JUPITER IN THEBAID 1 AGAIN 141
haps referring to the projected alternate reigns of Eteocles and
Polynices.^7 He goes on:
belli mihi semina sunto
Adrastus socer et superis adiuncta sinistris
conubia. hanc etiam poenis incessere gentem
decretum; neque enim arcano de pectore fallax
Tantalus et saeuae periit iniuria mensae.
(1.243–7)
Let the seeds of war be, for me, the father-in-law Adrastus and a mar-
riage joined by sinister gods. It is decreed too to assail this race with
punishment; for false Tantalus and the damage of his cruel banquet
have not perished in my secret heart.At last we know why Argos is to be punished; partly because Adrastus
would marry his daughter to Polynices, (hardly, one would think, a
cosmic offence and one which, in any case, was yet to be committed,
and partly because of Tantalus’ infamous banquet for the gods; but if
Oedipus’ much more recent offences can be expiated because of his
blindness, surely Tantalus’ offences can be expiated by the severity
and longevity of his penalties. It is, at first sight, puzzling to see Tan-
talus as having any connection with Adrastus. However, according to
Apollodorus again, Tantalus had a daughter, Niobe, whose boasting
that she had borne more children than Latona had resulted in the death
of all her children except Amphion and Chloris; Chloris married
Neleus (Apollod. 3.5.6); they had a daughter, Pero (Apollod. 1.9.9),
who married Bias and bore Talaus who married Lysimache and bore
Adrastus (1.9.13).
Startling indeed is the contrast between the angry but rational
Oedipus who succeeds in his desire to punish his sons by eliciting the
help of Tisiphone and the blustering Jupiter who seems to understand
little and to be doing too little too late. Commentators have seen the
flaws in Jupiter’s speech but have attributed them to Statius’ careless-
ness; it is far more probable that they are to be attributed to the weak-
ness and stupidity of Jupiter. This is, of course, problematic for the
relationship between Statius and Domitian, dominus et deus.
7 But the plurality of regnis is probably of no consequence, see 1.74.