Download Mr. Belanger Adapted from Plutarch`s Life of Theseus

World Themes 113
Mr. Belanger
Name:
Adapted from Plutarch’s Life of Theseus
Theseus and the Minotaur
Now that he had secured his position, Theseus did not choose to live
lazily at home. He went to Marathon, where a large bull was terrorizing the
inhabitants. Theseus captured this bull and brought him back alive to show
the Athenians, then took the bull to Delphi, where he sacrificed him to
Apollo.
Soon afterwards, the collectors from Crete arrived for the tribute
that Athens was required to send every nine years: seven boys and seven
girls. This tribute had to be paid because of the murder of Androgeus, the
eldest son of King Minos of Crete, while he had been a guest of Aegeus in
Attica. Minos avenged the death of his son with war, and in addition to the
damage done to the Athenians by Minos' army, the gods also punished the
land with drought, famine, and plague. The oracle at Delphi told the
Athenians that their troubles would not end until they appeased Minos, so
the Athenians immediately asked for terms of peace. Minos required that
every nine years, seven boys and seven girls would be sent to Crete as
tribute.
From the example of Minos we may learn how dangerous it is to
make an enemy of a city that has great writers. Although Hesiod called him
"most royal Minos," and Homer called him "Jupiter's good friend,"
playwrights of Athens always represented Minos as a cruel and violent
man, and rained down abuse and slander from the stage.
Some say that the Minotaur, a strange combination of man and bull,
ate these Athenian children as they wandered in the Labyrinth. Others say
that the Labyrinth was only an ordinary prison, and that the Athenians were
kept in the Labyrinth as slaves to be a prize for the victor in the games of
King Minos. This was the third time that the Cretans had come for the
tribute, and the Athenians were all very unhappy. Every man with a teenaged son or daughter had to participate in a lottery to determine who
would have to go. The Athenians grumbled that Aegeus, who was the
cause of their trouble, would not participate in the lottery, and that true
Athenians sacrificed their children so a foreign bastard might inherit the
kingdom.
Theseus was aware of this discontent, so he offered himself as one of
the victims, not just as a participant in the lottery. Everyone admired the
nobility and loved the goodness of this act, and all of Aegeus' tears could
not turn Theseus away from his noble resolution.
Black sails were on the ship taking the victims to Crete. This time,
however, Aegeus put white sails aboard and ordered the crew to use white
sails instead of the black ones on the return voyage if Theseus managed to
do what he had confidently promised -- kill the Minotaur.
When the ship arrived at Crete, Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos,
fell in love as soon as she saw Theseus. Ariadne gave Theseus a ball of
string to mark his trail through the Labyrinth, and Theseus managed to kill
the Minotaur in the Labyrinth and lead out all of the Athenian hostages.
Then Theseus and the hostages escaped from Crete on the ship that had
brought them, and they steered home to Athens. Ariadne went with
Theseus…
Questions: Life of Theseus
1) Why would you call Theseus a hero?
2) According to Campbell, what type of hero is Theseus?
3) How does his story fit into the “hero cycle?”
4) Why do you think this story might be important to an Ancient Greek?
5) How might it bind Ancient Greeks together?
6) Are there any stories about heroes that bind Americans together?