ADRASTUS OF ADRASTEIA (hero from Adrasteia in Mysia)

During a military campaign to destroy Thebes with the sword, Adrastus led his own tribes and dispatched scouts to search for remaining water sources, specifically checking if Amymone's waters still existed.^7,8,9 Suffering from drought, he addressed Hypsipyle as a goddess and queen of the woodlands, asking for her help, and he was the first to urge her to tell her story.^7,10 He received a mother's earnest commendation of her son to his care before battle and later embraced the woman, holding her against his armored chest while weeping tears of joy.^11,12 In the midst of the conflict, he consoled his son-in-law by giving him an Achaean handmaid and ordered that rich rewards be given to the victors.¹³

When a dispute arose between Amphiaraus and Lycurgus, Adrastus and Tydeus helped stop the combat, and he declared that Lycurgus did not deserve to be killed.^14,2,5 He reminded the quarreling youths that their fathers shared the same blood, and during a dispute, he appeared in a gentler mood while urging them to stop their conflict by appealing to justice, the gods, and war.^3,2 Later, he ordered the young men to stop fighting and race again on separate tracks after standing hesitantly without a clear plan while they quarreled.¹⁵

Adrastus traveled to Mount Olympus to hunt an animal, and in a separate account, he departed with selected young men and dogs to pursue a beast, responding to Croesus before the hunt began.¹⁶ He helped form a circle around the beast and threw spears at it, though in the chaos of the chase, he accidentally struck the son of Croesus with his spear.^16,17 This incident occurred after Adrastus had previously been ritually purified for a blood-related crime, and Croesus took him into his household, where he continued to support him.^17,4,18

When the people of Cadmus forbade him from entering their land and demanded he be expelled before sunset, Adrastus sought help from the king to cure his affliction rather than judgment, accepting the king's decision if he refused to help.^19,20 Aethra successfully pleaded on his behalf, yet Theseus called him an abandoned wretch and told him to remain silent during an argument.^21,22 As the situation deteriorated, Adrastus was seen slipping and falling in blood, his diadem torn off and white hair streaming loose, while a group of Tyrians dragged him away as a captive.²³