FOUNDATION OF THEBES

The founder of Thebes is known as Cadmus or Kadmos. Cadmus'

father was a king named Agenor and his mother was named
Telephone. Cadmus had two brothers, one named Thasos, and the
other Cilix, who became king of Cilicia. They had a sister named
Europa, who was also carried off by a bull that Zeus, had sent
Cadmus, Thasos, and their mother went to look for Europa and
stopped in Thrace where Cadmus met his future bride Harmonia.
Taking Harmonia with them, they then went to the oracle at Delphi
for a consultation.
The Delphic Oracle told Cadmus to look for a cow with a lunar sign
on either side, to follow where the cow went, and to make sacrifices
and establish a town where the bull lay down.
After finding the cow, Cadmus followed it to Boeotia, a name based
on the Greek word for cow. Where it lay down, Cadmus made
sacrifices and started to settle. His people needed water, so he sent
out scouts, but they failed to return because they had been killed by
Ares dragon who guarded the fountain. It was up to Cadmus to slay
the dragon, so with divine assistance, Cadmus slew the dragon, and
Thebes was the name of the settlement.