Polyneices

Polyneices, also spelled Polynices, is a figure in Greek mythology, the son of Oedipus and Jocasta and the brother of Eteocles. After Oedipus’s exile from Thebes, the two brothers agreed to rule the city in alternating years. When Eteocles refused to cede the throne after his year, Polyneices left Thebes and sought support from outside allies, including Argos, to reclaim the throne. He led an army against Thebes, and the ensuing war ended with the deaths of both brothers in single combat at the Theban walls.

In the aftermath, Creon, their uncle, became ruler of Thebes and decreed that Polyneices’ body should not be buried. This edict figures prominently in Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone, where Polyneices’ sister defies the command to perform burial rites, triggering a series of personal and political calamities. In Aeschylus’ Seven Against Thebes, Polyneices is depicted as the commander of the Theban assault and the aggressor who brings war to his homeland.

Scholars describe Polyneices’ actions in varying terms: some traditions present him as a rightful claimant to the throne resisting usurpation, while others judge him a traitor who attacked Thebes from without. The story of Polyneices is intertwined with the cursed house of Oedipus and the downfall of Thebes, and it remains a central element of the Theban narrative in ancient Greek tragedy.