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Commander against commander, brother against brother, enemy against enemy, I will take my stand. (lines 674-75)
Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes, lines 674-75; Herbert Weir Smyth translation
Introduction
Seven Against Thebes is the third play in another trilogy by Aeschylus. The first two plays, and the satyr play that typically accompanied a trilogy, did not survive.
The story of Seven Against Thebes recounts one of the more famous battles in Greek mythology, although less known to the modern audience compared to the sacking of Troy that ended the Trojan War. That battle is the siege of Thebes. The siege of Thebes is tied to one of, if not the most, infamous and shocking stories in all of Greek mythology: the story of Oedipus and his family. In brief, Oedipus killed his father and married his mother, having four children with her and becoming king of Thebes through their marriage, all without anyone knowing this was happening. When the truth comes out, Oedipus’ mother commits suicide while Oedipus blinds himself, is forced into exile, and proclaims a curse upon his remaining family. The events of Seven Against Thebes takes place after Oedipus’ death with his two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, fighting over the throne of Thebes.I don’t want to say much more for reasons I’ll explain below.
All quotes from Seven Against Thebes are from the Herbert Weir Smyth translation which is in the public domain. This translation appeared in the Loeb Classical Library. I had to rely on the David Grene translation for the line numbers, so they may not be 100% accurate.
As always, I encourage you to read Seven Against Thebes for yourself. You can do it! Read the publicly available Smyth translation, which is somewhat easy to read (especially if you could follow along with the Butler translations of the Iliad and Odyssey)! You might have to look up a word here and there, but it’s not too bad. If you prefer a modern translation, Richmond Lattimore and David Grene also translated and/or edited the plays of Aeschylus and compiled them into two volumes (Seven Against Thebes is found in Aeschylus I). Lastly, I just recently discovered a modern translation that the translator Ian Johnston offers for free! He’s also translated other ancient Greek works like the Iliad and the Odyssey. You can find them here.
Summary
Eteocles, the king of Thebes, addresses his people and encourages them to stay strong and take up arms as their city is being besieged by the Argives (those of the city of Argos). A Scout reports to Eteocles, saying that seven great warriors, commanders in the Argive army, are preparing themselves for battle and setting themselves up at each of the seven gates of Thebes. He advises Eteocles to find seven of his best warriors to defend the seven gates before leaving to continue his reconnaissance. Eteocles prays to the gods for protection before leaving to make preparations for war.
A Chorus of Theban women watches in horror as the Argive army marches toward Thebes and begins its attack. They go before the images of the gods and pray, afraid that the city will fall and they will become the Argives’ slaves. Eteocles reappears to rebuke the women, telling them to shut up because are they bringing down the morale of the Theban army with their cries. He orders the women to go back inside their homes and threatens that anyone who hinders the defense of Thebes will be executed.
The Chorus defend themselves, saying they are praying to the gods, but they continue to cry out in fear over th+e noises of the battle. Eteocles implores them to keep quiet, that they are only emboldening the enemy, and the Chorus finally calms down. Eteocles tells the Chorus to move away from the images and pray bolder prayers, rather than fearful ones, and start singing victory songs to encourage the Thebans. Eteocles then goes back into battle to help prepare defenses for the seven gates.
Despite Eteocles’ orders, the Chorus continue to express their worries about what might happen should Thebes fall. Meanwhile, the Scout returns and tells Eteocles which of the seven Argive commanders are besieging which gate. As the Scout gives his reports, Eteocles sends out a Theban champion to defend each gate. When he finds out his brother Polynices is attacking the seventh gate, Eteocles decides to meet him himself. The Chorus try to talk Eteocles out of attacking his own brother, but Eteocles becomes obsessed with the idea of fighting and killing his brother and refuses to listen. Eteocles leaves for the seventh gate while the Chorus continues to worry over the outcome of the siege. They reflect on the curse that Oedipus, the previous king of Thebes, uttered against his two sons after finding out about the unspeakable transgressions he had committed: he had unknowingly killed his father, the previous king of Thebes, and married his mother.
A Messenger appears and tells the Chorus that the battle is over and Thebes is safe, but Eteocles and Polynices have killed each other. As a funeral procession carries the bodies of Eteocles and Polynices, the Chorus are happy that Thebes is saved but distraught at the deaths of the two brothers. Antigone and Ismene, both sisters of Eteocles and Polynices, show up and lament over the corpses of their brothers. A Herald then approaches and announces that, by decree of the Theban council, Eteocles will be given a proper burial whiles Polynices will be tossed out of the city and left for the dogs and the birds. Antigone is angry at this decree and declares she will openly defy the council by giving Polynices a proper burial. The Herald tries to forbid Antigone from doing this, but Antigone tells him it’s pointless to argue with her.
The play ends with the Chorus splitting up—with half going to mourn Eteocles and the other half going to mourn Polynices.
You’ll Have to Wait For Oedipus
I’m going to hold off on talking about the story of Oedipus and his family until I get to the next author, Sophocles. Three of Sophocles’ most famous plays are together known as the Theban Plays and they revolve around the story of Oedipus, his death, and the aftermath. They consist of: Antigone, Oedipus Rex, and Oedipus at Colonnus.When I get to these plays, I will be sure to revisit Seven Against Thebes because it relays some details that, as far as I remember, do not appear in any of the Theban Plays.
As I’ve mentioned before, the Theban Playsare not a true trilogy, not like how the Oresteia is a trilogy. For one, each of the Theban Plays were performed on different dates. Secondly, the first play composed was Antigone, which takes place after the events of the other two plays. For reference, Seven Against Thebes takes place after the events of Oedipus at Colonnus, but before the events of Antigone.
