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Amphiaraus

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Reluctant prophet and warrior forced to join the Seven Against Thebes despite foreseeing his own doom. Zeus immortalized him by opening the earth to swallow him alive with his chariot.

Detailed Definition
Amphiaraus was a prophet and warrior who foresaw his death in the doomed expedition against Thebes but was compelled to join due to his wife’s betrayal. The earth opened to swallow him, granting him immortality as a chthonic oracle. Poets cite him to explore themes of fate, divine insight, and the tragic cost of honor and prophecy.
Example
Example in poetry:
Amphiaraus, the seer who foresaw his death in the Seven Against Thebes, is described by Aeschylus as “the unwilling warrior”; In Statius’s Thebaid, Amphiaraus is swallowed by the earth to avoid dishonorable death; Pindar’s Olympian Odes praise Amphiaraus’s prophetic wisdom and piety; Euripides portrays Amphiaraus as a voice of reason doomed by fate; Later Roman elegists cite Amphiaraus as an example of tragic foresight; His oracle at Oropus inspired poetic invocations of divine truth.
Additional Notes
Amphiaraus was a seer and hero of the Seven Against Thebes who foresaw his death but was compelled to join the doomed expedition; his story illustrates the tragic irony of foreknowledge without power to change fate—valuable in poetry dealing with prophecy, doom, or the limits of human agency; later deified as a chthonic oracle.
Also Known As
Seer of Argos Prophet of Doom Amphiaraos
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