Cadmus and the Dragon of Ares

Agenor, the King of Tyre and Sidon, had three sons and a very beautiful daughter named Europa. When Zeus, in the form of a bull, carried Europa off, the king ordered his sons to set off in search of her and not to return until she was found. The three young men set out, but soon realized the futility of their search.
One of the brothers, Cadmus, consulted the oracle at Delphi and the oracle told him to abandon the search for Europa and found a city instead. To find the right place, he was instructed to follow a cow until the animal sank down from weariness.
Cadmus traveled on until ha and the cow reached a lush fertile valley, remote and unpopulated. The cow lay down to chew its cud near a river in a beautiful spot, and the young man decided that he would found his city in that very place. Seeing that the prophecy had been fulfilled, he sacrificed the animal to the goddess Athena. Then, overcome with exhaustion, he fell asleep.
A beautiful woman dressed in a white tunic appeared the Cadmus in his dreams. She was wearing a helmet and a gleaming breastplate. In her hands she held a silver lance and shield, and on her shoulder perched an owl. Cadmus recognized her as Athena. The apparition spoke softly to him:
"Cadmus, brave warrior, you must indeed found your city here. To do so you must kill an enormous dragon that guards the spring dedicated the Ares, the god of war. Once you have vanquished it, pull out its teeth, plough a field, and scatter them."
The brave warrior prepared to fight the dragon that guarded the Spring of Ares. He fought a terrible battle against the beast. The powerful dragon used every possible trick and Cadmus fought valiantly. The ground was soaked with blood and rocks went flying as though they were pebbles. The yells of the hero and the roaring of the beast could be heard as far away as Mount Olympus. The terrible din of the contest disturbed the father of the gods, who was resting.
Annoyed, Zeus sent his daughter Athena to help Cadmus and put an end to this racket once and for all. Athena obediently appeared on the battlefield, but even with her help it took Cadmus another day to defeat the powerful dragon. After killing the beast, the hero pulled out its teeth. He ploughed a field with great effort, scattered the teeth on the blood-stained and sweat-soaked soil, and waited.
Soon from the dragon's teeth sprang many fierce warriors who were called Sparti, or "Sown Men." They began to fight among themselves with uncommon determination until there were only five left. The hero then attacked and disarmed them.
The warriors acclaimed Cadmus as their king and lord, and helped him build the walls of the city of Thebes, a city famous for the courage of its warrior, for they had been born from the teeth of a dragon.

(from The Book of The Dragon by H. G. Ciruelo Cabral)
Unknown Lazy - 17 years, 1 month, 5 days ago