CADMUS (founder of Thebes)
Hero · mythological founder of Thebes, son of Agenor
- Parents
- Agenor, Telephassa
- Siblings
- Europa, Phoenix, Cilix, Electra
- Consorts
- Harmonia
- Children
- Semele, Ino, Agave, Autonoë, Polydorus, Illyrius
- Haunts and cult places
- Thebes, Tyre
- In the sources
- 143 ancient passages
In Godsunder
At the height of their saga. Heroes begin the campaign weaker and grow with every deed.
- Might14
- Grace10
- Vigour14
- Wits18
- Spirit14
- Jagged Stone Hurl. Cadmus killed Ares' dragon using a jagged stone while fetching ritual water. Euripides, The Phoenician Maidens 657-675
- Sowing Stone. Pherecydes claims Cadmus threw stones at the men, causing them to fight. Apollodorus 3.4.1
- Serpent's Hiss. His tongue divided into two parts, leaving him only a hissing voice. Ovid Met. 4.563-603
Cadmus is the son of Agenor and Telephassa. Apollodorus 3.1.1 +8 Cadmus is the ancestor of the royal line of Thebes. Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus 1-13 +1 Cadmus is the grandfather of Pentheus. Euripides, Bacchae 1280-1329 +1
In the myths
Agenor, the king of Phoenicia, dispatched Cadmus to search for the missing Europa, but Cadmus failed to locate her after traveling through a wide territory. Apollodorus 3.1.1 +2 Pallas instructed Cadmus to sow the dragon's teeth in the earth. Euripides, The Phoenician Maidens 1043-1066 +2 Kadmos transferred his authority and honor to his grandson Pentheus, son of Echion. Apollodorus 3.5.2 +2 Cadmus led a Phoenician army to Boeotia, defeated local tribes, and permitted the Aones to join them after they begged for mercy. Herodotus 5.57.1 +1 Guided by a heifer given by Apollo, Cadmus followed a cow through Phocis and Boeotia and founded a city where the animal collapsed from exhaustion. Apollodorus 3.4.1 +1 Cadmus killed the dragon that guarded the spring of Ares and had slain his men. Apollodorus 3.4.1 +1 On Athena's advice, Cadmus sowed the teeth of the dragon on the Aonian plains. Apollodorus 3.4.1 +1 Kadmos is credited with sowing a crop of earth-born beings from dragon's teeth, which grew into giants. Euripides, Bacchae 215-265 +1 An oracle from Delphi was delivered to Cadmus instructing him to settle where a cow rested. Pausanias 9.12.2 +1 Cadmus left his relative Membliarus and other Phoenicians on the island to lead the settlers. Herodotus 4.147.4 +1
Fate
Zeus sent Cadmus to the Elysian Fields after his transformation. Apollodorus 3.5.4 +1 Kadmos was transformed into a serpent with an extended belly and scales. Euripides, Bacchae 1330-1367 +1
