Characterization in the Thebaid

Perhaps because there is no central figure in the Thebaid, none of the figures in the epic undergoes the type of sustained development of character that Aeneas experiences in the Aeneid. Polynices is perhaps the most memorable figure. He has a great many unique personal qualities but is also portrayed as a typically corrupt aspirant to the throne; his character ranges from an affectionate concern for his wife Argia (Theb. 2.352-62) to extreme cruelty and vindictiveness (cf., e. g., 1.316-23; 2.313-32; 3.365-82; 6.316-26; 11.97-112, 497-573). There is often a dramatic change in the personalities of humans when they are made subject to the influence of supernatural powers or released from their control. In general a certain pattern of behavior and attitude emerges among the various human characters in the speeches and narrative, which is then undermined by the later speeches and actions of these figures in reaction to the harmful influences of the supernatural powers or the absence of these forces, and this phenomenon finally is perceived as a pattern of the entire characterizing process in the epic. Oedipus is portrayed as bitter and vindictive when he is under the control of the Furies (cf. 1.51-2, 7.466-9, 11.617-19), but is an entirely different person when these powers leave him alone (cf. 11.599-633, esp. 617-21). Amphiaraus is depicted as a pious and peace-loving priest (e. g., 3.620-47, 5.731-52) until he is filled with a desire for war and an insatiable bloodlust under the influence and watchful gaze of the higher powers (7.703-12, 695-704, 736-59; cf. 77980). This transition in the personalities of the various characters occurs at many different points in the progression of the narrative. While Oedipus and Amphiaraus undergo a radical transformation of character just prior to their final appearances, characters such as Polynices and his brother are barely allowed to show even a hint of their real nature before they are set against each other by supernatural forces and their personalities are transmuted (1.123-43).