Cadmus: Founder of Thebes
Cadmus was the son of Agenor king of Tyre and his queen Telephassa, and
the brother of Europa (after whom the continent of Europe is named), as well as
of Phinix, Cilix, and Thasus.
The chief of the gods Zeus was smitten by the beauty of Europa. He
decided to either seduce or ravish her, which was the same thing as far as the
gods were concerned. One day when Europa and her fellow nymphs were gathering
flowers, Zeus came to her in the guise of a tame white bull and began to graze
along with the herd of her father Agenor. Europa mounted the charming white
bull after affectionately stroking its flanks. Zeus the bull promptly ran off
with Europa on his back and, swimming through the sea, arrived in Crete where
Europa realized that she had been abducted by none other than the chief god
himself. To make a long story short, Europa became the first queen of Crete.
Europa was the apple of the eye of King Agenor and he was devastated at
the news of his daughter's mysterious disappearance. He entrusted his sons with
the mission of finding Europa, charging them never to return without his
beloved daughter. The queen Telephassa also accompanied her sons. They
searched far and wide for Europa without getting any clue to her disappearance.
Unable to find his sister, Phinix gave up the quest and settled in a place
which was said to have been later named Phoenicia after him. Europa's
brothers Cilix and Thausus likewise gave up the search for their sister and
settled in regions founding cities that were also named after them:
Cilicia, in Asia Minor; and Thasos, on a large island off the coast of Thrace.
While his brothers dispersed in search of Europa, Cadmus along with his
mother settled in Thrace where Telephassa soon died of grief at the loss of her
daughter. After performing the last rites of his mother, Cadmus went on a
pilgrimage to Delphi to consult the Oracle of Apollo concerning the whereabouts
of his sister. The oracle advised him to give up his search for Europa, but
instead to assume the duty of founding a new city. He was instructed to follow
a heifer he would find in a field to wherever it would lead him and build
a city on the spot where the heifer would stop. Sure enough, Cadmus soon found
the young cow he was to follow among the herds of Pelagon, king of Phocis.
After praying to Apollo Cadmus followed close behind the heifer to Boeotia
where, after crossing the shallow stream of Cephisus, it sank to the ground in
fatigue upon the plane of Panpoe.
Having found the place where he was to build the city of Cadmea, later
to be called Thebes, Cadmus decided to sacrifice his guide the heifer to
Athena, goddess of heroic endeavor. For that purpose he sends his companions to
fetch pure water for the libation. They found the purest water in a lovely
spring (later called Dirce or Castalia) flowing through a thick virgin grove.
As they were scooping up the water with their vessels, a fierce serpent-like
dragon, guardian of the sacred spring, emerged from the cave nearby. The dragon happened
to be the offspring of Ares, the Greek god of vicious warfare and bloody
slaughter. The horrid serpent, with its crest-like head and venomous scales
shining like gold, had a vibrating triple tongue and a triple rows of fangs
with which it slaughtered all the unfortunate companions of Cadmus.
When his companions failed to return, Cadmus went looking for them, and
soon came face to face with the enraged dragon. Unperturbed, Cadmus attacked
the malevolent monster and, after a fierce struggle, managed to slay it. Cadmus
then sacrificed the heifer to Athena which immensely pleased the goddess, who
told him to saw the teeth of the dragon and plant half of it in the ground. As
soon as Cadmus had done so, a host of fierce warriors appeared out of the
ground and, before Cadmus could engage them, the armed men began a ferocious
and bloody battle among themselves. At the end of the vicious fight only five
warriors were left alive who made peace among themselves. The five, styled the
"Spartoi" ("sown men"), were named Echion, Udaeus,
Chthonius, Hyperenor, and Pelor. They subjected themselves to Cadmus and helped
him to build the city of Cadmea (the city was named Thebes in honor of Thebe,
wife of the brother of a later king, Amphion). In ancient times, the noble
families of Thebes claimed their descent from these five Spartoi.
The god Ares was outraged that his son, who was sacred to him, was
killed by Cadmus. He punished the valiant hero with servitude for a period of
eight years, after which Ares not only forgave Cadmus but also gave him the
hand of his daughter (by Aphrodite, goddess of love) Harmonia in marriage. The
wedding was solemnly celebrated in Cadmea in the presence of all the gods of
Olympia. Cadmus gave his lovely bride a wedding present of an exquisite
"paplos" (full-length garment worn by ancient Greek women) made by
Athena, and a necklace made by Hephaestus (god of technology); the necklace was
to have fatal consequences for Cadmus and his family as well as for the city of
Thebes.
Harmonia bore Cadmus four sons, Autonoë, Ino, Semele, Agave, and
Polydorus, as well as four daughters,
Ino, Semelē, Autonoē, and Agavē. Semele later became the mother of Dionysus,
the god of wine. Despite Ares forgiving him, the curse of the killing of the
god's sacred son, the dragon, clung to Cadmus. That, as well as the malevolent
influence of the Hephaestian neckalce, pursued the fortunes of Cadmus and
brought death and tragedy in the his family's life. His daughters, Semele and Ino,
as well as his grandchildren, Actaeon and Pentheus, perished miserably. When
dissension and civil strife assailed the city he founded, Cadmus abdicated his
throne and, along with Harmonia, settled in the land of the Enchelians who made
him their king. The Enchelians, who were engaged in a war with the Illyrians,
conquered their foes under the leadership of the valiant Cadmus.
Cadmus had another son called Illyria while he was living among the
Enchelians. However, the misfortunes and tragedies in his family continued to
trouble him profoundly. He began to reflect in his mind that the life of a
serpent would be immensely preferable to his miserable state of existence. As
soon as he began to think along these lines, a spontaneous metamorphosis took
place in him and Cadmus was transformed into a serpent. So the sacred dragon of
Ares, whom he had slain, had its final revenge. Harmonia prayed to the gods to
be allowed to share her husband's fate and was also turned into a serpent.
Taking pity on them, Zeus carried them to the Elysian Fields, the abode of
those mortals fortunate to be favored by the gods.
Cadmus is credited with introducing the art of writing into Greece: an
art he is said to have borrowed from the Phoenicians. The legendary story of
Cadmus has given the phrase "Cadmean victory" to the language (like
the "Pyrrhic victory"), which points to the often illusory victories gained by mortals that only leads
to further trouble and misery.
