TYDEUS (one of the Seven against Thebes)
Hero and companion · son of Oeneus in Greek mythology
- Parents
- Oeneus, Gorge, Periboea
- Consorts
- Deipyle
- Children
- Diomedes, Comaetho
- Haunts and cult places
- Aetolia
- In the sources
- 114 ancient passages
Tydeus is the father of Diomedes. Euripides, Rhesus 488-526 +10 Tydeus is the son of Oeneus. Apollodorus 3.6.3 +6
Powers
Athena provided divine assistance to Tydeus during his combat and contests in Thebes. Iliad 4 ¶30 +1
In the myths
Tydeus served as one of the seven leaders of the army that sought aid from Mycenae to besiege Thebes. Apollodorus 3.6.3 +2 Tydeus fights with intense fury against the city of Ilius, filling the souls of men with panic. Iliad 6 ¶10 +1 The son of Tydeus is expected to capture the horses if the pair attempts to escape. Iliad 5 ¶21 +1 Melanippus wounded Tydeus, but Amphiaraus killed him; Tydeus then ate Melanippus's brains. Apollodorus 3.6.8 +1 Tydeus killed all fifty ambushers except for Maeon, whom he spared because he obeyed the omens from heaven. Apollodorus 3.6.5 +1 He drove the dense Trojan phalanxes into a rout, and the numerous Trojans dared not withstand his furious onslaught. Iliad 5 ¶10 +1 He challenged the young men of Thebes to contests and won every single one. Iliad 4 ¶30 +1 The Achaeans sent Tydeus as an envoy to the banks of the Aesopus, and he departed from their camp near the river. Iliad 10 ¶25 +1 The son of Tydeus retreated from the battlefield, fearing Hector would boast he fled to the ships. Iliad 5 ¶48 +1 Tydeus marched against Thebes alongside Adrastus and Polyneices. Apollodorus 1.8.5 +1
Fate
Tydeus died from a wound inflicted by Melanippus during the campaign against Thebes. Apollodorus 1.8.5 +1 Tydeus is buried at Thebes, covered by a heap of earth. Iliad 14 ¶9 +1
