King Agnor cried and mourned for a long time, and could not accept the loss of his beloved daughter. He called his sons and told them with tears:
- I will not rest until I see and hug my beloved daughter. Go on the road and find your poor sister.
Under the fear of death Agenor forbade his sons to return home without Europe.
The brothers gathered and set out on their way. First they went together, and then two of the brothers, Phoenix and Kilix, fell behind and founded their kingdoms, Phoenician and Cilicia, where they stayed. And the third brother, Cadm, went on alone.
For a long time he wandered the world in search of his sister, until he finally realized that he would never find her. But he was also afraid to return home without Europe. Then he decided to stay forever in the stranger's side and asked for advice from the oracle of Apollo, in which country to stay and where to build a city. And here's what he heard in response:
- Go straight ahead and see a cow in a secluded meadow, who did not know the yoke yet. Follow her and where she lies down, you will build a city and name the country Beoty.
Cadm rejoiced, thanked the oracle and went with his faithful companions, the Sidonians, along the path that the oracle had shown him. They walked, and soon they saw a snow-white cow in a forest closed from all sides. Cadm and his companions went after the cow, and they had to go for a long time until the cow stopped at the beautiful flowering meadow. She plucked fresh green grass and lay down in the middle of the meadow.
He thanked Cadm of the radiant Apollo, knelt down and kissed the land of his new homeland. Then he gathered stones to lay down the altar and sacrifice to Zeus, and sent his companions for water. Not far from here was a deep grotto in the woods of the century, overgrown with shrubs. From there, a stream with transparent student water flowed out. And in the grotto there lived a huge snake, the son of the cruel god of war Ares. A triple sting protruded from his mouth with three rows of terrible poisonous teeth, his evil eyes sparkled with hatred, and a golden crest was shaking on his high head.
He heard the serpent's footsteps and came out of his gloomy gorge with a spiteful hissing. The miserable Sidonians died of horror when they saw this bloodthirsty monster. And the snake rose to its full height and became taller than the tallest trees in the forest. He opened his terrible jaws and threw himself at people.
Cadmus
Waiting and waiting for Cadm's companions and not waiting. He went to look for them. He walked slowly in the footsteps of the Sidonians, covering himself with a shield, a lion's skin, and holding a spear at the ready. A few steps later, he saw with horror the torn bodies of his poor comrades, and on top of them lay a huge snake. Cadm's mind was about to blurt, but he quickly pulled himself together. He hated the bloodthirsty beast and cried out with hatred:
- Forgive me, my faithful comrades, for not having saved you from a cruel death. But I will either avenge you or follow you into the realm of the dead.
A manly Sidon grabbed a huge stone and threw it with all his might into a huge snake. The stone flew away from his impenetrable scaly shell like a small pea from a wall. But this did not stop the fearless hero, he waved his pointed spear and threw it into a thick winding body. The snake snapped, grabbed the spear and wanted to pull it out, but only broke the shaft. The snake rose high in the air, he began to crush and break everything around him, huge trees were flying into pieces, huge stones turned into sand from the blows of his powerful tail. The snake threw itself at the fearless Cadmus, but the brave Sidonian covered himself with a lion's skin and reflected with his sharp sword all the throws of the monster. And then he nailed the snake to a huge tree with a powerful blow. Even the centuries-old oak could not stand it and bent from the weight of his huge body. The brave hero approached the defeated snake and suddenly heard a voice:
- What do you stand for, son of Agenor, and wonder at the killed snake? Soon you too will turn into a snake, and then people will look at you and marvel at this miracle.
Cadm looked around and saw no one. But he was so impressed by this mysterious voice and this terrible prediction that he could not forget it for a long time. He was also very worried that he was now all alone and had no one to talk to. And only Cadm thought about it, as Athena Pallada appeared. She told him to rip his teeth out of the terrible monster and sow them like seeds in a field. Cadm did so, and before he sowed the last tooth, the points of spearheads, heads in helmets, shoulders, and arms covered with shells began to appear first from under the ground, and there was an entire squad of armed soldiers on the field. Cadm was afraid when he saw this formidable army and grabbed the sword, but immediately heard a formidable cry:
- Do not grab the sword and do not interfere in the internecine war.
Cadm stepped aside, and a terrible bloody battle broke out on the field. The warriors attacked each other with zeal and, wounded, fell on the land that gave birth to them.
Only five warriors remained on the field, and then one of them left