AMPHIARAUS, in Greek legend, a son of Oi’cles and Hypermnestra, descended on the paternal side from the kingly seer Melampus, and, like his ancestor, endowed with the prophetic gift; but at the same time known for his valour in the great enterprises of his time—the expedition of the Argonauts and the hunt of the Calydonian boar. The expedition, however, on which the chief events of his life hinge is that of the Seven against Thebes, into which he was unwillingly driven by the treachery of his wife, Eriphyle {Odyssey, xi. 326), a sister of Adrastus, who then ruled in Sicyon, and by whom the enterprise was planned to restore Polynices to the throne of Thebes. As prince of Argos, Amphiaraus was in a position to assist greatly; but when called upon by Adrastus to take a part, he declined, on the ground that the cause was unholy, and would end fatally. His marriage with Eriphyle, however, had not only been meant to heal previous quarrels between him and Adrastus, but was to be a bond of peace for the future in this way, that she should always arbitrate between them. To secure her favour now, Polynices gave her the fatal necklace which Cadmus had once given to Harmonia, and, though warned of the consequences, Eriphyle accepted it and decided against her husband. Knowing that he would never return, Amphiaraus enjoined his son Alcmaeon, then a boy, to avenge his death upon his mother; and to his children generally he gave wise counsel. As he stepped into his chariot to depart he turned with a look of anger towards his wife, a scene which was represented on the chest of Cypselus. The assault of Thebes was disastrous to the Seven; and Amphiaraus, pursued by Periclymenus, would have fallen by his spear had not Jupiter, at a critical moment, struck the earth with a thunderbolt, ...