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prince-of-calydon · 5 months ago

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Tydeus, Son of Oeneus, father of Diomedes....who fell in the war of the Seven Against Thebes. They all know how you died...

...in a desperate, dying frenzy eating the brain of your enemy; immortality denied. They know how you, as exile, came to Argos and married a daughter of the king, like Polynices, son of Oedipus. And how you soon joined your brother-in-law on his doomed quest to claim his rightful place on the throne of Thebes. How you, as envoy, tried for peace - denied, yet defeated Thebes once? twice? over. In friendly games, then betrayed: fifty against one in nightly ambush against you. Hope for peace was lost. They know how you died in that war, and how your armies failed to take Thebes...and failed even more to reclaim your own throne. They know how your son swore an oath to avenge you. And how ten years later, he, and the other sons of the fallen Seven, warred once more against Thebes; victory on their side. And how your son joined the armies sailing for Troy and how he gained immortal fame.

But who ever asks: "Where did this man come from?", "What lead this man into exile?" Who ever tries to understand?

Well, I shall try, with what I've been given, to tell your tale, and hope to do it justice.

Cursed house of Parthaon, destroyer, son of the god of war. Sons of Parthaon doomed to war each other - outright, and in secrecy - in a frenzy for rulership, a doomed house of fathers who would soon learn to bury their sons. A curse? (What did you do to deserve this fate, I wonder? Or was it simply your ancestors love for bloodshed, that would grant you all this suffering?) Doomed house of Oeneus, in your childrens veins the blood of War ran twice over.

Im starting early in the tale, long before great-hearted Tydeus was born. But you have to know, so you understand in what haunted house Tydeus grew up in, why he became an exile, why he choose the Theban war……

So instead of with you, Tydeus, we will begin our tale with your father Oeneus, son of Parthaon. His two brothers, Melas and Agrius, they have always envied his rule over Calydon, which he secured through his marriage to Althea, (his cousin once removed, descenant of Ares) the daughter of Thestius of Pleuron. Thestius, too, was the father of Leda, mother of Helen, for whom the Trojan war was fought.

Now often have there been wars between Calydon and the Curetes of Pleuron, and for now there was peace. And you Oeneus, you let Dionysos into your house, and turned away your gaze when he caught the attention of your wife and so Deianira was born, (He gifted you a vine for it, and showed you how to plant it.) and Meleager was born to you too, beloved by Ares - cursed to die, when the wood in the fire during his birth was burned.

But then you forgot Artemis in your sacrifices, and she sent you the Calydonian boar, and you called the heroes to defeat the beast. And Atalanta drew first blood. And Meleager killed it and offered its skin as reward to Atalanta. And the brothers of Althea, scorned to hunt with a woman, tried to claim the boar skin for themselves, so in a burst of anger Meleager killed them. And there was war between Calydon and Pleuron & Olenus close by got dragged into it, too. (Olenus: place of birth of Capaneus, who did not stay, but left for Argos scorning his fathers weakness, who would join the Seven Against Thebes, and who would die, blasted by a lighting bolt of Zeus)

And Meleager refused to fight in the war he started, so the war came to the doors of Calydon and nearly the city was sacked. And all his brothers died in that war. And yet he refused to fight, until they begged him. Then he went to war and fended off the armies and fought his way almost all the war to Pleuron with Ares, victory was on his side, when Althea, scared that he would now kill her father too (not just her brothers) burned the wood that held Meleagers life. And Meleager died. And Althea, in horror of what she had done, hung herself. And Meleagers sisters mourning never ceased, and they were turned to birds. Now all but two of Oeneus' children remained: Gorge, and Deianira. And yet the war was not over.

So, begrudgingly - for he feared to loose these, his last children, too - he gave Gorge as wife to Andraemon, a king of Aetolia (was the city he ruled Pylene? Or another nearby?) in return for his miliary support.

