On Unbelievable Stories (3)

An old tale says that Cadmos, after slaying a serpent, plucked out its teeth [odontes] and sowed [speirō] them in his own land, and that men with weapons sprung up from them. If this were true, noone would sow anything other than serpents’ teeth; and if they would not grow elsewhere then they would at least sow them in the land in which they had sprung up previously.

Here is the truth. Cadmos, a Phoenician by birth, arrived at Thebes to compete against his brother, Phoinix, for the kingdom. The king of Thebes at the time was Draco [‘Serpent’], a son of Ares, who, among all the things that a king usually has, owned elephant tusks [odontes]. Cadmos killed him and became king himself. Draco's friends began to wage war against him, and his sons also joined forces against Cadmos. When Draco’s allies had been defeated in battle, they seized Cadmos’ possessions, including the elephant tusks, which were stored in a sanctuary. They began to run away, fleeing to their homelands. They scattered [speirō] in different directions, with some going to Attica, and others going to the Peloponnese, Phocis or Locris. From these places they continued to wage war against the Thebans. They were difficult opponents since they spoke the same language and were knowledgeable about the terrain. After they had stolen the tusks and fled, the townspeople would say, Cadmos has harmed us in killing Draco, for, because of that man's tusks, many noble men have risen up [spartoi] and prevailed over us. The myth was fabricated from this real event.