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Labdacus

Mythological king of Thebes

In Greek mythology, Labdacus /ˈlæbdəkəs/ was the only son of Polydorus and a king of Thebes. Labdacus was a grandson of Thebes' founder, Cadmus. His mother was Nycteïs, daughter of Nycteus.

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Mythology

Polydorus died while Labdacus was a child, leaving Nycteus as his regent, although Lycus soon replaced him in that office.¹ When Labdacus had grown, he briefly ruled Thebes. He died while he was still young, after he lost a war with the king of Athens, Pandion, over their borders.² Apollodorus writes that he, like his cousin Pentheus, was ripped apart by women in a bacchic frenzy for disrespect to the god Dionysus.³ Lycus became regent once more after his death, this time for Labdacus' son, Laius. His descendants were called the Labdacids, and included his son Laius, who fathered Oedipus; Oedipus' children were Polynices, Eteocles, Antigone, and Ismene.

Family tree of Theban Royal House

Royal house of Thebes family tree

Solid lines indicate descendants.
Dashed lines indicate marriages.
Dotted lines indicate extra-marital relationships or adoptions.
Kings of Thebes are numbered with bold names and a light purple background.
- Joint rules are indicated by a number and lowercase letter, for example, 5a. Amphion shared the throne with 5b. Zethus.
Regents of Thebes are alphanumbered (format AN) with bold names and a light red background.
- The number N refers to the regency preceding the reign of the Nth king. Generally this means the regent served the Nth king but not always, as Creon (A9) was serving as regent to Laodamas (the 10th King) when he was slain by Lycus II (the usurping 9th king).
- The letter A refers to the regency sequence. "A" is the first regent, "B" is the second, etc.
Deities have a yellow background color.

Harmonia

1.Cadmus

Polyxo

A4.Nycteus (Regent)

Dirce

B4 & A6.Lycus (Regent)

Nycteis

4.Labdacus

5a.Amphion

5b.Zethus

Menoeceus

Eurydice

A7, A8 & A9.Creon (Regent)

6.Laius

Hipponome

7.Oedipus

8b.Eteocles

8a.Polynices

Pyrrha

Lycomedes

Ismene

9.Lycus II

A12.Peneleos (Regent)

10.Laodamas

Demonassa

11.Thersander

Opheltes

12.Tisamenus

14.Damasichthon

13.Autesion

15.Ptolemy

16.Xanthos

Notes

Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
Pausanias, Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. ISBN 0-674-99328-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.

References

Pausanias, Description of Greece, 9.5.4. /wiki/Pausanias_(geographer) ↩
Tripp, Edward. Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology. New York: Thomas Crowell Company, 1970, p. 335. ↩
Bibliotheca 3.5.5. /wiki/Bibliotheca_(Pseudo-Apollodorus) ↩