Cadmus
Sign in to saveIn Greek mythology, Cadmus (; ) was the legendary Phoenician founder of Boeotian Thebes. He was, alongside Perseus and Bellerophon, the greatest hero and slayer of monsters before the days of Heracles. Commonly stated to be a prince of Phoenicia, the son of king Agenor and queen Telephassa of Tyre, the brother of Phoenix, Cilix and Europa, Cadmus traced his origins back to Poseidon and Libya.
AI overview
Cadmus was a legendary Phoenician hero in Greek mythology who founded the city of Thebes and was renowned for slaying monsters before the age of Heracles. He matters in classical mythology as one of the greatest heroes of his era, alongside Perseus and Bellerophon, and as a figure whose lineage connected the Phoenician world to Greek civilization through divine ancestry.
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Key facts
- Deity.deity_of
- Slayer of the DragonFounder and King of Thebes
- Deity.type
- Greek
- Deity.name
- Cadmus
- Deity.image
- Kadmos dragon Louvre N3157.jpg
- Deity.alt
- Cadmus
- Deity.caption
- 4th century BC painting of Cadmus slaying the dragon, from the Louvre in Paris, France
- Deity.abode
- Elysium, Thebes
- Deity.consort
- Harmonia
- Deity.parents
- Agenor and Telephassa
- Deity.siblings
- Europa, Cilix, Phoenix
- Deity.children
- Illyrius, Polydorus, Autonoë, Ino, Agave, Semele
- Deity.birth_place
- Tyre, Phoenicia
Article
20 sectionsContents
- Overview
- Etymology
- Wanderings
- Travel to Samothrace
- Founder of Thebes
- Genealogy
- Offspring
- Samothracian connection
- Modern scholarship
- Origins of Cadmus and his myth
- Hittite records controversy
- Legacy
- See also
- Notes
- Citations
- General and cited references
- Primary sources
- Secondary sources
- Further reading
- External links
In Greek mythology, Cadmus (; ) was the legendary Phoenician founder of Boeotian Thebes. He was, alongside Perseus and Bellerophon, the greatest hero and slayer of monsters before the days of Heracles. Commonly stated to be a prince of Phoenicia, the son of king Agenor and queen Telephassa of Tyre, the brother of Phoenix, Cilix and Europa, Cadmus traced his origins back to Poseidon and Libya.
Originally, he was sent by his royal parents to seek out and escort his sister Europa back to Tyre after she was abducted from the shores of Phoenicia by Zeus. In early accounts, Cadmus and Europa were instead the children of Phoenix. Cadmus founded or refounded the Greek city of Thebes, the acropolis of which was originally named Cadmeia in his honour.
Gallery (19)
Connections
Categories
AgenoridesDeeds of AresDeeds of AthenaDeeds of ZeusDragonslayersFounding monarchs in EuropeGreek mythological heroesKings in Greek mythologyMetamorphoses charactersMetamorphoses into animals in Greek mythologyMythological city foundersPhoenician characters in Greek mythologyPrinces in Greek mythology