Who built Thebes of the seven gates ?
In the books you will read the names of kings.
Did the kings haul up the lumps of rock ?
Bertolt Brecht Questions From a Worker Who Reads

Thebes (in modern Greek: Θήβα — Thíva, in ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Θῆβαι — Thēbai or Thívai) is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. In ancient times it was the largest city of the region of Boeotia and the modern city still contains the Cadmea (ancient citadel).

Currently, the location of the ancient citadel, the Cadmea, is occupied by the town of Thíva (Θήβα).

History

The record of the earliest days of Thebes was preserved among the Greeks in an abundant mass of legends which rival the myths of Troy in their wide ramification and the influence which they exerted upon the literature of the classical age. Five main cycles of story may be distinguished:

1. The foundation of the citadel Cadmea by