Greek Mythology Made Easy: Cadmus

Cadmus (in Greek: Κάδμος, or Kádmos) was the legendary founder-king of Thebes. He was also believed to have introduced the Phoenician alphabet to Ancient Greece--in other words, the one who had taught the Greeks to write.

Cadmus was originally from the city of Tyre in Phoenicia (today's Lebanon) and he was a prince, born to King Phoenix (or Agenor) and Queen Telephassa. He was, on his father's side, descended from the god of the sea Poseidon, and on his mother's side from Nilus, god of the river Nile. 

One day, as Cadmus and his sister Europa played on the beach, she was kidnapped by Zeus himself, who was in the form of a beautiful bull. King Phoenix and queen Telephassa ordered Cadmus to go find his sister and bring her back home to Tyre--otherwise, they said, he was not to come back. They blamed Cadmus for Europa's disappearance.

So Cadmus left home and searched for his sister far and wide. He visited many countries and had many adventures but never saw his sister again, and he never returned home. He didn't suspect that Zeus had brought Europa to the island of Crete, where she would become the mother of Crete's future king, Minos. And in time, an entire continent would be named in her honor: Europe.

Since Cadmus couldn't find his sister, he visited Delphi and asked the oracle where to go. He was told to stop looking for Europa and instead follow a cow with the mark of a half moon on her flank and build a city on the spot where she would lie down. He did so, following the cow to Boeotia ("cow land") and founding the city of Thebes. 

Near Thebes, he came across a dragon (or rather a giant serpent) guarding the Ismenian Spring. He killed the serpent and, following Athena's orders, sowed its teeth. Those in turn produced a crop of fully-grown warriors who sprang out of the ground: the Spartoi. When Cadmus threw a rock at them, they attacked one another, killing each other until only five of them remained. These five Spartoi would become the ruling class of the newly-founded Thebes, and Cadmus was to be their King.

Later, Cadmus married Harmonia, daughter of the god of war Ares and goddess of love Aphrodite.

At their wedding, it is said, they were visited by the gods themselves, who brought divine gifts and dined with Cadmus and his wife. 

The image above (Ancient Greek vase painting of Cadmus, Athena, Harmonia, and the Ismenian Dragon) was found on a website called theoi.com (in Greek, "theoi" means gods).

It's a great site where you can read about Greek mythology and check out Ancient Greek art.

Click below:

https://www.theoi.com/