LAIUS AND (EDIPUS. 265 brothers, in affectionate union as well as in striking contrast. 1 It is evident that the whole story stood originally quite apart from the Kadmeian family, and so the rudiments of it yet stand in the Odyssey ; but the logographers, by their ordinary connecting artifices, have opened a vacant place for it in the descending se- ries of Theban mythes. And they have here proceeded in a manner not usual with them. For whereas they are generally fond of multiplying entities, and supposing different historical personages of the same name, in order to introduce an apparent smoothness in the chronology they have here blended into one person Amphion the son of Antiope and Amphion the father of Chloris, who seem clearly distinguished from each other in the Odyssey. They have further assigned to the same person all the circumstances of the legend of Niobe, which seems to have been originally framed quite apart from the sons of Antiope. Amphion and Zethus being removed, Laius became king of Thebes. With him commences the ever-celebrated series of ad- ventures of CEdipus and his family. Laius forewarned by the oracle that any son whom he might beget would kill him, caused CEdipus as soon as he was born to be exposed on Mount Kithse- ron. Here the herdsmen of Polybus king of Corinth acciden- tally found him and conveyed him to their master, who brought him up as his own child. In spite of the kindest treatment, however, CEdipus when he grew up found himself exposed to taunts on the score of his unknown parentage, and went to Delphi to inquire of the god the name of his real father. He received for answer an admonition not to go back to his country ; if he did so, it was his destiny to kill his father and become the husband of his mother. Knowing no other country but Corinth, he accord- ingly determined to keep away from that city, and quitted Delphi by the road towards Boeotia and Phokis. At the exact spot 1 See Valckenaer. Diatribe in Eurip. Reliq. cap. 7, p. 58; Welcker, Gricchisch. Tragod. ii. p. 811. There is a striking resemblance between the Antiope of Euripides and the Tyro of Sophokles in many points. Plato in his Gorgias has preserved a few fragments, and a tolerably clear general idea of the characters of Zethus and Amphion (Gorg. 90-92) ; see also Horat. Epist. i. 18, 42. Both Livius and Pacuvius had tragedies on the scheme of this of Eurvjii les, the former seemirgly a translation. VOL. I. 12
