Brother of Jocasta and ruler of Thebes after Oedipus. His order to leave Polynices unburied brought ruin on his own family.
From Thebes. Today: Thiva, Greece.
Strength 5/10 · Wisdom 6/10 · Courage 5/10 · Divinity 1/10 · Fame 6/10
The story
Brother of Jocasta, who ruled Thebes more than once: after Laius died, and again after Oedipus‘s sons killed each other. He was sure that obeying the city’s laws came before everything else.
How it ends
His order to leave Polynices unburied, and his punishment of Antigone, led to the deaths of his son Haemon and his wife, leaving him broken.
Still with us today
He is one of the great examples in drama of a leader destroyed by his own rigid decisions.
Family
- Children: Megara
Appears in
Read about them in the Library
Ancient sources
- Sophocles (tragedies)