And they defeated Pleuron, and Oeneus appointed his brother Agrius to govern the city. And with the thread of Andraemons forces, as well as Calydons, Olenian Hipponous, father of Capaneus and Periboea, sought for peace. Here Oeneus was a guest in Hipponous' halls, and he lay with his daughter Periboea, unknown to all. And Capaneus left the city, in scorn for his fathers refusal of war - he would find a loyal wife and forces in Argos.

Now Oeneus and Hipponous reached an agreement for peace, and Oeneus returned to Calydon. And Deianira married Heracles - Oeneus was relucant to let her go, the last child in his house. But now Periboea was pregnant, and rumor said she had lain with Hippostratus, but she claimed that it was Ares who had joined her bed, though she knew the childs true father. Knowing that Oeneus was bereft of wife and male issue, Hipponous send her, in the end, to Calydon. As price of honor, a peace offering. Trusting that her tales of Ares' involvements would be enough to keep the peace between their cities: for Oeneus lacked a male heir now. And Oeneus took Periboea as wife, and she gave birth to Tydeus, Oeneus' true son. (Did Hipponous suspect? Or was it luck or fate or godly intervention?)

A few years later Olenias was born, younger brother to Tydeus. They grew up in Calydon, the home haunted by the ghosts of Meleager and his brothers who still burned in the memories of their father and the wailing of their bird-sisters could still be heard in the winds. And Melas, brother of Oeneus, and his sons, still envied Oeneus‘ throne, for why had Agrius received a city but not he? Still…the children matured: Tydeus reaches stern adulthood. He was impulsive, and loud and full of life, and somehow he filled the emptiness his dead siblings had left behind, he loved sparring and hunting in the woods, he was fierce and quick to make friends and quick to anger, and quick to forgive those he loved and loyal to his family and country. His little brother was eager to follow after him, striving to be just like him, he was not yet a man, but had nearly left boyhood behind. Both of them were eager to prove themselves.

One day, Tydeus and Olenias went hunting. The Calydonian boar was dead, but there was still plently other game in the woods. They hunted in the forest between Pleuron - their uncles abode - and Calydon. Daring? Sure. Did their parents know they were out alone hunting? Probably not. They were traveling to Pleuron, hunting on their way there. They found their prey. Olenias drew first blood, Tydeus dealt the death blow. And as Tydeus skinned the boar Olenias wandered off.

Night was fast approaching and as fate would have it, the sons of Melas were hunting in the very same forest of their uncle…or maybe they knew the sons of Oeneus were traveling alone. They had not forgotten their fathers desire for the throne. Their own. And doomed Olenias ran into them, as he lost his way in the dark and they convinced him to join their hunt. Its dangerous alone in the forest, don’t you know? Especially so late at night, so they said to him. They promised to help him find Tydeus, once they hunted their game, they knew it was close by…Innocent, unfortunate youth. He trusted them, for his cousins had always treated him fairly before. He could not have known the darkness of their hearts, the plan they formed in brotherly silence the second they saw him stumble through the thicket. Olenias could not have known that they planned to take him to force his father off the throne (wasn’t it easier to string a lie to have the young boy follow them willingly, rather than kidnap him by force?) Little did Olenias know that the game his cousins hunted for was not a boar, not an animal at all, but his older brother: Tydeus, heir of Calydon.

He, in the meantime was looking for Olenias, concerned for his safety in the dark forest. He carried the boar skin on his back, which he had planned to gift to Olenias. After all, it had been the first time his brother had drawn a games blood. But in the rush of the hunt Tydeus had lost track of time. He should have been more careful, he knew, and now he searched for his younger brother.

Melas' sons found him first.

Eight against one, they ambushed him, and Tydeus defended himself, recognizing his cousins and knowing within a heartbeat their reason for the attack, their jealousy that had long been brewing - his anger rose and he killed every one of them, proving himself, but at what cost? - not knowing the brother he had been searching for was in their midsts; confused and caughed unawares by the fray. When the ninth body dropped to the ground Tydeus, with horror, recognized his brother amongst his ambushers, deadly wounded by a spear throw of Tydeus. The Calydonian prince dropped to little brothers side but he could only hold him as Olenias breathed out his last words of forgiveness.

