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Two twin sons were born to a Boeotian beauty named Antiope by Zeus: Zethos and Amphion. Forced by her uncle Lykos, regent of Thebes, to abandon the sons, Antiope was brought to Thebes and made to serve Lykos's wife Dirce. Upon her escape from enslavement, Antiope found her sons fully grown. Seeking vengence for their mother's treatment, the twins murdered Dirce, gathered an army, and conquered Thebes.
Zethos was the physically-inclined of the twins, while Amphion was devoted to music, specifically the lyre. Combining their strengths, the brothers built the seven-gated walls around the Kadmeia. Zethos labored to carry stones to the city while Amphion used his lyre to lift the stones into place. Ruling the city jointly, Zethos married Thebe, for whom Thebes was named, while Amphion chose Niobe for a wife. Misfortune was soon to follow. The death of Zethos's sole son prompted his suicide. Although a fertile wife, Niobe's arrogance in proclaiming that she had more children than the goddess Leto caused Artemis and Apollo to avenge their mother's reputation by murdering Niobe's children. In his grief, Amphion died.
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