Teiresias in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Teiresias

46 passages from 13 ancient authors that tell of Teiresias, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Teiresias was the blind prophet of Thebes in Greek mythology, famous for his prophecies to Oedipus, Creon, and Odysseus in the Underworld. For the story in one place, read our article on Teiresias.

Hesiod (1)

Hesiod, Fragments 4.1–8MelampodiaThe Melampodia, a poem about seers, is quoted for the contest of Calchas and Mopsus, in which Calchas fails to count the figs on a wild fig-tree. Other fragments cover Teiresias, who was blinded by Hera and made a seer by Zeus, and the death of Amphilochus at Soli.

Homer (6)

Homer, Odyssey 10.466–574Circe's instructions; the death of ElpenorAfter a year the men urge Odysseus to think of home, and Circe tells him that before he goes he must visit the house of Hades and consult the ghost of Teiresias. She tells him how to make the offerings and where to land. Odysseus rouses his men, but the youngest, Elpenor, who had gone to sleep on the roof, falls from it and breaks his neck. The men weep at the news of the journey they must make, and Circe passes unseen to leave a ram and a black ewe by the ship.
Homer, Odyssey 11.1–89The voyage to the land of the deadThey launch the ship, put the sheep aboard, and sail from Circe's island to the edge of the world, where the Cimmerians dwell in mist and darkness. Odysseus digs a pit, pours libations to the dead and cuts the throats of the sheep so that their blood flows into it. The ghosts come up, and he draws his sword and keeps them from the blood. Elpenor's ghost, first of all, begs for burial, and Odysseus sees his own mother among the ghosts but will not let her near the blood before he has questioned Teiresias.
Homer, Odyssey 11.90–149Teiresias prophesiesThe ghost of Teiresias comes, drinks the blood, and tells Odysseus that Poseidon is angry with him for the Cyclops, but that he may still reach home if his men leave the cattle of the Sun alone. He foretells trouble in his house, the death of the suitors, a last journey inland with an oar until he comes to men who do not know the sea, and a gentle death in old age. He then tells Odysseus how to let the other ghosts speak.
Homer, Odyssey 12.260–328The cattle of the SunHaving escaped the rocks, Charybdis and Scylla, they come to the island of the Sun. From the ship Odysseus hears the cattle and the sheep, and recalls the warnings of Teiresias and Circe, and wants to sail past the island. Eurylochus objects, and the men land and swear not to touch the herds, but a south wind blows for a month, and their stores give out.
Homer, Odyssey 23.163–287Penelope's test of the bedOdysseus sits down again opposite Penelope and says that her heart must be of iron. Penelope, as a test, tells Eurycleia to move the bed out of their bridal chamber, and Odysseus angrily asks who has moved it, since it was built round an olive trunk. At these words Penelope's knees and heart are loosened, and she runs to him, throws her arms round his neck, and kisses him. Odysseus tells her that the prophecy of Teiresias still requires one more journey, inland, and Penelope says that the gods may bring a happier old age.
Homer, Odyssey 11.150–224AnticleaThe ghost of Odysseus' mother Anticlea comes up and drinks the blood, and knows him. She tells him that Penelope still weeps in the house, that Telemachus holds the estates, and that his father Laertes lives in the country, grieving. She herself died of longing for him, and Odysseus three times tries to embrace her and she slips through his hands like a shadow.

Apollodorus (3)

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.
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 E.7.1–40The wanderings of Odysseus, the suitors and his deathOdysseus leaves Troy and meets the Cicones, the Lotus-eaters and Polyphemus the Cyclops, then Aeolus, the Laestrygonians and Circe. After the visit to Hades, the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis and the cattle of the Sun, he reaches Calypso and then the Phaeacians and Ithaca, where the suitors are named and killed. The section ends with his later life among the Thesprotians and the variant accounts of his death at the hands of Telegonus, and of Penelope's fate.

Pindar (2)

Pindar, Nemean Odes 1.1–72Nemean 1: for Chromius — Ortygia and the infant HeraclesPindar greets Ortygia, the cradle of Syracuse, and praises Chromius of Aetna, victor with the chariot, for his wealth and hospitality, recalling Zeus' gift of Sicily to Persephone. He tells how the infant Heracles strangled the two serpents sent by Hera, while Amphitryon and the Cadmeans hastened in, and how Teiresias foretold his labours against monsters and giants and his marriage to Hebe.
Pindar, Isthmian Odes 7.1–51Isthmian 7: for Strepsiades — the glories of ThebesPindar asks Thebe which of her ancient glories pleased her most: the birth of Dionysus, the begetting of Heracles, the counsels of Teiresias, the horseman Iolaüs, the dragon-brood, the return of Adrastus to Argos, or the colony of the Aegeidae at Amyclae. He says that old glory sleeps unless it is sung, and praises Strepsiades of Thebes, victor in the pancratium, and his uncle who died in the van of the Theban army. He ends with a prayer to Apollo for a crown from Pytho.

