Download Theseus Dearest hero to the Athenians Ovid, Plutarch, Apollodorus

Theseus



Dearest hero to the Athenians
Ovid, Plutarch, Apollodorus, Euripides, Sophocles
Saying in Athens “Nothing without Theseus”
Childhood

Son of Athenian King, Aegeus (maybe)
o Aegeus, one of the prehistoric kings of Athens, although twice married, had no heir to the throne.
So he made a pilgrimage to consult the celebrated oracle of Delphi. As he didn’t get a clear-cut
answer from the oracle, he sought advice from his wise friend Pittheus, king of Troezen (in
Argolis). Pittheus happily gave away his daughter Aethra to his friend at a secret wedding.
Aethra, after having lain with her husband on her wedding night, decided to take a walk in the
moonlight, which took her through the shallow waters of the sea to the Sferia island, on the
opposite coast of Poros. There she found Poseidon, god of the sea and earthquakes. Aethra, in the
middle of the night and under the moonlight, was seduced by Poseidon. Thus she got doubly
impregnated with the seed of a mortal and a god, giving birth to our hero, Theseus, blessed to be
born with both human and divine qualities.



Spent his youth in his mother’s (Aethra) home in Southern Greece
Before returning to Athens, Aegeus left gifts for his son in a hallow covered with a stone
o A sword and pair of shoes (link to Perseus and sandals)
o Told Aethra, when boy strong enough to retrieve gifts, he could come to Athens and claim Aegeus
as his father
When Theseus was of age, he has no difficulty and his grandfather summons a ship for him
o Theseus does not want a water journey (contrast to Jason)
 Assumes it is too easy
 Eager to be a “hero”
 Wants to be like his cousin Hercules
Perseus [son of Zeus/Danae]
(great-grandfather to)
(accompanies)
Theseus
(cousins/friends) Hercules
[Son of Aegeus]
Medea’s mentee
(accompanies)
[son of Zeus/Alcmena]
Jason
[son of Aeson/Alcimede]
(former wife/murderer of children)
Italicized information from: http://www.greeka.com/attica/athens/athens-myths/theseus.htm
Journey to Athens

Sets off on foot for Athens
o Long and hazardous journey on foot
o Threatened by bandits (link to Dionysus and his pirates)
 Kills all the bandits so that they will not trouble future travelers (benevolence??)
 Idea of justice = “what each had done to others, Theseus did to him” (Code of Hammurabi)
 At Epidaurus, a place sacred to the god Apollo and the legendary physician Asclepius,
he met the bandit Periphetes, son of Hephestus, who used to dash out the brains of
travelers with an iron club. As his grandfather had already given him a description of
Periphetes, Theseus immediately recognized him. In the savage encounter that
followed Theseus paid back Periphetes in his own coin by dashing out the brains of
the scoundrel with his own iron club. The brave youth kept the club as a trophy and
soon reached the Isthmus of Corinth without further interruption.

o
o
Sciron made those he capture kneel to wash his feet and then he kicked them to sea
o Theseus hurled him over a precipice
 Sinis killed people by fastening them to two pine trees bent to the ground and letting
the trees go
o Theseus repeats with him
 Procustes placed on his victims’ iron bed on which he/they are “fitted” by stretching
or cutting
All of Greece rang with cheer for Theseus
Arrives in Athens as a hero and invited to a banquet by the King
 Aegeus unaware T is his son
 Afraid of popularity, usurper to throne
 Decides to poison him as suggested by Medea (also attempted to kill him by sending him to
kill the Marathonian Bull


 M knows T is son and feels threatened
 Wants own son (with whom?) to have throne
Theseus draws his father’s gifted sword as he is handed the cup
 Aegeus dashes cup to ground
 M escapes to Asia
Theseus given a chance to prove himself to the Athenians
The Quest
Years prior…




Minos, the ruler of Crete had lost his son, Androgeus, while he as visiting the Athenian king
Aegeus had sent his guest on a perilous quest (hospitality laws broken!!!!) to kill a bull, bull kills Androgeus
Minos invades and captures Athens
o Destroy the city unless 14 children are sent every 9 years to be devoured by the Minotaur
The Minotaur was the “son” of Minos’s wife Pasiphae due to Mino’s mishap
o Poseidon gave bull to king to be sacrificed in his name
Italicized information from: http://www.greeka.com/attica/athens/athens-myths/theseus.htm



o Minos decides to keep it for himself
o As punishment Pasiphae falls in love with the bull
Instead of killing the offspring (half-man, half-bull), he enclosed him in a massive labyrinth built by
Daedalus
o Once inside, one would never find the exit
o Young Athenians taken and left to the Minotaur
Theseus arrived as the Athenians were preparing for the tribute
T offers to be a victim
o All admired and loved his nobility
o Could not understand how he expected to slay the minotaur
o Promises to raise a white sail on the return ship to show his sign of success
 Ship always used a black sail to symbolize the miserable sacrifice
Arrival to Crete