He kept the boarskin for himself. Unlike Meleager, he would not go to war for it, but instead he carried it with him, a memory of his brother. A memory of his sin. And he would go to Argos, and fight a different war.

Tydeus…oh Tydeus, fratricide unwilling, but who would believe you? Did you not also slaughter the sons of your uncle, all of them, in a single night?

To Pleuron he went and carried the news of his deeds, unhappy pride of managing such a feat in such young years.

Tydeus told his tale of getting ambushed in the night and justly defending himself. And Oeneus grieved, now he had only one son remaining, but how could he hold it against him? He might have forgiven Tydeus right here and there but Agrius made the decision. Oeneus and Melas left to bury their sons and with both of his brothers in mourning they would not make sensible decisions, Agrius said and declared exile for life for the young prince. His heart was already fixed on the throne of Calydon. Tydeus knew the threat Agrius posed, so alike in the ambitions of Melas' sons.

But Tydeus left as exile, fratricide, angry because not only did Melas' sons try to kill him - he must’ve known they were trying to get Oeneus‘ throne - so too, did Agrius strip him of his birthright as heir to Calydon.

Tydeus left Aetolia in exile - to atone for his brothers murder, that was the custom - but he would be back to take his kingdom when the time came.

He wandered through Achaea and Arcadia for months, never quite able to escape the haunting image of his brother dying in his arms, a life he took. Eventually Tydeus would reach Argos - he had lost track of time, of himself - the heavy boar hide on his back a steady reminder of what he’d done. And then he met Polynices, an exile who also suffered betrayal, and was denied his right to the throne, who was haunted by his family's ghostly sins.

But Agrius, rid of Tydeus for now waited patiently until Andraemon, son-in-law to Oeneus, had his attention elsewhere since he could involve himself in war on behalf of his father-in-law if Agrius acted too soon. The ruler of Pleuron did not have to wait for long. Tydeus called to arms from Argos to march against Thebes. And they followed his call. And when news arrive from Thebes, Agrius rejoiced. Now he had free reign. Tydeus, the exile, last potential thread and beloved prince of Calydon was dead. Their troops suffered many losses. Oeneus was utterly defeated - again bereft of children. And now nothing was standing in Agrius‘ way.

So he deposed Oeneus, and while the Aetolian region was united when Tydeus called to arms, it was in friendly alliance and love and loyalty for their prince. But now Agrius ended up seizing Calydon from Oeneus, and Olenus too.

He let Andraemon keep his his city. But now he was not able to fight Agrius for the rest of Calydon and help his father-in-law. At this point Agrius has more influence and forces than him, a war only a fool would start. So Agrius rules over Calydon and its surrounding regions...

…until Diomedes comes, son of Tydeus, still heady with victory over Thebes, new king of Argos, marches to Aetolia, his goal to free his grandfather from imprisonment. He joins forces with Thoas, son of Andraemon, and they defeat Agrius - most of his sons are slain and he ends his own life when he is exiled, the sons of Porthaon now all know the loss of their children - and they free Oeneus. And Diomedes hands the throne Thoas. Andraemons son now rules over Calydon and the regions Agrius held, as well as the ones Andraemon had kept, the ones who had remained loyal to Oeneus. And with these Thoas will match against Troy, and Diomedes, with his own forces will join the war and bring victory for the Acheans.

