As Iphis leaves, the orphaned youths arrive to hand over the ashes of their fathers to their grandmothers. The boys’ lamentations are laced with promises of vengeance. As he prepares to leave, Theseus reminds the Argives of their debt to Athens — which they gratefully acknowledge. Their gratitude, however, is not enough for Athena. She suddenly appears above the temple to instruct Theseus to extract a pledge from Adrastus never to invade Athens. After enjoining Theseus to memorialize the pledge at the temple of Apollo, she tells the young men that they will grow up to avenge the death of their fathers by sacking Thebes. Adrastus and the women depart, grateful for the assistance they have received from Theseus.