Menoeceus

Not to be confused with Menoetius (mythology).

In Greek mythology, Menoeceus (/məˈniːsiəs, -sjuːs/; Greek: Μενοικεύς Menoikeús) was the father of Creon, Jocasta and Hipponome and both grandfather and father-in-law of Oedipus. This Menoeceus was the Theban grandson of Pentheus and a descendant of the Spartoi. Another Menoeceus was the son of Creon, named after his grandfather. According to Hyginus and Statius, during the reign of Oedipus when the Seven Against Thebes laid siege to the city, Creon's son committed suicide by throwing himself from the walls after Tiresias foretold that if anyone of the Sparti should perish, Thebes would be freed from disaster. The Thebans were ultimately victorious. The battle is memorialized in Seven Against Thebes, the play by Aeschylus. Some records say that that Menoeceus was the grandfather of Creon and Jocasta and his son (Creon and Jocasta's father) was named Oscalus.

A later Menoeceus was a contemporary of Epicurus, to whom the philosopher wrote a letter summarizing his ethical doctrines.