him if he wishes to kill his own brother,
he replies, "When the gods give evil, you cannot escape their gift."
These were the final words of Eteocles before the Seven attacked the city, and
they express the inevitability of the curse on the sons of Oedipus. The failure of
the Seven was foretold by the Theban prophet Tiresias, who prophesied that if
one of the Spartoi sacrificed himself, the city would have atoned fully for the bloodguilt
incurred by the killing of Ares' sacred serpent and so be saved. Here is part
of the prophecy of Tiresias, as given by Euripides (Phoenissae 931-941):
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This man [i.e., Menoeceus] must be killed at the lair of the earthborn serpent,
the guardian of Dirce's fountain, and he must pay the earth with his blood for
the water drawn by Cadmus. This is the result of the ancient anger of Ares, who
will avenge the death of the earthborn serpent. If you [i.e., Creon and the Thebans]
do this, you will have Ares as your ally. If the earth takes your fruit for
hers, and for her blood the blood of mortals, she will favor you—she who once
put forth the gold-helmeted crop of Sown Men [Spartoi]. Of their descendants,
one must die, one who is descended from the serpent.
Menoeceus, son of Creon and a descendant of the Spartoi, willingly died for
the city: "Dying for the city," says the messenger in Euripides' play (Phoenissae
1090-1092), "he plunged the black-bound sword through his throat to save this
land, upon the top of the city-walls," and so he fell into the serpent's lair. In the
ensuing fight, only Capaneus succeeded in scaling the wall. As he reached the