ADRASTUS (mortal king of Argos)

Adrastus took Amphithea as his wife, and they had three daughters named Argia, Deipyle, and Aegialia.³ When Tydeus and Polyneices sought refuge in his city, Adrastus promised to restore them to their native lands.^5,1,4,12 He accepted these men as sons-in-law based on their shield emblems and gave his daughter Deipyle in marriage to Tydeus.^4,5,13,12 He similarly married his daughter Argeia to Polyneices, making the Theban prince his son-in-law as well.^12,14

An omen foretold that Adrastus would be the father of his own bride, a strange portent that weighed upon him.¹⁵ He advocated for war against Thebes and eagerly prepared to wage it, gathering an army led by seven commanders.^4,16,1,12 Adrastus had a previous dispute with Amphiaraeus, which he resolved by agreeing to let his sister Eriphyle decide any future conflicts.^16,12 Eriphyle eventually persuaded the seer Amphiaraeus to join the campaign, and Adrastus marched to war alongside him.¹⁶ The Argive dowry contributed to raising his spirits as he prepared for the conflict.¹⁵

The campaign ended in disaster, and Adrastus was the only leader to survive the battle against Thebes.^16,12 He left the dead unburied because the Thebans refused to allow their removal.¹² Adrastus fled from Thebes dressed in wretched clothing, bringing his black-maned horse Areion along with him.^7,17 This swift horse, Areion, was a gift from Heracles and the third person to tame him, alongside other steeds like Caerus and Areion of Thelpusa.^18,7,9,19 He later returned to his original kingdom in Argos after the battle.^12,11

Adrastus received the bodies of his slain sons from Theseus and Athens, and was required to swear an oath on behalf of the entire realm of Argos.⁶ The oath required Argos to never wage war against Athens and to repel others attacking it.⁶ He sought refuge with Polybus in the city of Sicyon, which formerly belonged to his maternal grandfather.^10,11 Polybus bequeathed the kingship to Adrastus after dying without an heir, and the oracle declared that Adrastus held the title of king over Sicyon.^10,11,20 A shrine dedicated to Adrastus stood in the marketplace of Sicyon, where the Sicyonians honored him with specific local honors, considering him an Argive by birth.^21,22,10 Adrastus was the target of a plot by a stone thrower who sought to remove him, a scheme devised to rid the land of him.²⁰ He also killed the brother of Melanippus, named Mecisteus.²³ Cleisthenes later redirected the remaining worship from Adrastus to Melanippus.²² Adrastus won the horse race at the Nemean games, and he and his companions killed the serpent that had slain the infant Opheltes, burying the dead boy.²⁴ The earth sent up his horses near the grove of Oncean Apollo.⁹