Adrastus (1)Adrestos

The mythical king of Argos whose life was closely tied to the legend of king Oedipus of the city of Thebes and, indirectly, to the fall of the city of Troy.

Adrastus was the son of Talaus and Lysimakhe (Lysimache); as a young man he was forced to flee Argos and live in the city of Sikyon (Sicyon) where he was made heir to the throne and later became the king; as king of Sikyon, he returned to Argos and made peace; he welcomed the exiled son of Oedipus, Polynikes (Polynices), and also another exile, Tydeus.

Polynikes married one of Adrastus’ daughters, Argeia, and Tydeus married another named Deipyle.

Adrastus helped Polynikes mount an attack on the city of Thebes and their company became known as Seven Against Thebes; their campaign failed and Polynikes was killed but Adrastus managed to escape on his immortal steed, Arion.

A generation later, Adrastus led the sons of the Seven (known as the Epigoni) back to Thebes and successfully took the city; the only casualty of the second battle was Adrastus’ son, Aigialeus; because of the loss of his beloved son, Adrastus supposedly died of grief on the way back to Argos.

Although his name is more properly rendered as Adrestos, it is almost always translated as Adrastus.