///

Thanks again to @lyculuscaelus @holy-mother-of-whumpers and @akaittou for helping me dig through the research and make sense of all the sources for Tydeus as well as figuring out the family trees, political and geographical relations as well as the details for Tydeus' exile ♡

#YOOOOO #THIS IS SO COOL #it reads like an epic poem with all of the language and the story pacing i love it so much #long post

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prince-of-calydon · 10 months ago

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uh oh i've finished THE THEBAID! time to talk about it!

disclaimer: i'm not a roman empire girlie. like with the aeneid, i'm AWARE the author is using the medium of greek myths to say things about the state of the republic and roman culture, and i'm just kinda... not interested in that. i'm here for the plot and the characters. envision i'm a child watching saturday morning cartoons with my bowl of fruit loops going "yayy did you see the character do the thing?! that was so cool!!". basically i'm enjoying these stories on the "easily entertained dumbass" level

and i LOVED it. i got FUCKED UP by this epic in the best way. HOW TO DESCRIBE THE THEBAID?

it's so deliciously engaging and funny and dark. to me it feels more closely related to the iliad than either the odyssey or the aeneid, but it's in conversation with all of them and also so unique. there are bitter ironies everywhere, troubled people making worse choices. ALL the characters are flawed, but in extremely interesting and engaging (and even endearing) ways.

there's something about how it starts out as a GREAT EPIC telling the story of BRAVE HEROES except they can't retain their integrity as the story progresses, they can't fathom their own limitations or flaws. it's like the iliad if achilles HADN'T accepted priam's plea, it's the odyssey if odysseus hadn't retained enough of himself to string that bow or remember the bed. it's a story that tells you "they failed, none of this mattered, but also all of it mattered".

i love how statius as an author is SO present, leading you by the hand through the narrative, offering his views (he has so many opinions and snide asides! and sometimes he complains about how much WORK it is to tell you this story, omg why are you forcing him to do all this work!) and it all feels so -- aw that's my buddy statius!! my funny friend statius is telling me this story and it's great!

this might be the first epic i've read where we know the author wanted it to more or less BE like that, so there are some LONG LINES being drawn from the beginning of the story to the end

i'll be honest, i didn't know much about the theban cycle when i started reading. i knew about oedipus, and antigone, and that diomedes' dad was in it, and that everybody fails spectacularly at what they're trying to achieve. and turns out that was more than enough knowledge to hit the ground running, it's surprisingly straightforward

i'd assumed diomedes' dad was just "one of the seven leaders against thebes", but no he's a MAIN main guy! tydeus is so central, at one point he is ENTIRELY to blame for everything bad that happens later, and i fell in love with that awful little murderman

like the way tydeus introduces himself in the first chapter saying he's from "calydon, the breeding ground of monsters". and you're sitting there like HOHOHO i think we're gonna discover who's the latest monster to come out of calydon!

like the iliad, it shows both sides of the conflict, and arguably our main point of view guys are WAY MORE fucked up than they guys they're fighting. like i love polynices, he's sympathetic because he's been treated so unfairly but that doesn't mean he's not kinda fucked up; i love eteocles, who's a tyrant and cheated, but he's fun to watch and equally fucked up

the wonderful thing is that it doesn't matter who you cheer for, everyone's gonna lose :D

it has everything you want from an epic: gods taking sides, glorious aristeias, tragic battlefield deaths, a trip to the underworld, funeral games, evocative descriptions of weaponry and equipment (statius is SO to the point when it comes to ekphrasis, love him for that), a sexy night raid... the contexts for some of these might surprise you!

AND. AND. IT HAS WHAT THE ILIAD LACKS. that's right: DIONYSUS, baby!! he's here, he's involved, he's getting his hands dirty! also he gets to play a very thetis-like part at one point, which i think is sexy.

statius does amazing work making all these characters distinct. i never thought i'd get a detailed sense of all SEVEN against thebes (and other characters besides ofc) but each of them has their uniquely memorable moments and oddities and they're all so different from each other. it's about PERSONALITIES and it's about those personalities gradually being INFECTED by polynices' transgressive thebe-ness. and still i'm hugging them all to my chest. my little fucked up dudes

it's fascinating that the thebaid is ultimately a tragedy, but it's not like athenian tragedy -- this isn't about how there was no other way, or that everything's already locked down heading for catastrophe; it's the opposite! the heartbreak is in how we see that the conflict could have ended HERE, or HERE, or HERE, or HERE, but they're all so set on doing this they're willing to ignore EVERY bad omen, write off EVERY loss, and convince each other OF COURSE they're gonna win (which they won't!) because they're THE HEROES, DAMMIT. it's HUBRIS, THE EPIC

