Is it possible to reconstruct the Theban Wars

Abstract

By following part of the methodology previously used to reconstruct the central episodes of the Trojan Cycle, this article ascertains the possibility of doing so for the Theban Wars exclusively based on the literary sources which reached us from the Antiquity. In order to do so, it performs a summary compilation of the most important works for the study of this mythological subject and, based on the information collected in them, it tries, as an example, to reestablish the episodes of the deaths of the seven major heroes who attacked the city of Thebes in its first war. Finally, the results will be taken into account to look into the possibility of a more prolonged reconstruction of the Theban Wars.