The Incredible Story of Cadmus: The First Hero of Greek Mythology

Cadmus is considered the first hero from ancient Greek mythology. He began his journey searching for his abducted sister, Europa, only to discover a greater destiny. Cadmus would slay a terrifying dragon and unleash war’s wrath, bringing glory and misfortune to himself and his family. Guided by the patron of heroes, Athena, Cadmus would establish one of the most famous cities in the ancient Greek world. Read on to discover how and why this hero ensured a bittersweet legacy for his family and the city he built.

Cadmus was the son of King Agenor and Queen Telephassa of Tyre, a city in the Levant. Agenor was the son of Poseidon and Libya, while Telephassa was the daughter of Nilus and the cloud nymph Nephele. Agenor and Telephassa had four other children: one daughter, Europa, and three sons, Cilix, Phoenix, and Thasos.

Cadmus and his siblings had a happy childhood playing and exploring their parents’ kingdom. But one day, everything changed for the royal house of Tyre. While out playing with some local nymphs on the coast, Europa stumbles across a stunning snow-white bull with horns like gemstones. Something about the creature’s gaze calmed Europa, who approached the beast, whose breath smelled of sweet honey, and began to stroke the bull. Europa adorned the gentle creature with flowers and garlands before leaping onto its surprisingly soft and comforting back.

Europa held onto the bull’s horns like a harness, allowing it to trot along the shore. However, when she gently pulled on the horns to get the creature to stop, it began to gallop and run toward the sea. Europa’s scream for help could be heard from a far distance, and Cadmus and his family looked on in horror as their beloved daughter and sister disappeared across the sea on the back of a white bull, getting further and further away from them.

The white bull was none other than Zeus, king of the gods, known for his penchant for abducting beautiful women and men in the guise of animals. Zeus was instantly captivated by Europa’s beauty and disguised himself as a bull to entice her to come closer. Once Europa was on his back, Zeus spirited her away, flying over the seas to Greece, eventually landing on the island of Crete. There, he revealed himself to Europa and made love to her. After being abducted by Zeus, Europa never left the island and instead became the first queen of Crete. She bore him three sons: Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon. Minos would go on to rule Crete and employ the famed inventor Daedalus, to create his infamous labyrinth.

Distraught over his daughter’s disappearance, King Agenor ordered his four sons to find her and forbade them from returning without her. The people of Tyre were already famed navigators and traders, and the four brothers each set off with a retinue of servants and soldiers to explore the western lands of Greece to find their sister. Unfortunately, whether due to divine intervention or pure bad luck, none of the brothers ever went to the island of Create.

The four brothers searched all across the Mediterranean for years to no avail. Eventually, the eldest brother, Phoenix, returned to Tyre after their father’s death and took over as ruler. He named the land of Tyre Phoenicia after himself and established one of the most significant civilizations of the ancient world. In some accounts, Phoenix first settled on the African coast and established the kingdom of Phoenicia before eventually returning to Tyre after his father’s death.

Cilix also finally gave up the search and established his kingdom in Asia Minor, which he named Cilicia. Thasos eventually gave up his quest for his sister and settled on an island, taking a page out of his brother’s naming practices and calling the island Thasos. By the end, only Cadmus was still searching for his sister and he found his way to the Island of Samothrace, where he saw something entirely unexpected.

Cadmus went searching for Europa accompanied by his mother, Telephassa. Unfortunately, Telephassa fell ill and passed away on the island of Samothrace. While on the island, Cadmus met Harmonia, a beautiful woman who was said to be the daughter of Zeus and Electra, one of the seven Pleiades.

However, as is common in mythology, myths often vary and contradict each other. According to some versions, Cadmus only met Harmonia many years after his various trials. In contrast, other versions suggest that he met her and possibly abducted and married her with the help of Athena on Samothrace. Additionally, there are contradictions regarding Harmonia’s parentage, with some accounts claiming that her parents were Zeus and Electra, while others assert that Aphrodite and Ares were her parents. Given her name, Harmonia, which means harmony, it makes sense that she personified the balance between the contradicting manifestations of love and war.

While on the island of Samothrace, Cadmus was advised to seek out the oracle of Delphi to help him find Europa. Cadmus was the only one of the four brothers to reach mainland Greece, where he introduced the alphabet, a new revolutionary Phoenician invention, to the inhabitants of Greece. Before becoming famous as the first Greek hero, Cadmus became renowned as the man who introduced the concept of writing to the Greek world.

The Oracle of Delphi told Cadmus that he had a greater destiny prescribed by fate. The oracle instructed Cadmus to abandon his search for Europa and instead locate a cow with a half-moon on her flanks. He was to follow the cow until it could no longer continue, and there, he should construct his new home.

