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Parthenopaeus
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===War on Thebes=== Parthenopaeus was persuaded by [[Adrastus]] to join in the war against Thebes.<ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]], ''Library of History'', 4. 65. 4</ref> During the attack on Thebes, Parthenopaeus was the assailant on the Electran Gates,<ref>[[Pseudo-Apollodorus]], ''Bibliotheca'', 3. 6. 6</ref> or, alternatively, the Neitian Gates.<ref>[[Euripides]], ''Phoenician Women'', 1104</ref> In [[Aeschylus]]' ''[[Seven Against Thebes]]'', he is portrayed carrying a shield with the image of the [[Sphinx#Greece|Sphinx]] devouring Thebans, and swearing by his spear (which, it was said, was for him more sacred than the gods, and more precious than his own sight) to destroy the city even despite the will of [[Zeus]].<ref>''Seven Against Thebes,'' 540 ff.</ref> Yet according to Euripides, on the shield was depicted his mother shooting a wild boar.<ref>[[Euripides]], ''Phoenician Women'', 1106 ff.</ref> He was confronted by [[Actor (mythology)|Actor]] at the gate.<ref>''Seven Against Thebes,'' 555 ff</ref> Parthenopaeus was killed by either [[Periclymenus]] or Amphidicus (Asphodicus), a son of [[Astacus (mythology)|Astacus]].<ref>[[Pseudo-Apollodorus]], ''Bibliotheca'', 3. 6. 8</ref><ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'', 9. 18. 6</ref> According to [[Euripides]], Periclymenus killed him by heaving a load of stones on his head.<ref>''Phoenician Women'', 1156 ff</ref> Parthenopaeus is given a detailed treatment in Book 9 of [[Statius]]' ''Thebaid'', which concludes with his ''[[aristeia]]'' and death, which differs considerably from those cited above. In the poem, Parthenopaeus fights fiercely and vigorously, killing a number of opponents, and dismisses the advice of his tutor Dorceus, who calls on him to be more careful. In the meantime, Atalanta, tormented by nightmares of his non-return, prays to [[Artemis]] that he may survive, or at least die a glorious death. Eventually [[Ares]], instigated by his mistress [[Aphrodite]], makes Artemis retreat from the battlefield and causes Dryas, a son of [[Orion (mythology)|Orion]], to attack and dissolve the Arcadian contingent. Parthenopaeus, intimidated, still attempts to shoot Dryas but the latter mortally wounds him with a thrown spear, and is himself instantly killed by someone whose identity remains unrevealed. Parthenopaeus dies in the arms of his companions, giving last instructions to Dorceus, and admitting that he must have been too young to go to war.<ref>Statius, ''Thebaid'', 9. 570 - 970</ref> In the ''[[Aeneid]]'', the ghost of Parthenopaeus, along with those of other members of the Seven, is glimpsed by [[Aeneas]] in the Underworld.<ref>[[Virgil]], ''Aeneid'', 6. 480.</ref> The son of Parthenopaeus by the [[nymph]] [[Clymene (mythology)|Clymene]], variously named [[Promachus]],<ref>[[Pseudo-Apollodorus]], ''Bibliotheca'', 3. 7. 2</ref><ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'', 9. 19. 2; 2. 20. 5</ref> [[Tlesimenes]]<ref>Hyginus, ''Fabulae'', 71</ref><ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'', 3. 12. 9 informs that his sources were undecided as to whether Tlesimenes was a son or a brother of Parthenopaeus</ref> or [[Stratolaus]],<ref>[[Eustathius of Thessalonica|Eustathius]] on Homer, 489. 39</ref><ref>[[Scholia]] on ''[[Iliad]]'' 4. 404</ref> was one of the [[Epigoni]].
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