  Agenor, hearing of the extraordinary abduction of Europa, The oracle replied: “In a lonely field you will find a young steer which has never worn a yoke. Follow it, and where it lies down in the soft grass to rest, there build a city. It shall be called Thebes, and the country round about, Boeotia.” Cadmus left the cave in which he had heard the voice of the deity and soon found the steer which had never worn a yoke. He followed it with his companions, humbly supplicating Apollo. The steer led him afar, but at last stopped, turned its head towards him and his companions, and loudly lowed. Then it laid down in the soft grass. Cadmus knelt down, kissed the soil, and greeted the surrounding fields, mountains, and forests. Then turning to his companions he said: “Arise, and bring water that we may make an offering to Zeus, the all-powerful.” There was a forest nearby which had never been touched by the axe. In the centre of this forest they found a cavern, grown round about with bushes, from which an abundance of water gushed. This cavern was the lair of a dragon. The body of the monster was swollen with poison. Fire darted from its eyes, its crest gleamed golden, its tongue was thrice cloven, and there were triple rows of teeth in its jaws. As the men, suspecting no danger, made their way through the forest, they heard the plashing of water. Joyously they hastened towards it and came to the cavern. But hardly had they dipped their buckets into the water before the dragon awoke from its sleep. It raised itself and beheld the victims who had approached it so unsuspectingly. Suddenly the men heard a frightful hissing, and as they looked around they saw the dragon’s bluish head emerging from the cavern. They dropped their buckets. Their faces grew deadly pale and their limbs trembled. In the meantime the dragon coiled its scaly body and arched itself over the men so that they could not fly. Not one of them escaped. The monster tore some with its teeth, killed some by strangling them in its coils, and the rest were killed by the poisonous breath from its throat. It was already midday, and as the men had not returned, Cadmus decided to search for them. He threw around him the shaggy lion’s skin which served for a cloak and donned his glittering helmet. He took two spears with him. He had not gone far before he saw the dragon and under it his dead companions, whose wounds the horrible monster was licking. “I will have revenge or die like you,” he cried. He seized a huge rock and hurled it at the dragon with such force that it might have shattered a tower, but it did not harm the monster. The rock glanced from its scaly hide and fell heavily to the ground. Deep into its back he hurled a spear, the point of which penetrated its entrails. The monster reared, bent its neck, and seized the spear with its teeth. It jerked it one side and the other powerfully and at last tore it out. But it had only taken out the handle. The iron remained sticking in the entrails. In its fury its eyes flashed fire terribly, its veins and throat swelled, and white foam flew from its poisonous jaws. Next it coiled itself, with a terrible rattling of its scales, and hurled itself at Cadmus with the swiftness of lightning. Cadmus sprang to one side and plunged his second spear into the dragon’s neck. The spear glanced, the dragon turned its neck, seized it, and broke it to pieces. Cadmus thereupon drew his sword and drove it into its neck with such force that it not only ran it through, but also penetrated an oak, thus holding the dragon fastened to the tree. It coiled itself around the trunk and lashed it with its tail until it shook. Cadmus sprang back, for the air was poisonous near the monster. Blood and foam streamed from its neck and at last it died. As Cadmus advanced to look at the monster, Athene suddenly appeared at his side and said: “Cadmus, make a circle in the ground with your sword and furrow it and sow in the furrows the teeth of the dead dragon.” Athene disappeared and Cadmus set about the work. He furrowed the soil with his strong arms, took the dragon’s teeth, scattered them in the furrows, and covered them with earth. Lo, instantly the clods stirred, spear points pierced upwards, followed by glittering helmets, bearded heads, and at last the bodies of armed men. The human crop increased until at last a troop of warriors stood before him. Cadmus sprang to his weapons, but one of the warriors said: “Do not arm yourself, Cadmus, but avoid the contest.” Thereupon the warriors began to attack each other and a mighty struggle ensued. Only five of them survived. Their weapons were thrown to the ground and they made peace with each other. The five followed the brave Cadmus and helped him to build the city upon the spot designated by the oracle. He named it Thebes, as Apollo had ordered. |
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