In comparing Polinice to Racine's Thebaide, Salsano argues that Alfieri's interpretation of the conflict between the brothers
Eteocles and Polynices both privileges the political dimensions underlying the story and elevates the sparer language utilized by Racine, all in an effort to "realizzare un piU dinamico contesto drammatico" (89).
The two sons,
Eteocles and Polynices, in order to avoid bloodshed, agreed to rule Thebes in alternate years.
After
Eteocles and Polynices have killed each other in battle, Creon, Antigone's uncle and now king of Thebes, decrees that Eteocles' body shall be buried with honors befitting a national hero but that Polynices' body shall be left unburied, a prey to scavengers.
for consenting to his banishment, his sons,
Eteocles and Polynices, agreed to occupy the Theban throne on alternate years.