LEGENDS OF THEBES.
Abundant legends of Thêbes. — Amphiôn and Zethus, Homeric founders of Kadmus and Bœôtus — both distinct legends. — Thêbes. — How Thêbes was founded by Kadmus. — Five primitive families at Thêbes called Sparti. — The four daughters of Kadmus: 1. Inô; 2. Semelê; 3. Autonoê and her son Actæôn; 4. Agavê and her son Pentheus. — He resists the god Dionysus — his miserable end. — Labdakus, Antiopê, Amphiôn, and Zêthus. — Laius — Œdipus — Legendary celebrity of Œdipus and his family. — The Sphinx. — Eteoklês and Polynikês. — Old epic poems on the sieges of Thêbes.
SIEGES OF THEBES.
Curse pronounced by the devoted Oedipus upon his sons. — Novelties introduced by Sophoklês. — Death of Oedipus — quarrel of Eteoklês and Polynikês for the sceptre. — Polynikês retires to Argos — aid given to him by Adrastus. — Amphiaräus and Eriphylê. — Seven chiefs of the army against Thêbes. — Defeat of the Thêbans in the field — heroic devotion of Menœkus. — Single combat of Eteoklês and Polynikês, in which both perish. — Repulse and destruction of the Argeian chiefs — all except Adrastus — Amphiaräus is swallowed up in the earth. — Kreôn, king of Thêbes, forbids the burial of Polynikês and the other fallen Argeian chiefs. — Devotion and death of Antigonê. — The Athenians interfere to procure the interment of the fallen chiefs. — Second siege of Thêbes by Adrastus with the Epigoni, or sons of those slain in the first. — Victory of the Epigoni — capture of Thêbes. — Worship of Adrastus at Sikyôn — how abrogated by Kleisthenês. — Alkmæôn — his matricide and punishment. — Fatal necklace of Eriphylê.
CHAPTER XV.
LEGEND OF TROY.
Great extent and variety of the tale of Troy. — Dardanus, son of Zeus. — Ilus, founder of Ilium. — Walls of Ilium built by Poseidôn. — Capture of Ilium by Hêraklês. — Priam and his offspring. — Paris — his judgment on the three goddesses. — Carries off Helen from Sparta. — Expedition of the Greeks to recover her. — Heroes from all parts of Greece combined under Agamemnôn. — Achilles and Odysseus. — The Grecian host mistakes Teuthrania for Troy — Telephus. — Detention of the Greeks at Aulis — Agamemnon and Iphigeneia. — First success of the Greeks on landing near Troy. — Brisêis awarded to Achilles. — Palamêdês — his genius, and treacherous death. — Epic chronology — historicized. — Period of the Homeric Iliad. — Hectôr killed by Achilles. — New allies of Troy — Penthesileia. — Memnôn — killed by Achilles. — Death of Achilles. — Funeral games celebrated in honor of him. — Quarrel about his panoply. — Odysseus prevails and Ajax kills himself. — Philoktêtês and Neoptolemus. — Capture of the Palladium. — The wooden horse. — Destruction of Troy. — Distribution of the captives among the victors. — Helen restored to Menelaus — lives in dignity at Sparta — passes to a happy immortality. — Blindness and cure of the poet Stesichorus — alteration of the legend about Helen. — Egyptian tale about Helen — tendency to historicize. — Return of the Greeks from Troy. — Their sufferings — anger of the gods. — Wanderings of the heroes in all directions. — Memorials of them throughout the Grecian world. — Odysseus — his final adventures and death. — Æneas and his descendants. — Different stories about Æneas. — Æneadæ at Skêpsis. — Ubiquity of Æneas. — Antenôr. — Tale of Troy — its magnitude and discrepancies. — Trojan war — essentially legendary — its importance as an item in Grecian national faith. — Basis of history for it — possible, and nothing more. — Historicizing innovations — Dio Chrysostom. — Historical Ilium. — Generally received and visited as the town of Priam. — Respect shown to it by Alexander. — Successors of Alexander — foundation of Alexandreia Trôas. — The Romans — treat Ilium with marked respect. — Mythical legitimacy of Ilium — first called in question by Dêmêtrius of Skêpsis and Hestiæa. — Supposed Old Ilium, or real Troy, distinguished from New Ilium. — Strabo alone believes in Old Ilium as the real Troy — other authors continue in the old faith — the moderns follow Strabo. — The mythical faith not shaken by topographical impossibilities. — Historical Trôas and the Teukrians. — Æolic Greeks in the Trôad — the whole territory gradually Æolized. — Old date, and long prevalence of the worship of Apollo Sminthius. — Asiatic customs and religion — blended with Hellenic. — Sibylline prophecies. — Settlements from Milêtus, Mitylênê, and Athens.