In his Oedipus and Akhnaton (1960), Velikovsky introduced his readers to one of the most fascinating episodes of ancient history. In this volume he identified Akhnaton, the heretic pharaoh, with Oedipus, the incestuous king of Greek legend. He went on from there to suggest that the entire “Theban cycle” of legends surrounding Oedipus and his children rightfully belonged in Egypt and described the downfall of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Thus Eteocles and Polyneices, the two sons of Oedipus who battled for the throne of Thebes after the exile of Oedipus, were identified with Tutankhamun and Smenkhare, who also apparently were in contention for the throne of Egypt. According to Velikovsky, the aged politician Ay fomented conflict between Smenkhare and Tutankhamun with a view to acquiring the throne for himself. In Oedipus and Akhnaton Velikovsky suggested that after being deposed Smenkhare fled abroad, where he gathered armies in a bid to retake the throne. With these troops he marched on Egypt where both he and Tutankhamun were slain in battle. These events are apparently recalled in the Greek story of the War of the Seven Champions. The Greek legend suggested that just a few years later another foreign army, led by the descendants or “epigoni” of the Seven Champions, marched on Thebes (ie Egypt) and that this invasion succeeded.