Cadmean

Cadmean is an English adjective derived from Cadmus, the legendary Phoenician prince credited with founding Thebes in Boeotia. In myth, Cadmus slays a dragon that guards a sacred spring, and after learning from Athena, he sows the dragon’s teeth which produce armed men called spartoi. Cadmus later becomes the founder and ancestor of the Theban royal line, and his story is a fixture of Greek myth and later classical literature. The term Cadmean therefore can be used to refer to things associated with Cadmus or with Theban myth and culture.

In scholarly and literary usage, Cadmean often appears in two related senses. First, as an attributive form meaning belonging to or derived from Cadmus or Thebes. Second, and more commonly, in the phrase Cadmean victory, which denotes a victory achieved at such a high cost that the win is effectively hollow or self-defeating. The concept is akin to a pyrrhic victory, emphasizing the costly nature of the results rather than the triumph itself. The phrase is used in classical criticism and later literary discussions to highlight outcomes where success is offset by losses or moral or practical damage.

Cadmean remains a relatively specialized term, most often encountered in classical studies, mythological discussions, and literary criticism. See also Cadmus, Thebes, Spartoi, and the broader motif of costly victories in literature.