my favourite moment of "this could easily have ended here" is before the war, when polynices falls out of his chariot during the funeral games, and he's in the middle of the track when all the other racing teams come thundering towards him. statius STOPS TIME at that moment to tell us how close polynices is to dying, that ALL THE PAIN AND DEATH that is sure to come would have been avoided RIGHT HERE if only he'd been trampled and killed, and what a blessing that would have been. but the story has to continue, polynices escapes without a scratch and everything bad happens as it must. THE FLAVOUR of moments like that?? GAWD

so those are some general thoughts. specific moments under the cut because i can never stop talking once i get going

a main thing is how IMMENSELY DISGUSTED zeus is with oedipus, and it never stops being funny. because, like, 1) oedipus' incest kids are adults at this point, and you're still THIS worked up about it?? 2) zeus has got it all wrong, he's like "OMG EWWW can you believe he SOUGHT OUT his own mother to fuck her?? that this PERVERT wanted to fuck his own MOTHER all along?! DISGOSTANG!!" like mate that's REALLY NOT how that happened! and 3) zeus buddy, you're having a tantrum about the concept of incest to your sister-wife........

you know what never gets old? statius describing the activities of the furies' snake hair. the snakes get thirsty! they get sleepy! they get excited! amazing.

MAN how the beginning of book 2 drew me in. we're dropped straight into the action with hermes on an important mission heading out of the underworld, we have no idea what's going on but it's SO atmospheric, it's SO intriguing, and we have to follow his tracks to see where the narrative is going with it. THIS STORYTELLING FEELS SO MODERN

there's a CURSED NECKLACE that i really thought would play more into the plot. i mean it's there to emanate bad vibes, i guess, and indirectly influence things. i'm just not used to full-on CURSED ARTIFACTS in my epics

tydeus' stint as an emissary is hilarious, i'm still not over it. when he loses his cool and basically yells at eteocles "WELL YOU'RE THE SPAWN OF INCEST!!" when he's there ON BEHALF of the other spawn of incest......... tydeus you're SO bad at this

OOOOUGH TYDEUS FIGHTING BACK THE AMBUSH AT THE SPHINX' ROCK IS SO SEXY AND HORRIFYING OMGGG. hang on i gotta go reread that now...

...fucking hell, it's so good. IT'S SO GOOD!!!! it's my new favourite aristeia in any of these epics, from the first cheap shot that almost gets him in the jugular, to the clambering up the rock, and his shield BRISTLING with enemy spears which he pulls out and uses against them, and not to mention how it shows just how fucking EXHAUSTED he gets once the initial adrenaline rush is through

man, statius is so excellent at realistic physiology. like the detailed descriptions of how the runners at the funeral games warm up, how their muscles feel doing this or that... statius obviously knows so many things firsthand

also love how from there on out tydeus lies about the ambush. honey you killed forty-nine guys, not fifty, and you know it!! it's impressive enough, you don't need to round up

i wish athena would play a bigger part as she's taking tydeus as her champion and everything. she's probably the MOST unknowable of all the gods in the thebaid, she rarely speaks directly to anyone, and is kinda only present for her core scenes in the myth. tell me what you're thinking about babe...

we get way more of that "UH OH YOU'RE A GOD'S FAVOURITE, THIS ISN'T GONNA END WELL" with apollo's love for amphiaraus, though. i appreciate that

while we're on the gods, i'm also VERY weak for how openly ares simps for aphrodite. when she jumps in front of his horses to stop him and there's this lovely passage where he rushes from the chariot to take her in his arms and comfort her... awww. and then it's kinda wild when he's like "darling you're my only respite from war"... ares babe, you LOVE war!

