Unreferenced date December 2009 Greek myth The dynastic history of Ancient Thebes Boeotia Thebes in Greek mythology is crowded with a bewildering number of kings between the city s new foundation by Cadmus and the Trojan War see Ogyges . This suggests several competing traditions, which mythographers were forced to reconcile. ref name hard2004 Hard, Robin Rose, Herbert Jennings 2004 . The mythical history of Thebes. In. The Routledge handbook of Greek mythology , pp. 294 ff. Psychology Press, ISBN 9780415186360 ref The rulers The first king of Thebes was Cadmus, after whom the city was originally called Cadmeia. It only became known as Thebes during the reign of Amphion and Zethus , after the latter s wife Thebe . The first kings of Boeotia before Cadmus and the flood of Deucalion were Calydnos and Ogyges Ogygos . When Cadmus died, his son Polydorus was still a minor and hence Pentheus , a son of Cadmus daughter Agaue and one of the Spartoi , became king. He met a tragic end after falling foul of the young god Dionysus . Polydorus succeeded his nephew but only reigned for a short while. At his death, the kingdom was entrusted to his father in law, Nycteus , who acted as guardian for the young Labdacus, the son of Polydorus and Nycteis. During the regency of Nycteus, Thebes Cadmea made war against Epopeus , the king of Sicyon , who had abducted Nycteus daughter, Antiope mother of Amphion Antiope . However, an alternate account says that Antiope fled Thebes to evade her father s wrath, and sought refuge with King Epopeus after finding herself pregnant by the god Zeus . Nycteus and the Thebans were defeated, and Nycteus himself died of his battle wounds. He was succeeded as ruler of Thebes by his brother, Lycus . Labdacus eventually became king. Another war erupted, this time over a boundary dispute between Thebes and Athens once again, Thebes was defeated after King Pandion II of Athens received aid from the Thracians Thracian king Ter ... more details
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