Labdacus Explained

In Greek mythology, Labdacus (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Λάβδακος, Lábdakos) 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.

Mythology

Polydorus died while Labdacus was a young child, leaving Nycteus as his regent, although Lycus soon replaced him in that office.^[1] When Labdacus had grown, he ruled Thebes for a short time. 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.

References

• 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. . Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
• Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.

Notes and References

1. [Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]
2. Tripp, Edward. Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology. New York: Thomas Crowell Company, 1970, p. 335.
3. Bibliotheca 3.5.5.