Theseus
Posted on | February 19, 2008 |
Theseus was a founder of many of the original Greek myths, as were Heracles and Perseus, and was the King of Athens. He was known as the unifying king, and is believed responsible for creating many of the traditions of Athens.
Mythology
Aethra is Perseus’mother, and his fathers were Aegeus and Poseidon. It is said that Aethra and Aegeus were married, and on her wedding night Aethra waded across the sea to Sphairia, to lay with Poseidon. This gave Theseus attributes of both mortal and god.
Upon learning of Aethra’s pregnancy, Aegeus buried his sandals and sword beneath a huge rock. He told Aethra, if she had a son who was brave enough, at the appropriate age the son should retrieve the items as evidence of his royal blood and set out for Athens.
When he came of age, Theseus was told of his lineage by his mother. He retrieved the sandals and sword and set out for Athens. Choosing the inland route, which was the more dangerous way to Athens, Theseus passed by six entrances to the underworld, each one guarded by chthonic monsters disguised as bandits and thieves. He defeated each of the monsters and made it safely to Athens.
Upon reaching Athens, Theseus chose anonymity. He was welcomed by his father, Aegeus, who was suspicious of him and did not recognize him. Aegeus’ wife Medea knew who Theseus was and worried that he would be chosen as king rather than her own son Medus. Medea asked Theseus to capture the Marathonian Bull, a symbol of power on Crete. Theseus was successful, and upon his return to Athens, Medea gave him a glass of poisonous wine. Aegeus recognized the sandals and sword just in time to knock the glass from Theseus’ hand. The two men became close, and Medea was sent into exile.
Following an unsuccessful battle with Crete, King Minos demanded that seven Athenian boys and seven girls would be sent to Crete every nine years, for the Minotaur to devour. Theseus volunteered to kill the Minotaur, and sailed for Crete disguised as one of the children. He left flying a black sail on his ship, and told his father he would return with a white sail if he was successful.
The daughter of King Minos, Ariadne, was in love at first sight with Theseus. Subsequently, she presented him with a ball of string to use, which would help him navigate out of the Labyrinth - where the Minotaur lived. The one condition was that Theseus take Ariadne with him when he returned to Athens. Theseus defeated the Minotaur and left Crete with Ariadne, but abandoned her on the island of Naxos. She cursed him and prayed to the gods that he would forget to change his sail. Theseus sailed into Athens flying the black sail on his ship. Upon seeing it, Aegeus leaped into the sea and killed himself.
Theseus became friends with Zeus’ son Pirithous, and they made an agreement with each other that they would marry daughters of Zeus. Theseus and Pirithous kidnapped Zeus’ daughter Helen, and left her with Theseus’ mother Aethra until Theseus could return to marry her. Pirithous chose Persephone to be his bride, and together they descended into the underworld to kidnap her. They were welcomed by Persephone’s husband, Hades, who was not fooled by them. As the two men sat down to a feast, snakes coiled around their wrists and ankles, binding them to a bench. Heracles managed to rescue Theseus, but Pirithous was doomed to remain in the underworld for eternity. By the time Theseus returned to his mother’s house, Helen and Aethra had been taken to Sparta.
Theseus fathered a son, Acamus, with his first wife, Phaedra. Acamus was inside the horse that was presented to the Trojans as a gift. Eventually, Theseus met his doom after losing popularity in Athens. He was thrown to his death off of a cliff by Lycomedes.
Theseus in Popular Culture
- Many books tell the various adventures of Theseus, including Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun, Mary Renault’s The King Must Die, and its sequel The Bull From the Sea.
- Theseus figures prominently in the William Shakespeare works A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Two Noble Kinsmen.
- Alternative views of Theseus are offered in The Cretan Chronicles and in the short story La Casa de Asterion.
- Last of the Amazons by Steven Pressfield is a fictional tale of Theseus’ marriage to Antiope.
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