Seven Against Thebes: The Quest of the Original Magnificent Seven

by Stephen Dando-Collins

An exploration of myth, legend, and origin stories passed from generation to generation.

In the thirteenth century BC, a quarter of a century before the Trojan War, seven Greek warrior heroes went against the Greek city of Thebes to restore one of their number to the throne of his father, the famous King Oedipus. Several children of those seven heroes would later take part in the siege of Troy.

This adventure was equal in the minds of Greeks and Romans with the siege of Troy as told in Homer’s epic The Iliad, an event which it predated by a generation. And while the story contains mythical elements, there are no factual, historical, or archaeological reasons to suggest that the military campaign did not take place much as described.

Initially sung in verse and later committed to written form via histories, ancient poems, and plays, Seven Against Thebes is a historical narrative concerning one of the greatest military adventures of all time.

Genres: History, Adventure, Audiobook, Mythology, Philosophy, Ancient History, Classics

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 26, 2023

About the author

Stephen Dando-Collins is the multi-award-winning author of 48 books. British reviewer, noted playwright Robin Hawdon, says that Dando-Collins is "the modern age's foremost dramatizer of Greek and Roman history," while American reviewer bestselling military author Lt. Colonel Dave Grossman has described Dando-Collins as "a literary giant." Considered an authority on the legions of ancient Rome, Dando-Collins has written ancient and modern history, children's novels, scientific nonfiction, and biographies. The bulk of his works deal with military history, ranging from Greek, Persian and Roman times to American, British and Australian 19th century history and World I and Word War II.
Many of his books have been translated into foreign languages including Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Dutch, Russian, Albanian and Korean.
His most acclaimed book on the ancient military, 'LEGIONS OF ROME,' was the culmination of decades of research into Rome's imperial legions.
Dando-Collins aims to travel roads that others have not, unearthing new facts and opening new perspectives on often forgotten or overlooked people and aspects of history.
He has two new books in 2024: 'CAESAR VERSUS POMPEY: Determining Rome's Greatest General, Statesman & Nation-Builder,' (Turner, US), and 'THE BUNA SHOTS: The Amazing Story Behind Two Photographs that Changed the Course of World War Two,' (Australian Scholarly Publishing).

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book of Dando-Collins that I have read. His writing style is somewhat terse and straight-forward--no problem there for me. The book serves as a re-telling of the Oedipus myths and then its forgotten sequel, the war between Eteocles and Polynices, the sons/half-brothers of Oedipus, for control of Thebes. Dando-Collins does an admirable job of collecting all the various accounts from Aeschylus, Euripides, and the other Greek writers to make a coherent narrative of events. And, what I also liked was the footnotes that cite the Greek texts and the occasional disagreements amongst the various writers.

What i didn't like about this book is in its marketing. Copy on the back cover says "the first modern historical account of the Theban War...". No, this really isn't a critical history--unlike Wood's IN SEARCH OF THE TROJAN WAR, there is only a minimal attempt to use archaeology and other historical records to sort any sort of historicity in this narrative.

[Ben Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book combines the various traditions and works of the ancient world to make a coherent narrative from Oedipus on the road from Delphi through the 7 Against Thebes, with a brief epilogue that tells of the Epigoni, the sons of the 7, who are able to successfully take the city.

It is well written, though in such a way that the author is standing out of the way to let the events deliver the impact of the story rather than his own prose.

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★★

I love Greek stories and myths (who doesn’t?) & I loved that this version included a discussion of the way this tale has been told throughout time as well as its validity.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hate the story of seven against Thebes, but one must read it in order to be well-read. If one must read it, this is a very fine interpretation.

[Doug Merrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

If the Odyssey is the OG hero’s journey, then this story Seven Against Thebes is the OG team up.

I picked this book up since I was trying to read a classic stories about brothers that turn against one another and this didn’t let me down. The family drama is interesting, the build up to the siege of Thebes leads is great, and the battle itself is visceral and full of real consequences (ie no main character has “plot armor”). Spoilers start below.

The parts I found most fascinating about this story was the backstory around the tragedy of Oedipus and the recruiting of the seven to take back Thebes. With the Oedipus story, it’s a classic example of how a person can try extremely hard but ultimately cannot change his fate (as seems to be the case with most Greek stories). But I think these stories serve to highlight when you just try to “change your fate”, you can end up having too much tunnel vision and forget to see what is the real problem to address. You actually have to be introspective, think about what your flaws are, and focus on addressing those. Kinda ties in to stoic philosophy which is to focus on what you can control, being disciplined, and cultivating a better character for yourself. For example, Oedipus was prone to rage and quick judgement which resulted in him killing his father and bedding his mother, even though he did so unknowingly and with seemingly good intentions. If he was more forgiving and thoughtful, he wouldn’t have made rash decisions that did him in.

With the recruiting of the seven champions (when Polynices (son of Oedipus) looks to take back the throne in Thebes post the abdication of his father Oedipus and the betrayal of his younger brother Eteocles), it’s a fascinating journey of how he makes a different “sales pitches” to each champion he must recruit, appealing to each champions’ unique set of virtues and ambitions to recruit them. Like in tradition of great Hollywood team ups such as the Magnificent Seven (which this Greek story was no doubt the inspiration) or Oceans Eleven, it’s fun to see how the team gets together and how challenging but ultimately rewarding that is when it comes to fruition. What made this team up more fascinating was that one of the champions Amphiaraus is actively trying to subterfuge the attack on Thebes since he got a negative prophecy saying he’d die in the fight. I think that adds an interesting twist to the story when someone on the team is actively trying to manipulate others against the overall team objective, which you don’t typically see in team up stories that keep things simple.

The only downside I felt (and why it’s 4 stars instead of 5 stars) is that there are almost too many prophecies. Each prophecy is effectively like a spoiler even if it requires some interpretation but usually it’s pretty clear who it’s about or what it means. And look maybe this is just my gripe with Greek storytelling in general but it does zap all of the tension before the action happens. And while I think the prophecy framing works well for the Oedipus story (cuz we think we know who Oedipus’ parents are only for us to find out later it was two other people), I felt that in the actually seven against Thebes part it makes it all feel doomed from the get go and I’d rather have gone into that battle scene not knowing what was going to happen.

[· · Rating 3 out of 5]

(10 March, 2026)

A straight-up prose rendition of one of the coolest stories of all time. Dando-Collins uses ancient sources to bolster his version of this Theban drama. One choice, concerning Jocasta, is weird but it actually makes more sense than the version with which I am acquainted. She - and Oedipus - are blameless. Neither knew who the other actually was (by the way, Freud can suck it, he's clueless!). Oedipus' story is included for clarity, since 'The Seven Against Thebes' is the continuation of his family's sad history.

Eteocles is despicable, Polynices might have done the same as his greedy brother but we'll never know. Twice, Eteocles reneges on his word because his lust for power has made him mad. Speaking with Jocasta, his mother, he demonstrates how truly blind he is:

"Never will I become his slave when I can be his master! Never!"

He cannot master his own wants and desires, how can he possibly be anyone's master?

The prose is unremarkable yet serviceable. An aura of wonder is still present (how can it not?) but it's dimmed in an undefined way. This is bare bones storytelling, it's all here but it's lacking oomph.

Fatalism run amok.

[RS · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Ryk Stanton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this!

[The_J · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heroic tale from Greece before Homer. Just amazing how much of our stories are found as gifts from Greek culture.

[Jeff J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent account of the siege of Thebes.

[Laur · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's seven against thebes, I don't know what else to tell you
a fine audiobook performance