Capaneus in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Capaneus

14 passages from 6 ancient authors that tell of Capaneus, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Capaneus was a mortal with considerable strength, son of Hipponous and Astynome. He was married to Ianeira, with whom he had a son, Sthenelus. The my... For the story in one place, read our article on Capaneus.

Homer (2)

Homer, Iliad 4.327–421Agamemnon rebukes Odysseus and DiomedesAgamemnon chides Menestheus and Odysseus for standing back, and Odysseus answers sharply, so that Agamemnon takes back his words. He then finds Diomedes by his horses and tells him that his father Tydeus was a better fighter. Diomedes is silent, but Sthenelus answers that they are better men than their fathers because they took Thebes.
Homer, Iliad 5.95–165Pandarus wounds Diomedes; Athena's giftPandarus, son of Lycaon, wounds Diomedes in the right shoulder with an arrow, and Sthenelus draws it out. Diomedes prays to Athena, who gives him strength and lifts the mist from his eyes so that he can tell gods from men, telling him to fight no god except Aphrodite. He kills Astynous, Hypeiron, Abas, Polyidus, Xanthus and Thoon, and Echemmon and Chromius, falling on the Trojans like a lion among sheep.

Apollodorus (2)

Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 3.6.1–8The Seven against ThebesEteocles and Polynices quarrel over the throne of Thebes, and Polynices gathers an Argive army under Adrastus. Amphiaraus foresees disaster but is compelled to join by Eriphyle, who has accepted the necklace of Harmonia. At Nemea the infant Opheltes is killed by a serpent and the Nemean games are founded; at Thebes Menoeceus sacrifices himself on Tiresias's word, Capaneus is struck by lightning, and Eteocles and Polynices kill each other. Tydeus loses Athena's gift by eating Melanippus's brain, Amphiaraus is swallowed by the earth, and only Adrastus escapes.
Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 3.7.1–7Creon, Antigone, the Epigoni and AlcmaeonCreon takes the kingdom and forbids the burial of the Argive dead; Antigone buries Polynices and is entombed alive, and Theseus's Athenians recover the dead for Adrastus. Ten years later the sons of the fallen, the Epigoni, take Thebes under Alcmaeon, and the Thebans flee after Tiresias's death. Alcmaeon kills his mother Eriphyle, is driven mad, marries Arsinoe and Callirrhoe, and is killed over Harmonia's necklace and robe; his sons by Callirrhoe avenge him and colonize Acarnania.

Aeschylus (1)

Aeschylus, Seven against Thebes 369–456Second episode: Tydeus and Capaneus at the first two gatesThe Scout comes back and reports where the seven chieftains stand. Tydeus is storming the Proetid gates and rages at the seer for holding him back. Eteocles sets Melanippus against him, and then, after the Chorus prays, he answers the Scout's report of Capaneus, a giant who has boasted that even Zeus cannot keep him out of the city, by posting Polyphontes against him and trusting in the thunderbolt of Zeus.

Euripides (7)

Euripides, Suppliants 1009–1071Exodos: Evadne leaps onto the pyre of CapaneusEvadne says that she is on the rock that overlooks the pyre and will leap into the fire to be with Capaneus. Her father Iphis arrives, an aged man, grieving for his son Eteocles, and asks where his daughter is; she tells him from the rock that she means to die, and that he cannot stop her, and she leaps.
Euripides, Suppliants 955–1008Third choral song; Evadne appears above the pyreThe Chorus laments that it is no longer a happy mother, and recalls the memorials of its dead sons in its house. It sees the sepulchre prepared for Capaneus, and Evadne, his wife, standing on a rock above the pyre. Evadne, in a state of rapture, says that she has come to share her husband's fate.
Euripides, Phoenician Women 1067–1201Fifth episode: a Messenger describes the seven gates and the Argive assaultA Messenger tells Jocasta that both sons are still alive and that the city is safe. He tells how Menoeceus died on the turret and how Eteocles posted seven companies at the gates. He describes the Argive leaders, the shield devices and the first assault, and how Capaneus was struck by a thunderbolt as he climbed the wall.
Euripides, Suppliants 634–730Messenger speech: Theseus defeats the ThebansA Messenger, servant of Capaneus, who escaped captivity, tells the Chorus that Theseus has won a victory and that the Athenians are safe. He describes how, from a tower at Electra's gate, he watched the armies draw up, and how the herald of Theseus called on the Thebans to be still, and Creon would not let his herald answer, so that the chariots charged and the battle was joined, and Theseus drove the Thebans back to their walls.
Euripides, Suppliants 837–917Fourth episode: Adrastus praises the seven fallen chiefsTheseus says that he had meant to ask Adrastus about the battle, but that he can leave it, and asks him to tell him the character of each of the fallen. Adrastus describes them one by one, among them Capaneus struck by Zeus' bolt, Eteocles, Parthenopaeus, the son of Atalanta, and Tydeus, and says that they should be a model for the young.
Euripides, Suppliants 918–954Fourth episode: Theseus arranges the burialThe Chorus laments for the sons that they bore. Theseus says that the gods took Amphiaraus living, chariot and all, into the earth, and he will bury Capaneus apart as a consecrated corpse. He tells the mothers that they must not touch their sons' bodies, which are too marred to be seen, and that their bones will be given to them after the burning.
Euripides, Phoenician Women 145–201Prologue: Antigone sees Parthenopaeus, Amphiaraus and CapaneusAntigone asks about Parthenopaeus, spots Polyneices beside Adrastus, and sees the prophet Amphiaraus in his chariot. The old servant points out Capaneus, who is measuring the walls for an assault, and Antigone prays against his boasts. The old man sends her back inside before the women arrive.

Diodorus Siculus (1)

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 4.64.1–4.66.6Oedipus, the Seven against Thebes and the EpigoniLaïus is killed by his unknown son Oedipus, who solves the riddle of the Sphinx and, unknowingly marrying his mother, has two sons and two daughters; the sons quarrel over the throne. Polyneices gathers an army against Thebes and Eriphyle, bribed with the necklace of Harmonia, sends Amphiaraüs to his death; the Seven fail, and the Athenians force the Thebans to give up the dead. At the seer Teiresias' advice the Thebans leave the city for Tilphossaeum, and the Epigoni take and sack it, dedicating Teiresias' daughter Daphne to Delphi, where she is also called Sibylla.

Pausanias (1)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 9.8.1–7Thebes: Potniae, the seven gates and CapaneusPausanias describes the ruins of Potniae, with a grove of Demeter and the Maid where sucking pigs are thrown into the megara, and the temple of Dionysus the Goat-shooter, whose rite replaced a human sacrifice with a goat. He notes the enclosure where the earth is said to have swallowed Amphiaraus. He lists the seven gates of Thebes, named Electran, Proetidian, Neistan, Crenaean, Hypsistan, Ogygian and Homoloidian, with the stories of their names, and the place where Capaneus was struck by lightning at the Electran gate.