Polynices

American  

[pol-uh-nahy-seez] / ˌpɒl əˈnaɪ siz /

noun

Classical Mythology.

1. a son of Oedipus and Jocasta and brother of Eteocles and Antigone on whose behalf the Seven against Thebes were organized.

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Polynices British  

/ ˌpɒlɪˈnaɪsiːz /

noun

1. Greek myth a son of Oedipus and Jocasta, for whom the Seven Against Thebes sought to regain Thebes. He and his brother Eteocles killed each other in single combat before its walls

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Polynices

In Sophocles, Antigone, Oedipus’ headstrong daughter, defies the edict issued by her uncle Creon, the newly deputized king, declaring that her slain brother Polynices is an enemy of the state and therefore ineligible for burial.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

I wondered if ambiguity had been outlawed along with the funeral rites of Antíkona’s warrior brother Polynices.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

But, points out Long, despite her mention that she "got into Oxford", Cusk manages repeatedly to give the wrong name for Antigone's brother: he is Polynices, not Polylectes.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 12, 2013

Creon, their uncle, becomes king instead, forbidding a proper burial for Polynices because he incited civil war.

From New York Times ● Feb. 1, 2011

This is the argument, he says, that Antigone makes in burying her brother Polynices: it may be against the arbitrary and temporary law of the tyrant Creon, but not against the unwritten law of justice.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith