Classic Greek Myths: Timeless Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes, and Mythical Creatures. Explore the Enduring Impact of Ancient Greece by Zoe Benning

Author:Zoe Benning [Benning, Zoe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-08-05T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11: Theseus: The Hero Who Transcends Generations

Theseus is another Greek hero whose myths predate the Trojan War. Most stories associate him with the founding of Athens and the slaying of the Cretan Minotaur. Interestingly, when it comes to his birth, his paternity has always been questioned. While he was born to Aegeus, King of Athens, by Aethra, she was also impregnated by Poseidon on the same night. Theseus, a product of both the above unions and fathered by both Aegeus and Poseidon, was brought up by his mother. When he came of age, he successfully lifted the rock under which Aegeus had left his rightful heir his sandals and sword. After learning who his father was, he, like other heroes on quests, undertook a long, arduous, and adventure-ridden journey to Athens.

Selecting the more difficult path to Athens by road than by sea, Theseus encountered six entrances to the underworld, which is often given the title the Six Labors. At each of these entrances, he had to fight off or outwit a chthonic being guarding them. The last of them, and possibly the most famous among them, is Procrustes, who often lured his visitors with his offer of a bed. He would then make them fit into it, either by stretching or cutting off their limbs. It is from his name that the term “procrustean” is derived, referring to the imposition of uniformity without consideration of individuality.

At Athens, Medea, the wife of Aegeus, recognized Theseus. Fearing that he would displace the child she was carrying, she convinced Aegeus to murder Theseus by poisoning him. At the table, when Theseus drew the sword Aegeus had left him, the old king realized Theseus was his son and knocked the poisoned cup from Theseus’s hands just in the nick of time. Medea, whose plot was discovered, fled to Asia.

The most popular story that features Theseus is, of course, the one with the Minotaur in it. As legends go, Athens was bound by an oath to King Minos of Crete to provide seven brave young men and seven beautiful maidens at the end of every year to be sacrificed to the beast, Minotaur, who was imprisoned in a maze beneath the palace floors of Crete. The beast itself was the product of Minos’s wife Pasiphae’s seduction of a white bull that she had fallen in love with. It had been Daedalus who had helped in the seduction of the bull, as well as built the labyrinth where the creature was kept. Theseus decided that he would talk the beast out of his bloody appetite. When he reached Crete, the king’s daughter, Ariadne, fell in love with Theseus. She gave him a ball of yarn, which he could use to mark his way in the maze. She also provided him with directions to the heart of the maze where the Minotaur was. He promised her that if he returned, he would take her away with him. Theseus not only found but also fought and slew the beast.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.