InGreek mythology, theEpigoni orEpigonoi (/ɪˈpɪɡənaɪ/; fromAncient Greek:Ἐπίγονοι, meaning "offspring") are the sons of theArgive heroes, theSeven against Thebes, who had fought and been killed in the first Theban war, the subject of theThebaid, in whichPolynices and his allies attackedThebes because Polynices' brother,Eteocles, refused to give up the throne as promised. The second Theban war, also called the war of the Epigoni, occurred ten years later, when the Epigoni, wishing to avenge the death of their fathers, attacked Thebes.
According to the mythographerApollodorus, they were:[1]
To this list, the geographerPausanias also adds:[2]
Hyginus also makes note of:[3]
| Epigoni | Father among Seven | Sources | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Against Thebes | Apollodorus | Pausanias | Hyginus | |
| Aegialeus | Adrastus | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Alcmaeon | Amphiaraus | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Amphilochus | Amphiaraus | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Diomedes | Tydeus | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Euryalus | Mecisteus | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Promachus | Parthenopaeus | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Sthenelus | Capaneus | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Thersander | Polynices | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Polydorus | Hippomedon | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Adrastus | Polynices | ✓ | ||
| Timeas | Polynices | ✓ | ||
| Biantes | ✓ | |||
| Tlesimenes | ✓ | |||
Both Apollodorus and Pausanias tell the story of the war of the Epigoni, although their accounts differ in several respects. According to Apollodorus, theDelphic oracle had promised victory if Alcmaeon was chosen their leader, and so he was.[4] Aegialeus was killed byLaodamas, son of Eteocles, but Alcmaeon killed Laodamas.[5] The Thebans were defeated and, by the counsel of the seerTeiresias, fled their city. However, Pausanias says that Thersander was their leader,[6] that Laodamas fled Thebes with the rest of the Thebans,[7] and that Thersander became king of Thebes.[8]
Epigoni was an early Greek epic on this subject;[9] it formed a sequel to theThebaid and therefore was grouped by Alexandrian critics in theTheban cycle. Some counted it not as a separate poem but as the last part of theThebaid. Only the first line is now known:
Epigoni was a lostGreek tragedy bySophocles. A few lines from this text have long been known because they were quoted in commentaries and lexica by ancient scholars. An additional fragment of several lines was discovered in 2005.[10]
There were statues of the Epigoni atArgos[11] andDelphi.[12]