LABDACUS (mythological king of Thebes)

As a child, Labdacus became a ward of Nycteus, who entrusted his care and the government of the city to him before dying.^2,8 Nycteus appointed his brother Lycus as regent, who transferred the authority of governing Thebes to Labdacus once he reached adulthood.^9,2

Before his death, Labdacus was responsible for keeping the armed might of the realm and prepared to assault a tyrant with violence without being asked.¹⁰ He was noted for never delaying when it came to doing evil, and he fought a boundary war against Pandion.^10,11 His household gods were invoked in prayer, and his race was named after an ill-omened heifer.^12,13

Labdacus left behind a son named Laius, who was one year old when his father died.^5,9,6 Another account names Amphion as a son of Labdacus, whose sons were later attacked and beheaded by Hippomedon.^14,15 One son of Labdacus was described as being in pale anxiety during a chariot race, neither handling the rein nor daring to use the lash.¹⁶

The ills affecting the house of Labdacus were wrought on purpose, and the household was said to be unable to be washed clean by rivers.^12,4 The Chorus claimed no known quarrel existed between Labdacus's house and Oedipus's family, yet the ancestor of the royal house to which Antigone belongs remained defined by this specific doom.^3,17