Scholars are pretty convinced that the ending of Seven Against Thebes was rewritten decades later to fit in with how events played out in the Theban Plays—specifically, with Antigone. That’s a testament to the impact of the Theban Plays on the ancient Greeks: they would even dare to rewrite part of a play by the father of Greek tragedy himself.
I can’t wait to get to the plays about Oedipus. His story is truly disturbing beyond the fact that he killed his father and had children with his mother. It leaves you with questions about the pursuit of truth, the power of resentment, and the pitfalls of expediency. Plus, Antigone, one of Oedipus’ daughters, is another woman in the Western Canon that deserves to be elevated for her strength of character—much like how Penelope, Odysseus’ wife, from the Odyssey, should be. Antigone deserves to be more of a household name compared to characters like Helen and Jezebel.
The Power of a Mindset
When the Chorus, a group of Theban women, are introduced, they are from the start freaking out about what’s happening. They go before the images of the gods and pray to the gods one after the other, their words getting more and more hysterical.
Who’s going to rescue us?
Do the gods see what’s going on?
Are the gods going to abandon us?
Are we doomed to become the enemy’s slaves?
What is happening to our city? What will the future bring? And where does God finally lead us? (lines 156-57)
Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes, lines 156-57; Herbert Weir Smyth translation
Finally, Eteocles comes up to them and tells them to shut up and go back home because they aren’t helping:
You intolerable things! I ask you, is this the best way to save the city? Does it hearten our army here besieged, when you fall before the images of the gods that guard the city and shout and shriek – behavior that moderate people despise?… So now your cries as you rushed here and there in panicked flight have rattled the citizens into dispirited cowardice. The cause of the enemy outside our gates is excellently strengthened by your behavior, while we inside are ruined by our own people. (lines 182-87, 191-94)
Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes, lines 182-87, 191-94; Herbert Weir Smyth translation
After a heated exchange, Eteocles finally gets them to stop panicking and offers them this advice:
Keep your distance from the gods’ images and make a stronger prayer, that the gods fight on our side. And once you have heard my prayers, then sing the victory song, the sacred cry of joy and goodwill, our Greek ritual of shouting in tribute, that brings courage to our friends and dissolves fear of the enemy. (lines 265-270)
After Eteocles offers a prayer to the gods for protection, along with a vow of many sacrifices and offerings should Thebes fend off the enemy, he tells the Chorus:
Make this kind of prayer to the gods, without your previous lamentation, nor with wild and useless panting; for you will not escape your destiny any the more. (lines 279-81)
Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes, lines 279-81; Herbert Weir Smyth translation
The mindsets between the Chorus and Eteocles couldn’t be more different. The Chorus chose to panic and focus only on the negative outcome that could occur: the city of Thebes being taken by the enemy and the Chorus becoming slaves. As a result of their negative behavior, they were affecting the morale of the warriors defending Thebes as well as the Theban citizens. Panic and worry are contagious. More importantly though, panic and worry do not help a situation or make it any easier to navigate.
By contrast, Eteocles chose to focus on the positive outcome that could occur: the city of Thebes fending off the enemy and all the celebration that would happen afterward. Eteocles didn’t have an unbridled optimism though. He recognized that Thebes could fall in the siege. Man can’t escape his destiny after all, and if Thebes is destined to fall, then it will fall no matter what. However, until that time comes, Eteocles will pray for victory rather and think ahead to what Thebes will do should they win. It’s certainly far better than wailing, gnashing your teeth, and running around like your hair is on fire.
It goes back to the adage “You can’t control your circumstances, but you can control your attitude toward them.”
Many today do not believe in Fate, not in the way that the ancient Greeks did, but many do believe in something typically called a “self-fulfilling prophecy.” If someone believes they’re going to fail, and act and talk like they’re going to fail, they will most likely fail. And then they’ll give up.
It would be better, therefore, to believe and act like you’re going to succeed. The point of that attitude is to not give up, to broaden your perspective so you can find a way to succeed. Success may not look like what you envisioned and it may not be achieved by your initial ideas. However, you won’t find that out if your mind has been narrowed by a self-defeating attitude, by panic, and by pessimism.
A Quote That Stood Out
[Eteocles]: Ah, the pity of fate’s omen when it makes a just man associate with the irreverent! In all things, nothing is more evil than evil partnership. Its fruit should not be gathered in: the field of recklessness yields a harvest of death. For it may be that a pious man, embarked shipboard with sailors hot for some crime, perishes along with the sort of men hated by the gods; or, a man, though upright himself, when among fellow-citizens who hate all strangers and neglect the gods, may fall undeserving into the same trap as they, and be subdued, struck by the scourge of God that strikes all alike. (lines 597-609)
Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes, lines 597-609; Herbert Weir Smyth translation
I wrote multiple times in my posts on the Odyssey about the price of unwise or bad associations. Among the wicked suitors trying to woo Penelope, there was a suitor who was more amiable than the others. He had plenty of chances to walk away, but chose not to—and it cost him his life. He got dragged down by the wicked men around him that he refused to stop associating with.
The man Eteocles is talking about is a prophet on the enemy’s side. This prophet strongly disapproved of besieging Thebes, even criticizing Polynices for it. But, because of his station, he had no choice but to fight, and it was going to cost him his life. It’s another example of how bad associations can drag someone down, even to death. On a personal level, the person may not deserve harm or death. However, because they stick with a group made up of reckless or bad people, they’ll receive harm or death all the same.
That's all for Seven Against Thebes.
May your days be filled with grace.
-Andronikos
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Thumbnail: The Duel Between Eteocles and Polynices by Giovanni Silvagni, 1820. Public domain.