Nycteus
Νυκτεύς
The Theban regent whose dying wish — punish my runaway daughter — created her suffering.
He was regent of Thebes. His name is linked to night (Nyx).
When his daughter Antiope, pregnant by Zeus, fled to the king of Sicyon, Apollodorus tells that Nycteus took his own life in despair, charging his brother Lycus to punish her.
That dying wish pushed Antiope under Dirce's abuse, and the entire tragedy — down to the twins' revenge — grows from it. Whether he was protecting his honor or his daughter, the myth never says.
SourcesApollodorus, Library