Sophocles (6)

Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus 300–403First episode (cont.): Oedipus and Teiresias quarrelOedipus asks the blind seer Teiresias to help the city, and Teiresias answers that knowledge is terrible when it does not help the one who has it, and tries to go home without speaking. Oedipus presses him and accuses him of having had a part in the murder, and Teiresias answers that Oedipus himself is the unholy defiler of the land and lives in unknown shame with his closest kin. Oedipus then suspects that Creon has put the seer up to this to seize his throne.
Sophocles, Antigone 1033–1114Fourth episode (cont.): Creon yieldsCreon accuses Teiresias of taking a bribe, and the seer answers with a prophecy that Creon will soon lose a child of his own body, and leaves. The Chorus remind Creon that the seer has never been wrong, and Creon, shaken, asks what to do and agrees to free Antigone and bury Polyneices.
Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus 404–462First episode (cont.): Teiresias foretells Oedipus' fateThe Chorus urge both to calm down, and Teiresias answers that Oedipus does not know his parents or where he lives, and that the curse of both his parents will drive him from the land, blind where he now sees. When Oedipus tells him to go, Teiresias says that the murderer is here, a native of Thebes, who will be found to be brother and father of his own children, and son and husband of his own mother, and leaves.
Sophocles, Antigone 988–1032Fourth episode: Teiresias warns CreonThe blind seer Teiresias, led by a boy, tells Creon that the city is sick because of his decision: the altars are polluted by the flesh of the unburied Polyneices, which the dogs and birds have carried there, and the gods no longer accept sacrifice. He urges Creon to relent and bury the dead.
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 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.

Euripides (8)

Euripides, Phoenician Women 896–961Fourth episode: Teiresias demands the sacrifice of MenoeceusCreon asks Teiresias to speak, and the prophet says that Menoeceus must be sacrificed above the dragon's cave beside the springs of Dirce, to atone for the dragon's death. He says that Menoeceus is the only Sown descendant who is unmarried. Teiresias leaves, and Creon is struck silent.
Euripides, Bacchae 170–214First episode: Teiresias and Kadmos prepare to join the revelsThe blind Teiresias calls Kadmos from the house, and the two old men agree to go to the mountain in Bacchic dress, with thyrsos and ivy. They feel young again, and Teiresias says that mortals' clever arguments cannot overturn ancestral tradition. Kadmos sees Pentheus hurrying toward them.
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 748–783Third episode: Eteocles posts the seven captains and forbids burial of PolyneicesEteocles agrees to set captains at the gates, and renews the betrothal of Antigone to Haemon. He asks Creon to send Menoeceus for Teiresias. He orders that Polyneices must be left unburied if he wins, and prays to Caution.
Euripides, Bacchae 215–265First episode: Pentheus rages against the new godPentheus returns and says that he has heard that the women have left their homes for Bacchic rites in the mountains. He says that he has already imprisoned some of them, and that he will hunt down the rest and the Lydian stranger who leads them. Seeing Teiresias and Kadmos dressed as Bacchants, he rebukes them, and the Chorus Leader condemns his impiety.
Euripides, Bacchae 266–342First episode: Teiresias and Kadmos defend DionysusTeiresias argues that Dionysus is a great god who gave men the drink of the grape as Demeter gave them bread, and that he also gives prophecy and war-panic. He urges Pentheus to receive the god. Kadmos begs his grandson to honor Dionysus, even if only so that Semele may seem to have borne a god, and recalls the fate of Actaeon.
Euripides, Bacchae 343–432First episode: Pentheus orders the stranger seized; first choral odePentheus tells Teiresias to hold his revels but not infect him, and orders his men to overturn the old man's seat of augury and to hunt down the stranger, bound, for stoning. Teiresias warns him and goes off with Kadmos to entreat the god. The Chorus sings to Holiness about Pentheus' insolence, longs for Cyprus and Pieria, and praises the quiet life of the man who honors Dionysus.
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.

Callimachus (1)

Callimachus, Hymns 5.1–142Hymn to Athena: the Bath of Pallas and TeiresiasThe women of Argos are summoned to the Bath of Pallas and told to bring no perfume or mirror, only plain olive oil, as Athena herself used. The poet tells how Teiresias, son of Everes, unwittingly saw Athena bathing with his mother Chariclo at the Fountain of the Horse on Helicon and was blinded. Athena tells Chariclo that this is the law of Cronus, foretells the fate of Actaeon, and promises to make Teiresias a seer who knows the birds, has a staff to guide him and keeps his understanding among the dead. The hymn closes with greetings as the goddess arrives and a prayer for Argos.

