Laius in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Laius

20 passages from 7 ancient authors that tell of Laius, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Laius or Laios was a king of the city of Thebes in Greek mythology, a hero and one of the key figures in the founding of Thebes. When his father Labda... For the story in one place, read our article on Laius.

Apollodorus (1)

Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 3.5.1–9Dionysus, Pentheus, Niobe and OedipusDionysus roams Egypt, Syria and Thrace, where Lycurgus is punished, and returns to Thebes, where Agave tears her son Pentheus apart; he also turns the Tyrrhenian pirates into dolphins. Cadmus and Harmonia go to the Encheleans and become serpents, and the house of Labdacus continues through Laius, Antiope with Zethus and Amphion, and Niobe, whose children are shot by Apollo and Artemis. Laius, warned against fathering a son, exposes the infant Oedipus, who kills him unknowingly, answers the Sphinx's riddle, marries Jocasta and learns the truth.

Pindar (1)

Pindar, Olympian Odes 2.1–100Olympian 2: for Theron — the house of Cadmus and the Isles of the BlestPindar praises Theron of Acragas, victor in the chariot race, and prays that time may heal the sorrows of his house. He recalls the house of Cadmus, with Laïus, Oedipus, the Fury that made his sons kill one another, and Polyneices' son Thersander. He then describes the afterlife, in which the wicked are punished and the good go to the Isles of the Blest, where Rhadamanthys judges and Peleus, Cadmus and Achilles dwell, and he ends by answering envy with the praise of Theron's generosity.

Aeschylus (2)

Aeschylus, Seven against Thebes 720–791Third stasimon: the curse on the house of LaiusThe Chorus sing of the old crime of Laius and of the curse of Oedipus, which has led his sons to divide their inheritance with the sword. They fear the Erinys, the spirit of the curse, and sing that the house may fall and that the city may be saved only at the cost of its kings.
Aeschylus, Seven against Thebes 792–874Fourth episode: the Messenger announces the deathsA Messenger tells the Chorus that the city is saved, since the attackers at six of the gates have been beaten, but that the two brothers have killed each other at the seventh gate, as their father's curse foretold. The Chorus, torn between joy and grief, sing a short lament for the dead princes and the fulfilment of the curse. They then see Antigone and Ismene coming to mourn their brothers.

Sophocles (10)

Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus 698–770Third episode: Iocasta and the death of LaiusIocasta asks Oedipus the reason for his anger, and he tells her that Creon, through the seer, accuses him of the blood of Laius. She tells him not to believe prophets, and says that Laius was told that he would be killed by his son, abandoned the infant to die, and was himself killed by robbers where three roads meet. Oedipus is struck by the place, asks about the time and about the appearance of Laius and his escort, and learns that one servant survived and was sent away to the pastures.
Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus 78–150Prologue (cont.): Creon brings the oracle of ApolloCreon returns with the answer of Apollo that the land is polluted and that the killers of the former king Laius must be banished or killed for their blood. Oedipus asks how Laius died, and is told that all his companions were killed except one who fled and reported that robbers attacked them. Oedipus promises to start afresh and to avenge Laius, since the killer might turn on him too, and the Priest leads the suppliants away.
Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus 771–862Third episode (cont.): Oedipus tells of Corinth and the crossroadsOedipus tells of his upbringing in Corinth as the son of Polybus and Merope, of the taunt that he was not their son, and of the oracle at Delphi which said that he would kill his father and marry his mother. He tells how he fled from Corinth, and how at the place where three roads meet he killed a man in a carriage and his attendants. He fears that he is the murderer, and hopes that the surviving servant will say that robbers, and not one man, killed Laius, and Iocasta sends for the servant.
Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus 513–582Second episode: Creon and OedipusCreon comes in indignation because he has heard that Oedipus accuses him of treason. Oedipus, who comes from the palace, charges him with plotting with Teiresias to seize the throne and says that he must die. Creon asks what the wrong is, and in questioning shows that Teiresias did not name Oedipus in Laius' time, and Oedipus answers that he is a false friend.
Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus 1076–1131Third stasimon; the herdsman is brought inOedipus says that he will find out his birth even if it is humble, while the Chorus sing in hope that Cithaeron will be shown to be the nurse of Oedipus and he the child of a god. The old servant of Laius is brought in, and Oedipus questions him about his service, which included tending flocks on Cithaeron, and asks whether he knows the Corinthian.
Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus 1132–1185Fifth episode: the herdsman's confessionThe Corinthian reminds the old servant of the time they spent together on Cithaeron and of the child that he gave him. The servant tries to keep silent, but under threat he says that the child was said to be the son of Laius, given to him by Iocasta to be destroyed, and that he gave it away out of pity. He tells Oedipus that if he is the child, he was born ill-fated, and Oedipus cries that all is now clear.
Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus 216–299First episode: Oedipus' proclamation and curseOedipus proclaims that anyone who knows who killed Laius must reveal it, and that the killer is to be shut out from every house and from every rite. He lays a curse on the killer and on anyone who shelters him, and on himself if he knowingly does so, and swears to search for the killer as if for his own father. The Chorus say that they do not know the killer and suggest that he consult the seer Teiresias, and they see him arriving.
Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus 863–910Second stasimon: the laws of heavenThe Chorus pray for purity in word and deed in obedience to the laws that were born in heaven, which no mortal nature gave. They say that pride breeds the tyrant, and that anyone who acts without fear of Justice will be struck down. They add that the old prophecies about Laius are fading and Apollo is not honoured, and that the worship of the gods is perishing.
Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus 999–1075Fourth episode (cont.): the messenger reveals that Oedipus was found as a childThe messenger tries to reassure Oedipus by telling him that Polybus and Merope were not his parents. He says that he himself received the child from another shepherd, a servant of Laius, on Mount Cithaeron and freed him when his ankles were pinned together. Iocasta, who sees the truth, begs Oedipus to stop asking and runs into the palace, and Oedipus says that he must know who he is.
Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus 1186–1296Fourth stasimon; the Second Messenger reports the blindingThe Chorus sing that the life of mortals is a shadow, with Oedipus as the example, who rose to the heights and has fallen. A second messenger comes from the palace and tells that Iocasta has hanged herself, and that Oedipus, finding her body, took the golden brooches from her dress and struck them again and again into his own eyes. He adds that Oedipus asks for the gates to be opened and for himself to be banished.

Euripides (3)

Euripides, Phoenician Women 1–87Prologue: Jocasta tells the story of the house of OedipusJocasta tells how Laius ignored the oracle and begot Oedipus, who killed his father at the crossroads and married her after solving the Sphinx's riddle. She says that Oedipus blinded himself when he learned the truth, and that his sons shut him in the palace and he curses them. Eteocles refused to give up the throne after a year, and Polyneices has come with an Argive army, but she has arranged a meeting under truce.
Euripides, Phoenician Women 834–895Fourth episode: Teiresias arrives and hints at a hidden remedyTeiresias comes, led by his daughter, and Creon helps him to a seat. He tells how he has just given the Athenians victory over Eumolpus. He says that the troubles of Thebes began with Laius, and hints that there is one way to save the city, but says that he will not tell it.
Euripides, Phoenician Women 1584–1638Exodos: Creon banishes Oedipus and forbids burial of PolyneicesCreon tells Oedipus that Eteocles made him ruler and that Teiresias has said that Oedipus must leave. Oedipus laments his fate and says that he will not beg. Creon orders that Polyneices be cast out unburied, on pain of death for anyone who buries him.

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 (2)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 9.5.1–16Thebes: Cadmus, Amphion and Zethus, Oedipus and the early kingsPausanias gives the early history of Thebes: the Ectenians under Ogygus, then Hyantians and Aonians, then Cadmus, who founded the Cadmea, and the Sparti. He traces the line of Polydorus, Labdacus and Laius, and Amphion and Zethus, who added the lower city. He argues from Homer that Oedipus' children were by Euryganea and not Jocasta, and ends with Polynices and Eteocles, the second expedition of the Argives and the later kings.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 9.26.1–8The Cabirian plain, the Sphinx's mountain, Onchestus and Thespiae: Saviour ZeusPausanias describes the plain of Tenerus and the sanctuary of Hercules the Horse-binder near the Cabirian sanctuary, and the mountain of the Sphinx with three different accounts of who she was. He passes the ruins of Onchestus with its temple of Poseidon and comes to Thespiae, telling how Menestratus saved the city from a dragon by wearing a breast-plate studded with fish-hooks, which gave Zeus the surname Saviour.