\b0 The capital of Boeotia, it was said to have been founded by \b \cf4 \ATXht10301 Cadmus\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 . It was here that
, among others, the god \b \cf4 \ATXht10 Dionysus\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 , \b \cf4 \ATXht10811 Heracles\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 , and the soothsayer \b \cf4 \ATXht12012 Tiresias\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 were born. The tragic destinies of \b \cf4 \ATXht11906 Semele\b0 \cf0 \ATXht1021 ,\ATXht0 \b \cf4 \ATXht11616 Pentheus\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 , \b \cf4 \ATXht11408 Niobe\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 and her children, and \b \cf4 \ATXht11503 Oedipus\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 all unfolded against the background of Thebes.