In Greek mythology, Labdacus (Ancient Greek: Λάβδακος, Lábdakos) was the only son of Polydorus and a king of Thebes. Labdacus was a grandson of Thebes' founder, Cadmus. His mother was Nycteïs, daughter of Nycteus.
Mythology
Polydorus died while Labdacus was a young child, leaving Nycteus as his regent, although Lycus soon replaced him in that office.[1] When Labdacus had grown, he ruled Thebes for a short time. He died while he was still young, after he lost a war with the king of Athens, Pandion, over their borders.[2] Apollodorus writes that he, like his cousin Pentheus, was ripped apart by women in a bacchic frenzy for disrespect to the god Dionysus.[3] Lycus became regent once more after his death, this time for Labdacus' son, Laius. His descendants were called the Labdacids, and included his son Laius, who fathered Oedipus; Oedipus' children were Polynices, Eteocles, Antigone, and Ismene.
Family tree of Theban Royal House
| Royal house of Thebes family tree
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- Solid lines indicate descendants.
- Dashed lines indicate marriages.
- Dotted lines indicate extra-marital relationships or adoptions.
- Kings of Thebes are numbered with bold names and a light purple background.
- Joint rules are indicated by a number and lowercase letter, for example, 5a. Amphion shared the throne with 5b. Zethus.
- Regents of Thebes are alphanumbered (format AN) with bold names and a light red background.
- The number N refers to the regency preceding the reign of the Nth king. Generally this means the regent served the Nth king but not always, as Creon (A9) was serving as regent to Laodamas (the 10th King) when he was slain by Lycus II (the usurping 9th king).
- The letter A refers to the regency sequence. "A" is the first regent, "B" is the second, etc.
- Deities have a yellow background color.
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