The fall of the House of Cadmus

When Cadmus walked the earth, just a few generations separated him

from his divine ancestors. From atop Mount Olympus, they scrutinized

and meddled with mortals like himself. Cadmus was a skilled warrior

and heir to the Phoenician throne. But he wouldn't stay

in the gods' favor for long. First, Zeus coveted

Cadmus' sister, Europa. So, he snuck into the palace garden

in the form of a bull and stole her away. Their father tasked Cadmus and his men

with the impossible duty of bringing Europa back. Cadmus journeyed to the sacred

Oracle of Delphi to plead for help, where he was told to find and follow

a sacred, wild cow. At the spot where the cow rested,

he was to found a new city. Cadmus and his men did as the oracle said, then ventured into the nearby

forest for supplies. But a giant serpent soon appeared. It choked some of Cadmus' men

and blasted others with venom. Cadmus leapt into action,

hurled his javelin, and pinned the snake to a tree. Without knowing it, he had just slain

Ares', the god of war's, precious serpent— and sealed tragedy into his own fate

along with it. Suddenly, a disembodied voice boomed: "You too shall be a serpent

to be gazed on." Taking pity on the prince, the goddess Athena instructed

Cadmus to till the earth using the serpent's teeth. As he nestled its fangs into the soil, a band of warriors sprouted

from the ground. Together, they built the magnificent

city of Thebes. And eventually, Cadmus fell in love

with Harmonia, daughter of Ares and Aphrodite,

and the two married. As years passed,

and his city and family grew, hope that all strife might be forgotten

between Cadmus and the gods glimmered briefly. But, soon enough, his family's luck

began souring once more. Tragedy struck when Cadmus'

grandson, Actaeon, was tracking a stag in the forest

with his hunting hounds. The young man unwittingly infringed

on the sacred grove of Artemis, goddess of the hunt,

as she was bathing. Artemis punished Actaeon,

transforming him into a skittish stag. And in this form Actaeon's own hounds

could no longer distinguish him from the object of the hunt—

and they went in for the kill. Then, Zeus visited again— this time taking advantage of Semele,

one of Cadmus' four daughters. When Zeus' wife Hera learned

that he'd been unfaithful yet again and that Semele was pregnant, she tricked Zeus into revealing himself

to Semele in his divine form. But even the feeblest of his thunderstorms

was too much for a mortal to witness, and Semele perished. Zeus managed to save their unborn child,

who grew into Dionysus, god of wine. His wild, revelrous rituals

drew devoted followers. But they eventually got out of hand. On one occasion,

two of Cadmus' four daughters, Agave and Autonoë—

Dionysus' own aunts— had a hallucinatory fit and killed

Agave's own son, believing he was a lion. Next, Hera targeted the family again. Alongside the Furies,

the goddesses of vengeance, she cursed Cadmus' fourth daughter, Ino, with an intolerable madness

that drove her into the sea. Besieged by bad luck

and overcome with grief, Cadmus and Harmonia wandered

the wilderness. They considered the many tragic turns

their lives had taken— which Cadmus traced back to the time

he killed the serpent. Realizing that the animal

could have been sacred and that his act might have incited

the unabating wrath of the gods, Cadmus prayed to recompense his error. Suddenly, he felt his body change

and he embraced Harmonia. The two melted to the ground

and shed their human skins, until finally, two snakes were

left coiled in the field. Cadmus' debt was at last repaid— to the snake he slayed

in a desperate moment, and to the gods,

who guarded their grudges and dispensed of their

punishments liberally.