Slightly bewildered, Cadmus and possibly Harmonia began their search for this fated heifer. Soon after, Pelagon, King of Phocis, gifted Cadmus the half-moon cow, either as thanks for introducing the alphabet or because Cadmus won a throwing contest hosted by the king. Once the cow saw Cadmus, it began to trot out of Phocis. Cadmus and Harmonia hurriedly expressed their gratitude to the king and then, accompanied by their followers, pursued the prophesized cow.

After several days and nights of following the cow over hills, through meadows and across rivers, Cadmus eventually found the exhausted animal lying down in Boeotia. Cadmus or Harmonia suggested sacrificing the exhausted animal to Athena to ask for guidance in constructing their new home. Cadmus sent several men to find clean water for the sacrifice, but only one terrified scout returned.

The scout reported finding clean water at the nearby Ismenian spring. Unbeknownst to Cadmus and the scouts, a ferocious water dragon guarded the spring, emerging from its crystal-clear depths and killing all but one of the men. Cadmus, living up to his title as the first hero, did not hesitate and rushed to the spring to avenge his men and slay the awful serpents.

In some accounts, Cadmus killed the beast with his spear, while others claim he threw a small boulder at the dragon’s head, killing it instantly. With the guardian of the Ismenian Springs’s blood mixing into its waters, Cadmus and his men rejoiced and collected water to complete their sacrifice to Athena.

It is worth pondering why a water dragon guarded a random spring in Boeotia. Cadmus never thought to ask this question in his haste to avenge his fallen comrades. However, the Ismenian Spring and the dragon that protected its pure waters were sacred to Ares, the Greek god of war. Furthermore, the dragon was one of Ares’ favorite sons.

Cadmus had deftly chosen the most ruthless and aggressive god to anger. Ares’s wrath would be unquenchable and would haunt Cadmus and, in some versions, his descendants, casting a shadow over their future home and kingdom.

Sowing the Dragon’s Teeth

Cadmus performed the sacrifices, and Athena, the goddess of wisdom, manifested out of the pluming smoke of the ritual incense. Athena accepted Cadmus’ sacrifice and instructed him to plow the uncultivated fields nearby. She commanded him to sow not seeds but the dragon’s teeth, which he had just defeated. Cadmus, now accustomed to the esoteric advice of the gods, obeyed. He plowed the fields and buried over a hundred of the dragon’s sharp teeth deep in the soil.

Within minutes, Cadmus and his attendants saw spears rising from the plowed field, followed by a shining bronze helmet, breastplates, shields, and more, culminating in a field of fully armored warriors, the Spartoi or “sown men.” There are different versions of the story of Cadmus and the Spartoi. Cadmus calls out to the Spartoi in some versions but receives no response. In frustration, he throws a stone at one of them, which triggers a violent fight between all of them. In other versions, the Spartoi start fighting each other as soon as they grow from the earth.

The gory battle ended in minutes, leaving only five Spartoi remaining. These five marched up and kneeled before Cadmus, ready to serve. Cadmus had had a busy day. He started by chasing a cow and killing a dragon. Then, he followed a goddess’s ambiguous counsel and planted the dragon’s teeth, which eventually grew into fully-armed warrior servants. Finally, he announced to all his followers that they would construct a magnificent city on that spot. A city that would set the stage for some of ancient Greece’s most epic stories: Thebes.

Cadmus and his followers received assistance from the five remaining Spartoi: Echion, Udaeus, Chthonius, Hyperenor, and Pelor. Together, they constructed a citadel named the Cadmeia that Cadmus later renamed as Thebes. He named it after the Egyptian Thebes, founded by his father, Agenor. For their crucial role in founding the city, Cadmus granted the Spartoi privileges, establishing the basis of the Theban noble houses.

Cadmus was responsible for developing the prosperous city of Thebes by building the famous Theban walls. These walls had seven bronze gates and were dedicated to the glory of the Olympian gods. The wall was constructed by Amphion and Zethus, twin sons of Zeus, and a river nymph called Antiope. The abduction of Antiope by Zeus would ultimately seal the fate of a certain cunning Corinthian king.

While building the wall, Zethus struggled to carry and place the large stones despite his enormous strength. Thankfully, Amphion was taught how to play the lyre by its inventor and his lover, Hermes. Using the skills he learned from Hermes, Amphion sang a magical and enchanting song that made the stones float and sway to his tune, allowing Zethus to slot the rocks in place effortlessly. Amphion and Zethus are considered co-founders of Thebes, alongside Cadmus, for their help in building the city walls.

