Polynices

Family: Thebans · Role: son of Œdipus · First appears: Book 2 · Chapter 20

In the account of his death at Thebes, Polynices is identified as the son of Œdipus, killed in battle fighting against the city. Hippomedon accompanied him in his attempt against Thebes. In Book 5, an image shows Polynices fallen to his knees as Eteocles presses him; Doom stands behind him, and “Polynices was carried off by Fate.”

In Book 9, after quarrelling with Eteocles and going into exile, Polynices sought a force from Adrastus to restore him and challenged his brother to single combat. The brothers killed each other, and the kingdom passed to Laodamas, with Creon as guardian. When Polynices and his army came from Argos, Menœceus voluntarily slew himself in accordance with the oracle at Delphi. At the funeral, Antigone dragged Polynices’ corpse onto Eteocles’ blazing pyre. Later accounts name his sons Adrastus, Timeas, Butas, and Thersander, who took Thebes.