Download Theseus

“The great Athenian Hero”
Theseus and the Minotaur
Minotaur
Theseus--art
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Miraculous birth, early threats
Disinheritance and/or powerful enemy
Quest(s) – impossible tasks requiring
strength and courage, really a search for
their identity
Helpers – often divine
Warrior mentality
Inability to manage women
Difficulty controlling passions
Egocentricity
Heroic traits--
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Theseus—
◦ son of Athenian King Aegeus
◦ Raised in Southern Greece by his Mom
◦ Aegeus (his dad) would not claim him until he
was strong enough to get a sword and shoes
he had hidden under a rock.
Early beginnings.
Retrieved the sword and shoes while still
a youth. Then, began his journey to
Athens
 On the way, he killed bandits in the same
method that individual had used to kill
their victims. “Eye for an Eye” was his
belief.
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How did he become a hero?
Procrustes was one of the bandits
Theseus met on his journey..
 Procrustes was known for killing his
victims on an iron bed—if they were too
long for the bed, he would cut off parts of
their bodies. Too short? He would stretch
them to fit. Gruesome.
 Theseus takes him out in the same
method.
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Procrustes- the iron bed bandit
Theseus returns to Athens to seek his
father King Aegeus—who doesn’t know he
is coming.
 Medea, after Jason sent her into exhile for
killing the kids, becomes an advisor to
King Aegeus, Theseus’ father.
 Medea knew it was the Kings son before
the King did, and saw Theseus as a threat
to her position as the king’s son.
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Medea—in this story, too?
Medea persuades the King to poison
Theseus, but Theseus identifies himself by
showing Aegeus the sword he had left him
before drinking the poison in the cup.
 Aegeus knocks the cup out of Theseus’
hand, saves his son’s life
 Medea flees the city….
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The evil plan…
Minotaur=1/2 man/ ½ monster, born to
the wife of Minos of Crete and King Minos.
 Labyrinth=maze, build by Daedalus, the
master inventor, to keep the Minotaur
prisoner.
 Every 9 yrs, the Athenian people had to
send 7 young men and 7 young women to
Crete for the Minotaur to eat. King Minos
demanded their deaths to avenge the
death of his only son, years earlier.
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The Minotaur—what/where
The son died when his dad King Minos
sent him to kill a dangerous bull.
 Minos threatened to destroy Athens
unless the 14 young people were
sacrificed every 9 years.
 Theseus learned of this and volunteered
to be sacrificed.
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The quest—kill the minotaur
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Ariadne, Minos’ daughter, helped Theseus
Theseus uses a ball of thread to track his
path into the labyrinth.
Kills the minotaur with his BARE HANDS!
Saves the young people who were to be
sacrificed…that is heroic!
Uses his brain—and strength to overcome
this great obstacle.
Helpers? You bet. Kill the
minotaur—check.
Ariadne sails away with Theseus toward
Greece, but never arrives.
 One story says he abandoned her on the
island of Naxos—what a jerk!
 Another story says she dies of an illness
on the island of Naxos.
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What happened to Ariadne?
Upon returning to Athens, Theseus forgot
to hoist the white sail to let his father
know he was alive.
 King Aegeus—his father, commits suicide
by throwing himself into the sea—thinking
his son was dead.
 The sea is now called the Aegean Sea.
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How did his father die?
Theseus was known for creating
democracy—a people’s government with a
council hall where citizens came together
to vote.
 He resigned as King and gave himself the
title “Commander in Chief”
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Creator of Democracy and early
senate
His love of adventure was a weakness.
 For the sake of adventure and excitement,
he helped his friend Pirithous kidnap
Persephone from the underworld.
 Hades stopped them by seating them in
the “chair of forgetfulness”
 Later, Hercules made the trip to the
underworld and frees Theseus, but not
Pirithous.
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Theseus’ weaknesses…
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Theseus’ first wife was the Amazon Antiope—
they have the child Hippolytus.
In later years he marries Ariadne’s sister,
Phaedra.
When Theseus took Phaedra home,
Hippolytus and Phaedra did not get along.
Hippolytus angered Aphrodite and she made
Phaedra, his father’s wife, fall in love with
him.
Phaedra kills herself rather than succumb to
the feeling Aphrodite sent upon her.
Tragedy of Phaedra, Theseus, and
Hippolytus
Phaedra left a suicide note saying
Theseus’ son Hippolyus had raped her—
which wasn’t true.
 Hippolytus denies this, but Theseus didn’t
believe him.
 Theseus banished his son Hippolytus
 Hippolytus dies driving his chariot along a
road by the sea—a monster came up and
he lost control of his chariot and its
horses.
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Hippolytus dies.
Artemis tells Theseus what the truth
was—Phaedra’s note was false and
Aphrodite was behind the whole thing.
 It was too late to save Hippolytus.
 Theseus dies in disgrace
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Dark ending.
Theseus--Feats of
Strength and Courage:
Theseus--Feats of
intelligence:
With a partner, list 3-4 things for
each side on a sheet of paper:
Each person today faces their own
“labyrinth”--What are modern-day
problems or fears that are “labyrinths”
that people face in our daily lives?
 With your partner, list 5-10 on the same
paper.
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Modern day labyrinths