Under Cadmus, Thebes prospered due to its renowned walls, fertile fields, and thriving trade networks. However, Ares had not forgiven Cadmus for killing his sacred dragon. As punishment for his blasphemy, Ares sentenced Cadmus to serve him for one Olympian year, equal to eight mortal years.

As mentioned earlier, myths often have multiple variations and inconsistencies. Cadmus and Harmonia meet and marry at Samothrace in some accounts before consulting the Oracle of Delphi. However, in other versions, they meet at Samothrace but only marry after the establishment of Thebes. Additionally, in many different versions, Ares or the gods gift Harmonia to Cadmus as a reward following his eight years of punishment for slaying the dragon.

The marriage between Cadmus and Harmonia, regardless of when or how it occurred, became legendary as the first union between two mortals attended by the gods. The gods bestowed love, praise, and gifts upon the newlyweds during the wedding ceremony. One of the most notable gifts was a peplos, a garment made by Athena herself, presented to Harmonia. In addition, she also received a stunning necklace crafted from various precious metals and gems, including gold, emeralds, sapphires, jade, and silver. The necklace was adorned with two intricately carved snake heads that functioned as the clasp.

The necklace was a gift from Hephaestus which had the power to grant eternal youth to the wearer. However, Hephaestus also placed a curse on it that would ensure the wearer faced misfortune. In some versions, Hephaestus created the cursed necklace to punish his wife Aphrodite and her lover Ares for their infidelity by cursing their daughter. In other accounts, Ares asked Aphrodite to persuade Hephaestus to create the cursed necklace to punish Cadmus for slaying his sacred dragon.  Indeed, the cursed necklace of Harmonia would plague her and Cadmus’s descendants and leave a dark shadow over Thebes.

Cadmus and Harmonia had five children: a son named Polydorus and four daughters named Agave, Autonoe, Ino, and Semele. After many years of peaceful rule, Cadmus passed the throne to his grandson Pentheus, the son of his daughter Agave, and Echion, one of the Spartoi. Unfortunately, due to Harmonia’s cursed necklace, misfortune soon befell the family.

The first misfortune came to Semele, Cadmus’s daughter. Semele and Zeus fell in love, but Hera tricked Semele into demanding that Zeus reveal his divine form to prove his love. However, no mortal can endure the sight of a god’s true form, and Semele was destroyed when she looked at Zeus. To make matters worse, Semele was pregnant with Zeus’ child. Fortunately, Zeus saved the fetus by sewing it into his thigh, and their son Dionysus was born soon after.

The second misfortune came to Autonoe’s son Actaeon, who stumbled upon a naked Artemis while hunting in the forests. Humiliated at being seen naked by a mere mortal, Artemis turned Actaeon into a stag and was killed by his devoted hunting dogs.

In some versions of the myth, Ino takes care of her nephew Dionysus. However, Hera, who wants to punish anyone who shows affection to Zeus’s illegitimate children, drives Ino insane. During her madness, Ino jumps off a cliff into the sea while holding her son Melicertes.

Cadmus and Harmonia’s grandson, Pentheus, met a tragic end. Despite Cadmus’s warnings, Pentheus and his mother, Agave, refused to worship the new god Dionysus, claiming he was not an actual deity. In response, Dionysus transformed Agave into a maenad, who tore her son Pentheus apart in a zealous frenzy.

Cadmus and Harmonia couldn’t bear the tragic memories of Thebes, so they left the city and traveled to the land of Encheleans, which is now located in modern-day Albania. The Encheleans were engaged in a war with the Illyrians, and an oracle had prophesied that if they made Cadmus their king, they could defeat their enemy. As predicted, Cadmus led the Encheleans to victory and ruled over both lands for several years, establishing several cities. Cadmus and Harmonia’s last son, Illyrius, was born during their time there and went on to become the ruler of Illyria.

After enduring decades of misfortune, Cadmus suddenly felt an odd sensation in his body. To his surprise, he witnessed his body transforming as scales emerged from beneath his skin. Ares had not yet forgiven Cadmus for killing his sacred dragon, and this was his final punishment — turning into a snake. Harmonia found herself in a helpless situation and prayed to the gods. She asked them to allow her to become a snake if they couldn’t stop her husband’s transformation. Athena, who was fond of the couple, heard Harmonia’s prayer and granted her wish.

Cadmus and Harmonia were metamorphosed into snakes and spent the rest of their days coiled together, basking in the sun at one of Athena’s sacred temples. When they eventually passed away in snake form, Zeus sent the loving couple to the Elysian Fields. Finally, the epic and tragic story of Cadmus, Greece’s first hero and founder of Thebes, came to a close.