there are several suicides in this story, and each one is surprisingly disturbing in its own way, but maeon though??? guy went out with IMMENSE STYLE and INTEGRITY. respect

statius is really good about chronology (since the theban war happens before the iliad-aeneid-odyssey) EXCEPT at one point someone throws a big rock (hippomedon maybe? i can't remember) like polyphemus threw boulders at odysseus and i'm like NO THAT HASN'T HAPPENED YET. ODYSSEUS IS A BOY IN ITHACA AT THIS POINT

i didn't expect to love parthenopaeus so much!! he's a BOY who's snuck off to war, he's glorious but he doesn't understand the consequences! that's a still-developing brain in there!!! when he's killed, EVEN THE ENEMIES GRIEVE FOR HIM, aaaaah! and statius keeps using him as a symbol of how meaningless the war is, and he's a proto-achilles (proto-neoptolemus?) in so many ways and it just KILLS ME

the whole nemea section is sooooo weird. and i GET that it's meant to be weird, that it's part of this whole campaign's WRONGNESS but it's... it's weird. like WHY does their entire army get involved in this place's family and history and politics? why do they get DELAYED FROM WAR eagerly listening to a nurse talking about the massacre of lemnos? why would she put the baby on the ground and leave it? what's UP with that snake? why do they have these MAJOR FUNERAL GAMES OF MILITARY PROWESS for a random dead royal infant? it's so weirddddd

the funeral games in themselves are great fun actually. and that only makes it worse because the next day the battles start and EVERYONE STARTS GETTING KILLED. the vibes turn on a DIME here

there are so many references to heracles that i can't appreciate because i'm clueless about heracles. i should fix that.

i cackled SO HARD at how statius reveals tydeus' cannibalism. that perspective change?? how athena is watching his comrades trying to WREST the decapitated head from him like he's a dog chewing on plastic? oh gosh it's amazing

AND i love how eteocles USES TYDEUS' CANNIBALISM AS A POINT OF PROPAGANDA. he's SO good at painting the entire enemy force as savages because would you believe even one of their fucking LEADERS chomped on theban brains!! THEY'RE HERE TO EAT US UNLESS WE FIGHT

also. also way later when we're told tydeus' wife's love for him is SO GREAT that she even managed to forgive him for that final taboo... do you know who else forgave him for that? INSTANTLY, without a moment's doubt? who was even impressed with him for it because he's fucked up like that? POLYNICES. his love for tydeus goes unremarked but statius sure implies...

i'm not deeply invested in gore but statius is VERY good at describing gore. he's definitely more... structured about battles than homer is though (two leaders dying per chapter, chosen for maximum contrast and effect, etc), to the point where towards the end of the fighting i was getting hungry for something else

the weirdest quirk of statius is how he will reuse names all the time? if there's a random argive background character you can almost bet that there's a random theban background character with that exact name -- i guess to make a point how similar they truly are -- but in a book that shit gets CONFUSING.

the night raid is clearly based on the iliad's night raid except everyone's more twisted and making worse choices, and i appreciate that. then while the heroes are doing awful dishonorable stuff, you get the lowly squires of tydeus and parthenopaeus sneaking off to steal their corpses back and being ACTUALLY HEROIC! oh the contrast is delicious

when statius interrupts his own storytelling to beg the muses to MAKE HIM MORE MENTALLY UNHINGED for the next part he's going to tell?? this man is GIVING IT ALL to tell you this story properly. i love you statius

polynices and eteocles' final duel is the CLIMAX we've been waiting for the entire epic and it's perfect. oh they're equally horrible and they're equally interesting and ohh yummy yummy this storytelling

i would have been fine if the story ended on the battlefield. i understand the "mini epic" in the final chapter as a way to contrast the whole thing ("look at theseus being an ACTUAL epic hero!") but it is a bit of a major vibe shift in the final round

and then it ends with statius pondering if people will enjoy this story after he's dead? :'-) i'm heeeere i'm reading it love it! it's still so great don't worry!!

#the thebaid #YEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

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