Theban

Theban is an adjective and a demonym derived from Thebes, the name of several ancient cities. Most commonly it refers to Thebes in Boeotia, Greece, or Thebes (Waset) in Upper Egypt. As a noun, Theban can denote a resident of either city, or, in historical contexts, a member of the Theban political or cultural milieu.

In Boeotia, Thebes was a major city-state in classical Greece. The Thebans played a prominent role in politics, theatre, and military affairs. The city competed with Athens and Sparta, and in the 4th century BCE produced Epaminondas and Pelopidas, who reshaped the region through the Boeotian League and the battles of Leuctra. The Theban mythic tradition centers on Oedipus and the city’s legendary dynastic line; Sophocles’ Theban plays are among the best-known works of ancient Greek drama.

In ancient Egypt, Thebes was a major religious and political capital during the Middle and New Kingdoms, located along the Nile opposite Luxor. Known to Egyptians as Waset, it housed the temples of Karnak and Luxor and was a center of the cult of Amun. Theban tombs in the Valley of the Kings were built for rulers of the 18th–20th Dynasties. Thebes was a key political and religious center, and its monuments remain major sources for pharaonic art and religion.

Theban alphabet, also called the Witches’ Alphabet, is a writing system that emerged in early modern Europe and is widely used in occult and magical contexts. Its exact origins are unclear, and it is not believed to be a direct descendant of ancient Theban scripts. It is commonly employed to encipher inscriptions in grimoires and neo-pagan practice rather than as a historical script associated with the ancient Thebes.