Seven Against Thebes

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  Book 0

  The complete text of Seven Against Thebes. Two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, face each other at Thebes. The curse of Oedipus demands they die by each other's hand.

  28 lines
• Prologue

  Eteocles, king of Thebes, rallies his citizens. Seven enemy champions are marching on the city's seven gates. He must match each attacker with a Theban defender.

  59 lines
• Parodos

  The chorus of Theban women panics at the sound of the approaching army. Eteocles rebukes them — their terror demoralises the defenders.

  Not yet imported
• First Episode

  Eteocles prays to the gods of Thebes and prepares for battle. He organises the city's defence and sends scouts to report on the enemy.

  42 lines
• First Stasimon

  The chorus imagines the horrors of a city sacked — women enslaved, children killed, temples burned. They beg the gods for protection.

  Not yet imported
• The Scout's Report (Gate 1)

  A scout reports: Tydeus, bearing a shield blazoned with stars and a full moon, rages at the first gate. Eteocles assigns Melanippus to face him.

  82 lines
• Gate 2

  Capaneus storms the second gate, boasting that even Zeus cannot stop him. Eteocles sends Polyphontes, a man of disciplined courage.

  Not yet imported
• Gate 3

  Eteoclus attacks the third gate. His shield bears a man scaling a wall. Eteocles matches him with Megareus.

  215 lines
• Gate 4

  Hippomedon carries a shield showing Typhon breathing fire. Eteocles sends Hyperbius, whose shield bears Zeus with a thunderbolt — god against monster.

  Not yet imported
• Gate 5

  Parthenopaeus, beautiful and deadly, young but savage, assaults the fifth gate. Eteocles assigns Actor to defend it.

  26 lines
• Gate 6

  Amphiaraus, the reluctant prophet who knew he would die, takes the sixth gate. He carries a blank shield — virtue needs no blazon.

  Not yet imported
• Gate 7

  The seventh gate falls to Polyneices — Eteocles' own brother. His shield shows Justice herself leading an armed man home. Eteocles must face his brother: the curse of Oedipus demands it.

  72 lines
• Second Stasimon

  The chorus traces the curse from Laius through Oedipus to his sons. The iron of their inheritance has divided the city into lots.

  Not yet imported
• Third Stasimon

  The chorus meditates on the fate of the house of Laius and the terrible fulfilment of Oedipus's curse upon his sons.

  132 lines
• The Battle

  A messenger reports: Thebes has been saved at six gates, but at the seventh, the brothers have killed each other simultaneously. The curse is fulfilled.

  Not yet imported
• Kommos

  The bodies of Eteocles and Polyneices are brought on stage. The chorus mourns the double fratricide and the end of the line of Oedipus.

  47 lines
• The Decree

  A herald announces that Eteocles will receive a hero's burial but Polyneices, the traitor, must lie unburied. Antigone defies the order.

  26 lines