Amphiaraus

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In Greek mythology, Amphiaraus, or Amphiaraos ("doubly-cursed") was the son of Oicles and Hypermnestra, and husband of Eriphyle. Amphiaraus was the King of Argos along with Adrastus, brother of Eriphyle, and Iphis. Amphiaraus was a seer, and greatly honored in his time. Both Zeus and Apollo favored him, and Zeus gave him his oracular talent.

Eriphyle persuaded Amphiaraus to take part in the Seven Against Thebes raid, though he knew he would die. She had been persuaded by Polynices, who offered her the necklace of Harmonia, daughter of Aphrodite. Amphiaraus reluctantly agreed to join the battle and asked his sons, Alcmaeon and Amphilochus to avenge his death. On the way to the battle, Amphiaraus often warned the other warriors that the expedition would fail, and blamed Tydeus for starting it. He would eventually prevent Tydeus from being immortalized by Athena because of this. Despite this, he was possibly the greatest leader in the attack. In the battle, Amphiaraus sought to flee from Poriclymenus, the son of Poseidon, who wanted to kill him, but Zeus threw his thunder and the earth opened to swallow Amphiaraus together with his chariot.

Alcmaeon killed his mother when Amphiaraus died. He was pursued by the Erinyes as he fled across Greece, eventually landing the court of King Phegeus, who gave him his daughter in marriage. Exhausted, Alcmaeon asked an oracle how to avoid the Erinyes and was told that he needed to stop where the sun was not shining when he killed his mother. That was the mouth of the river Achelous which had been silted up. The god of that river, also named Achelous, gave him his daughter, Callirhoe in marriage if Alcmaeon would retrieve the necklace and clothes which Eriphyle wore when she persuaded Amphiaraus to take part in the battle. Alcmaeon had given these jewels to Phegeus who had his sons kill Alcmaeon when he discovered Alcmaeon's plan.

During the battle, Amphiaraus killed Melanippus.

In a sanctuary at Oropos, Northwest of Attica, Amphiaraus was worshipped as with a hero cult. He was considered a healing and fortune-telling god and was associated with Asclepius. The healing and fortune-telling aspect of Amphiaraus came from him ancestry: he was related to the great seer Melampus. After making a sacrifice of a few coins, or sometimes a ram, at the temple, a petitioner slept inside and received a dream detailing the solution to his/her problem.

Roman tradition speaks of a son of Amphiaraus named Catillus who escaped from the slaughter at Thebes and led an expedition to Italy where he founded a colony where eventually appeared the city of Tibur (now Tivoli), named after his eldest son Tiburtus.