ABSTRACT
Aeschylus' Seven against Thebes and Pindar's Pythian 8 converge on the same mythic material and thematic concerns. Both feature Amphiaraus, the warrior-seer par excellence, before the walls of Thebes: In the tragedy, Amphiaraus is one of the doomed Seven who have marched from Argos on behalf of Polynices to seize the Theban throne from Eteocles. The mythic portion and coda of Pythian 8 comprise a densely wrought and compressed narrative that evokes in miniature and reverse order certain elements of the myths of Oedipus and the Seven, beginning with the Epigonoi and ending with an encounter on the road to Delphi. The issue of inheritance, of brothers following in the footsteps of their father, and its dysfunction and devolution into warfare, also importantly forms the catalyst for the plot of Seven: Eteocles' and Polynices' disagreement over sharing Oedipus' throne has spread beyond the realm of fraternal strife and transformed into a full-scale battle between the Theban and Argive armies.
