The Seven Against Thebes

<p><strong>First performed in 467 BCE <em>Seven Against Thebes</em> is Aeschylus's tragic dramatization of the final conflict between the sons of Oedipus culminating in civil war at the gates of Thebes.</strong></p><p>The play presents the siege of the city by seven Argive champions each assigned to assault one of its gates while Eteocles prepares the defence. At its centre lies the inherited curse of Oedipus and the fatal rivalry between Eteocles and Polyneices whose mutual destruction fulfils prophecy and extinguishes their house. Aeschylus frames the action through choral lament and heightened rhetoric creating a drama that explores fate civic duty and the cost of fraternal hatred.</p><p>As part of the lost Theban trilogy <em>Seven Against Thebes</em> stands as a key example of early Greek tragedy notable for its austere structure martial imagery and emphasis on inherited guilt. The play remains central to the study of classical drama and the development of tragic form.</p>