The fall of the House of Cadmus - Iseult Gillespie
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When Cadmus walked the Earth, just a few generations separated him from his divine ancestors. From atop Mount Olympus, they scrutinized and meddled with mortals like himself. Cadmus was a skilled warrior and heir to the Phoenician throne, but he wouldn’t stay in the gods’ favor for long— a critical mistake would seal his tragic fate. Iseult Gillespie details the Greek myth of the serpent’s curse.
Additional Resources for you to Explore
The story of the Cadmus and the tragic incidents that befell his family appears in the Roman poet Ovid’s famous collection Metamorphoses, a series of poems dealing with the transformation of humans, usually at the hands of the Gods. You can listen to a podcast about Metamorphoses here.
Cadmus and his family appear throughout the collection, woven in with other stories. You can read translations of their stories in Metamorphoses Book III, and Metamorphoses Book IV. The family are known as the House of Cadmus, who were part of the early generation of humans. But even though Cadmus is only a few generations apart from the Gods (and therefore considered “the first hero” in some sources), that does not protect him from their wrath. You can read more about Cadmus and see depictions of him throughout history here.
Cadmus’ epic downfall is triggered when he unknowingly slays a serpent, sometimes known as the Ismenian Dragon, who is sacred to Ares the God of war. Read more about this event here. This triggers a fallout so vast and multigenerational that it’s hard to decipher the Gods’ motives in this myth. Instead, the stories of Cadmus and his family trace a tragic fallout that they’re unable to rationalize until it reaches a moment of peace or realization with the full-circle ending: the transformation of Cadmus and Harmonia into snakes. You can see some visual depictions of this moment here.
For more TED-Ed animations of mortals being transformed by the classical Gods, all featured in Metamorphoses, check out the stories of Arachne, King Midas, and Baucis and Philemon.
Cadmus and his family appear throughout the collection, woven in with other stories. You can read translations of their stories in Metamorphoses Book III, and Metamorphoses Book IV. The family are known as the House of Cadmus, who were part of the early generation of humans. But even though Cadmus is only a few generations apart from the Gods (and therefore considered “the first hero” in some sources), that does not protect him from their wrath. You can read more about Cadmus and see depictions of him throughout history here.
Cadmus’ epic downfall is triggered when he unknowingly slays a serpent, sometimes known as the Ismenian Dragon, who is sacred to Ares the God of war. Read more about this event here. This triggers a fallout so vast and multigenerational that it’s hard to decipher the Gods’ motives in this myth. Instead, the stories of Cadmus and his family trace a tragic fallout that they’re unable to rationalize until it reaches a moment of peace or realization with the full-circle ending: the transformation of Cadmus and Harmonia into snakes. You can see some visual depictions of this moment here.
For more TED-Ed animations of mortals being transformed by the classical Gods, all featured in Metamorphoses, check out the stories of Arachne, King Midas, and Baucis and Philemon.
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Meet The Creators
- Educator Iseult Gillespie
- Director Adriana Monteforte Lahera
- Narrator Jack Cutmore-Scott
- Composer Hrvoje Nikšić
- Sound Designer Hrvoje Nikšić
- Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
- Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
- Editorial Producer Cella Wright
