(), from the verb σπείρω, and accordingly signifies "the sown men ;" it is the name given to the
armed men who sprang from the dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus, and were believed to be the
ancestors of the five oldest families at Thebes. (Apollod. 3.4.
§ l; Paus. 9.5.1, 10. § l
; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 3.1179, ad Pind. Isthm.
1.41, ad Eur. Phoen. 670, ad Soph. Antig. 128
;Ov. Met. 3.101, &c.; comp. CADMUS).