General Notes

AGAVE (1) was a daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, who along with her sisters seemed to be born under an evil star. Her sisters were Autonoe, Ino, and Semele, and she had one brother, Polydorus. She married Echion, one of the Sparti who had sprung from the dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus at the founding of Thebes, and their only child was Pentheus. Echion helped Cadmus build Thebes, and he also dedicated a temple to Cybele in Boeotia. When Semele, during her pregnancy with Dionysus, was destroyed by the splendor of Zeus, Agave and her other sisters spread the report that Semele had been promiscuous and was trying to conceal her guilt by pretending divine fatherhood for her unbord child.