World at War  /  Conflicts  /  Greek Mythology
Wars of the Olympians

Seven Against Thebes

1213 BC Boeotia Status: ended Casualties: All seven champions; the brothers slay each other

Polynices, exiled by his brother Eteocles, raised seven champions against the seven gates of Thebes. Capaneus boasted that not even Zeus could stop him and was struck by lightning at the wall. The brothers met at the seventh gate and fell together. Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes.

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Belligerents

  • Seven champions of Argos under Polynices
  • Thebes under Eteocles

Casualties

All seven champions; the brothers slay each other

From World at War, an interactive atlas by Jairus Pereira. Figures are approximate, drawn from Wikipedia, UCDP, ACLED and academic sources — a design artefact, not an authoritative register. Contact.