Victims are paraded around Crete on their way to the Labyrinth
Mino’s daughter Ariadne sees and falls in love with Theseus
o Sends for Daedalus and begs for a way out of the Labyrinth
o Sends for Theseus and says she will help if he will take her to Athens as his bride
Theseus agrees and is given the clue
o Take a ball of thread into the labyrinth with one end fastened to the door
Theseus comes upon the Minotaur asleep (Why must all the monsters always be asleep?)
o Beats him to death with his fists
o Theseus saves all the other youths and with Ariadne flees to the ship
Naxos


Hard to know what happens, different versions of the story exist
Theseus deserts Ariadne, sails away while she is asleep.
o Version one
 Dionysus finds her, take pity, and eventually loves her
 Takes her crown upon her death and places it amongst the stars
o Version Two
 Ariadne is extremely seasick and he leaves her to work on ship
 Violent wind carries him to sea and when he returns, she is dead
o Version Three
 Theseus had a dream in which the wine-god Dionysus told him that Ariadne had been
reserved by the Fates to be his bride and also warned him of innumerable misfortunes if
he didn’t give up the maiden. Although he had no fear of any monster or villain, Theseus
had great respect for the gods and wanted to have their favour. So, Theseus and Ariadne
took a tearful farewell of each other and the ship set sail to Athens.
Italicized information from: http://www.greeka.com/attica/athens/athens-myths/theseus.htm
Return to Athens








Forgets to raise the white sail!!!!
Aegeus sees the black sail from the Acropolis and throws himself to his death (reason for the Aegean Sea)
Theseus is named king, very wise but also disinterested
o Did not wish to rule over them
o Wanted a people’s government where all would be equal
o Resigned his royal power and organized a commonwealth
o Kept the office of commander in chief for himself
Athens becomes the happiest and most prosperous city
Theseus and Athenians became mediator during the War of the Seven Against Thebes
o the exiled son of Oedipus, has raised seven armies and plans to take the throne of Thebes from his
younger brother Eteocles --http://www.greek-myth.com/seven_against_thebes.htm
Theseus leads his army to Thebes and forces the city to allow the fallen enemy [Argive] to be buried
Theseus receives Oedipus after he is exiled
o Also protects O’s to daughters
Theseus also takes in Hercules after he slays his family (in madness)
Theseus’ flaws/danger streak






Love of danger for the sake of danger
Takes Antiope/Hippolyta from the land of the Amazons—have child together = Hippolytus
o Amazons invade Attica in search of Hippolyta
o Only enemy to ever enter Athens under Theseus
Sails on the Argo
Participates in the Calydonian Hunt
Took part in Calydonian Hunt of the boar (make reference back to Minotaur)
Saved friend Pirithous
o P = stole cattle, faced eachother for judgement, asked to be friend
o At wedding, attack of centaurs, T and P drive they away
o P = wants Persephone, T = steal young Helen, almost foiled by her brothers Castor and
Pollux; once in underworld Hades invites them to sit (Chair of forgetfulness) P remains there
forever, T = saved by cousin Hercules
Later years of Life






Marries Ariadne’s sister Phaedra
Hippolytus was sent to land of T’s youth
Grew strong, scorned Aphrodite and worshipped Artemis (link to mother?)
T brings home, H has no interest by P falls in love with him (forced by Aphrodite)
P wants to commit suicide, almost stopped by nurse but went to wrong man for help –H disgusted by
stepmother, P commits suicide and leaves note for T saying H killed her
T exiles H, killed by monster sent by Poseidon
Italicized information from: http://www.greeka.com/attica/athens/athens-myths/theseus.htm

Artemis tells T the truth, H brought in alive, dies in father’s arms
Death



T goes to King Lycomedes (later where Achilles hides as woman to escape war)
Lycomedes kills T
Athenians build great tomb
Italicized information from: http://www.greeka.com/attica/athens/athens-myths/theseus.htm