was banished from Thebes. Polynices fled to the court of King Adrastus of Argos to raise an army, whose leaders were known as the Seven against Thebes. In this war, Polynices and Eteocles were each slain by the other, thus fulfilling Oedipus' curse. After the deaths of Polynices and Eteocles, Jocasta's brother Creon, who before had governed Thebes after the death of Laius and after the exile of Oedipus, became regent for Eteocles' son Laodamas. It was during one of Creon's reigns that Heracles was born in Thebes. Creon served as protector of Heracles, his stepfather Amphitryon, and mother Alcmene. Creon even gave his daughter Megara in marriage to Heracles. In return, Heracles defended Thebes in two more wars that Thebes became entangled in, first against King Erginus of Minyan Orchomenus, then against Pyracmus of Euboea. After the death of Eteocles and Polynices, Creon prohibited a proper burial of Polynices and his Argive allies. Theseus, King of Athens, led an army against Thebes and compelled Creon to give the fallen heroes the correct rites. When Eteocles' son Laodamas came of age, Creon resigned the rule to him. Like his father, King Laodamas was confronted with an attack by the Epigoni, the sons of the Seven led by Polynices' son Thersander. The Epigoni succeeded, and Thersander was installed as king of Thebes. King Laodamas was killed during this war. Thersander joined the Greek forces in the Trojan War, but he was killed on the shores of Mysia before ever reaching Troy (by Telephus, a son of Heracles). His son Tisamenus was too young at the time to lead the Theban contingent; but he later came of age while the war was still going on, and entered the war close to its conclusion. This is the explanation given for why no Theban leader is mentioned by Homer in the Iliad. List of rulers Royal House of Thebes family tree See also Queen of Thebes References Further reading Berman, Daniel W. "The Double Foundation of Boiotian Thebes." Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-) 134, no. 1 (2004): 1-22. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20054096. Theban characters in Greek mythology