Seven Against Thebes

Seven Against Thebes is a tragedy composed by Aeschylus and performed for the first time at the City Dionysia festival in 467 BCE. It was the final play of a connected trilogy based on the myths of Oedipus and his family, but the first two plays—Laius and Oedipus—are now lost, as is the satyr play Sphinx that would have been performed following the trilogy. This set of plays won first prize the year it was performed. Seven Against Thebes begins after the death of Oedipus and his mother-wife, Jocasta, and follows the bitter conflict between their sons, Eteocles and Polynices, as they fight over the throne of Thebes. The play explores the themes of The Horrors of War, The Hereditary Nature of Family Misfortune, and Human Agency Versus Divine Forces.

This study guide uses David Grene’s translation of the play from the third edition of the University of Chicago Press series The Complete Greek Tragedies (2013).

Content Warning: The source material of this study guide features references to murder, incest, and war.

Plot Summary

The play begins with a Prologue in which Eteocles, the king of Thebes, presses his people to defend their city from the invading army.