Real
Thebes
Thebes is the Greek city recalled in the Commedia as the site of the assault of the seven kings (in particular Capaneus), as the setting of its destruction, and as a term of comparison with other mythical events.
Description
Thebes is recalled by Dante in four passages of the Commedia, which associate it principally with the cycle of the seven kings who assailed it and with the figure of Capaneus. In Inferno XIV the name of the city appears in the periphrasis used to indicate the assault of the seven kings, of whom Capaneus was one of the most insolent attackers, struck down by Jupiter while he was blaspheming standing upright on the walls of the city. In Inferno XXV the recollection of Thebes is instead linked to the fall from the top of the walls, evoked as a term of comparison for the punishment of a damned soul. In Inferno XXX Thebes is mentioned alongside the Trojan Furies, while in Purgatorio XXI it is the poet Statius who recalls having sung of the Theban events before those of the great Achilles.
In the text
Linked verses
7 verses| Cantica | Canto | Verso | Testo | Open verse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inferno | Canto XIV | 69 | ch’assiser Tebe; ed ebbe e par ch’elli abbia | Open verse |
| Inferno | Canto XXV | 15 | non quel che cadde a Tebe giù da’ muri. | Open verse |
| Inferno | Canto XXX | 22 | Ma né di Tebe furie né troiane | Open verse |
| Inferno | Canto XXXII | 11 | ch’aiutaro Anfïone a chiuder Tebe, | Open verse |
| Inferno | Canto XXXIII | 89 | novella Tebe, Uguiccione e ’l Brigata | Open verse |
| Purgatory | Canto XXI | 92 | cantai di Tebe, e poi del grande Achille; | Open verse |
| Purgatory | Canto XXII | 89 | di Tebe poetando, ebb’ io battesmo; | Open verse |