Theocritus (1)

Theocritus, Idylls 24.1–140Idyll 24: The infant HeraclesAlcmena lulls Heracles and Iphicles to sleep, but at midnight two snakes sent by Hera crawl into the room. Alcmena wakes and calls Amphitryon, who hurries in with armed servants and finds the child Heracles clutching both snakes. Tiresias is called and foretells the labours of Heracles, and the poem ends with the boy's upbringing and training.

Diodorus Siculus (2)

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.
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 4.67.1–4.70.4Aeolus and Boeotus, Salmoneus and Neleus, the Lapiths and CentaursAfter the Epigoni return home, Teiresias dies at Tilphossaeum and the Cadmeans leave it, and the historian gives the story of Arne, Aeolus and Boeotus. He then follows Salmoneus, Tyro and their descendants as far as Nestor, and turns to the Lapiths and Centaurs: the sons of Peneius, Ixion's crime against Eïoneus, and the origin of the Centaurs.

Ovid (2)

Ovid, Metamorphoses 3.316–399Teiresias and EchoZeus (Jupiter, 'Jove' in More's translation) and Hera (Juno) quarrel over whether men or women have more pleasure in love, and Teiresias (Tiresias), who has been both, is asked to judge. He says women, and Hera strikes him blind, and Zeus gives him the gift of prophecy; he tells the nymph Liriope that her son Narcissus will live only if he never knows himself. The nymph Echo, who once used her chatter to keep Hera from catching Zeus' mistresses, is punished by being able only to repeat the last words of others, and she falls in love with Narcissus, who rejects her and every other lover.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 3.511–583Pentheus and DionysusThe blind prophet Teiresias (Tiresias) tells Pentheus, the king of Thebes, to worship the new god Dionysus (Bacchus), and Pentheus scorns him. Pentheus orders his guards to arrest the stranger who has come to Thebes with the rites of the god, and the guards bring in a prisoner, one of the god's followers, who begins to tell his story.

Pausanias (6)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 9.33.1–7Haliartus, Tilphusa and Alalcomenae: Tiresias' grave and the temple of AthenaPausanias describes Haliartus with the shrine of Cecrops, and the spring Tilphusa where Tiresias died and was buried. He notes the open-air sanctuary of the Praxidicae, the roofless temples without images, and the river Lophis, named after the son who was sacrificed to bring water. At Alalcomenae he describes the temple of Athena, whose ancient ivory image Sulla carried off, and the little torrent called the Triton.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 9.18.1–6Thebes: the road to Chalcis, the tombs of Melanippus, Tydeus, Oedipus' children, Tiresias and HectorPausanias follows the road from Thebes to Chalcis by the Proetidian gate, noting the grave of Melanippus and three unwrought stones said to mark Tydeus. He describes the tombs of the children of Oedipus, where the flame and smoke of the sacrifices are said to divide, and the cenotaph of Tiresias. At Thebes he also notes the grave of Hector, whose bones were brought from Ilium by an oracle, the fountain of Oedipus and the grave of Asphodicus.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 10.29.1–10Delphi: Polygnotus' painting of the underworld (2): Indolence, Ariadne, Phaedra, Theseus and PirithousPausanias continues the underworld painting with the comrades of Ulysses bringing black rams, the figure of Indolence plaiting a rope eaten by a she-ass, and Tityus. He describes Ariadne and Phaedra, with the account of Dionysus and the bridge at Zeugma, then Chloris, Thyia, Procris, Clymene, Megara and Eriphyle. Near them are Elpenor, Ulysses at the trench with Tiresias and Anticlea, and Theseus and Pirithous seated with their swords.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 7.3.1–10Ionia: Colophon, Clarus, Teos, Erythrae, Clazomenae and PhocaeaPausanias gives the early history of several Ionian cities. At Colophon, the sanctuary of Clarus is linked to the Cretan Rhacius and to Manto, daughter of Tiresias, and her son Mopsus. He tells of Lebedus, destroyed by Lysimachus to enlarge Ephesus, of Teos with its Minyan, Attic and Boeotian settlers, and of Erythrae, which had Cretan, Lycian, Carian and Pamphylian inhabitants. He then covers the founding of Clazomenae and of Phocaea, whose settlers had to obtain kings of the race of Codrus before the Ionians would admit them.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 9.16.1–7Thebes: temples of Ammon, Fortune, Aphrodite and Dionysus, and the tombs of Amphion's childrenPausanias describes the temple of Ammon at Thebes with its image dedicated by Pindar, the observatory of Tiresias and the sanctuary of Fortune carrying the child Wealth. He lists the ancient wooden images of Aphrodite, with the three surnames Harmonia gave her, the sanctuary of Lawgiver Demeter and the theatre with the temple of Dionysus the Deliverer. He mentions the house of Lycus, Semele's tomb and the tombs of the children of Amphion.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 10.28.1–8Delphi: Polygnotus' painting of the underworld (1): Acheron, Charon and the punishedPausanias describes the left-hand painting in the Lesche, showing Ulysses in hell consulting Tiresias, with the river Acheron, Charon's boat and its passengers Tellis and Cleoboea. He describes the man throttled by his father, with the tale of the pious folk of Catana who carried their parents away from the lava, and the punished sacrilegious man. He then describes the demon Eurynomus, said by the Delphians to eat corpses, and Auge and Iphimedea.

