he
hiding-place of her husband and induced him to join the expedition, the
necklace should be hers. Eriphyle, unable to withstand the tempting bait,
accepted the bribe, and thus Amphiaraus was compelled to join the army. But
before leaving his home he extorted a solemn promise from his son Alcmaeon
that, should he perish on the field of battle, he would avenge his death on
his mother, the perfidious Eriphyle.

Seven leaders were now chosen, each at the head of a separate detachment of
troops. These were Adrastus the king, his two brothers Hippomedon and
Parthenopaeus, Capaneus his nephew, Polynices and Tydeus, and Amphiaraus.

{274}

When the army was collected they set out for Nemea, which was at this time
governed by king Lycurgus. Here the Argives, being short of water, halted
on the outskirts of a forest in order to search for a spring, when they saw
a majestic and beautiful woman seated on the trunk of a tree, nursing an
infant. They concluded from her noble and queenly appearance that she must
be a goddess, but were informed by her that she was Hypsipile, queen of the
Lemnians, who had been carried away captive by pirates, and sold as a slave
to king Lycurgus, and that she was now acting as nurse to his infant son.
When the warriors told her that they were in search of water, she laid the
child down in the grass, and led them to a secret spring in the forest,
with which she alone was acquainted. But on their return they found, to
their grief, that the unfortunate babe had been killed during their
absence, by a serpent. They slew the reptile, and then collecting the
remains of the infant, they buried them with funereal honours and proceeded
on their way.

The warlike host now appeared before the walls of Thebes, and each leader
placed himself before one of the seven gates of the city in readiness for
the attack. Eteocles, in conjunction with Creon, had made due preparations
to repel the invaders, and had stationed troops, under the command of
trusty leaders, to guard each of the gates. Then, according to the practice
of the ancients of consulting soothsayers before entering upon any
undertaking, the blind old seer Tiresias was sent for, who, after carefully
taking the auguries from the flight of birds, declared that all efforts to
defend the city would prove unavailing, unless the youngest descendant of
the house of Cadmus would offer himself as a voluntary sacrifice for the
good of the state.

When Creon hear