Nonnus of Panopolis (6)

Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 45.0–95Book 45: Agaue runs to the mountain; Pentheus rebukes TeiresiasAutonoe and Agaue, maddened by Dionysos, rush to the hills to join the Bacchic dance, and Agaue swears she will defy Pentheus. The hills ring with the revels of Thebes' women. Pentheus meets the garlanded Teiresias and angrily accuses him of lying oracles and taking Lydian gold, arguing that Dionysos, with his horns and fawnskin, cannot be a son of Zeus.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 20.289–404Book 20: Dionysos flees into the sea; Nereus consoles him; Zeus rebukes LycurgosDionysos, deceived, goes unarmed to the palace of Lycurgos, who scorns him, beats the Bacchants with his poleaxe and drives them into the hills. Terrified by Hera's thunder, Dionysos flees into the Erythraian sea, where Thetis and Nereus receive and console him. Lycurgos rages at the water and calls for fishermen to haul the god out, and Zeus rebukes him from the sky, recalling how Teiresias was blinded for seeing Athena.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 44.80–183Book 44: Teiresias' sacrifice, the snakes of Cadmos, and Pentheus' defianceTeiresias tells Agaue to sacrifice to avert the dream, while privately knowing what it means. At the altar a serpent winds harmlessly about Cadmos and another about Harmonia, foretelling their transformation into stone snakes. All Thebes takes up the Bacchic dance, and Pentheus rages, vowing to kill Dionysos and denying that a mortal can be a god.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 46.0–96Book 46: Pentheus questions Dionysos and is persuaded to dress as a womanPentheus, learning that the prisoners escaped, confronts Dionysos, scoffing at his claim to be a son of Zeus and mocking Semele's fate. Dionysos, calm, answers with warnings and advises Pentheus to put off his armour and disguise himself in women's clothes so that he may watch the mysteries unseen.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 45.96–168Book 45: Teiresias tells the story of the Tyrsenian piratesTeiresias answers that Dionysos is the son of Zeus and warns Pentheus against impiety. He tells how Tyrsenian pirates, seizing Dionysos in the shape of a rich-looking boy, saw him grow huge and horned, their ropes turn to snakes, vines and ivy cover their ship, and wine pour over the deck. Terrified, they leapt into the sea and became dolphins.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 45.169–272Book 45: The giant Alpos; Pentheus binds a bull instead of DionysosTeiresias adds the story of the giant Alpos, who terrorised the Alpine slopes until Dionysos pierced his throat with a thyrsus. Pentheus, unmoved, sends soldiers to arrest the god, who vanishes and then reappears as a soldier leading a bull. Pentheus is tricked into chaining the bull as Dionysos and jailing the Bassarids in a dungeon.

Epic Cycle (2)

Epic Cycle, Summaries and Fragments 3.1–4.4Thebaid and EpigoniThe Thebaid fragments tell how Polyneices set a silver table before Oedipus and how Oedipus called down a curse on his sons when he saw the haunch, and how Adrastus fled Thebes with Areion. The Epigoni is quoted for the Teumesian fox and for Manto, the daughter of Teiresias, who was sent to Delphi.
Epic Cycle, Summaries and Fragments 9.1–10.2Returns and TelegonyProclus' summary of the Returns begins with Athena causing a quarrel between Agamemnon and Menelaus about the voyage from Troy. The fragments mention Medea and Aeson, Heracles at Themiscyra, and Telemachus marrying Circe. The Telegony, in two books, has Odysseus sailing to Elis after the suitors are buried, and the author says that Odysseus had a son Telegonus by Calypso.