The Life of Theseus
© 1995-2001 Untangle Incorporated
Last Updated: Thursday, February 08, 2001
When Aegeus came to Troezen, King Pittheus made him drunk and caused him to lie with his daughter Aethra. But in the same night Poseidon also made love to her. When Aegeus 1 left for Athens he told Aethra that, if she gave birth to a male child, she should rear him, without telling who his father
was. He then left a sword and sandals under a rock, saying that when his son could roll away the rock and take them, she should then send him to Athens.
And, in time Theseus was born and when he was grown up he pushed the rock away, took the sandals and the sword and left for Athens on the instructions of his mother.
On his way to Athens he encounters a number of thieves and kills them all.
He killed Periphetes , who killed his victims with a huge club he carried. Theseus uses the club to kill him.
Then he met Sinis, who used to bend a pine tree right over then ask a passerby to help him, and hold on to the end. When the traveller did Sinis would let go and the traveller would be thrown into the air and killed. Naturally Theseus killed him by tossing Sinis into the air. Then he made love to Sinis' daughter Perigune.
Sciron was yet another bandit, whom Theseus met in his way to Athens. He compelled passers-by to
wash his feet and in the act of washing he kicked them into the sea to be the prey of a huge turtle. Him
Theseus seized by the feet and threw into the sea.
Then he met Cercyon 1, who compelled passers-by to wrestle him, and in wrestling killed them. But
Theseus lifted him up and dashed him to the ground. And after killing him Theseus ravished his
daughter, like he had done previously with Sinis' daughter.
Then Theseus met Procrustes, who offered hospitality to the passers-by and laid the short men on a
big bed and stretched them, to make them fit in the bed, but the tall men he laid on a little bed and
sawed off the portions of their bodies that projected beyond it. Theseus felt that he had to punish this
so he killed Procrustes in his own bed.
And on the way to Athens he also met beasts that were terrorizing the country side.
Theseus met the Crommyonian Sow, which was fierce and hard to master. This sow,
offspring of Typhon, was a beast that had killed many human beings and had been bred by Phaea. The Crommyonian Sow gave birth to the famous Calydonian Boar. But some say that Phaea was a female robber, a woman of murderous and unbridled spirit, who dwelt in Crommyon, and was called Sow because of her life and manners.
When Theseus arrived to Athens, his alleged father Aegeus was wedded to Medea, who some time
ago had sailed from Colchis with Jason and the Argonauts. Medea, who had a child with Aegeus
did not appreciate the new visitor. So she decided to accuse Theseus of being a traitor and Aegeus
not knowing Theseus was his son, sent the Marathonian Bull against him. But Theseus killed it or at
least mastered it. When this attempt of getting rid of Theseus failed, Medea tried poison. But Aegeus 1 recognised the sword when Theseus was about to drink the potion that Medea had prepared, and he dashed the cup from his hands in the last second. In this way father and son recognised each other and Medea was sent once more into exile. [Some say that Theseus was an Argonaut himself; but it does not fit very well with the story above.]
The Minotaur:
At this time the Athenians were obliged by Minos, king of Crete, to send every year seven youths
and seven young women to be eaten by the Minotaur. Theseus asked to be sent with those who
were to be the third annual tribute to the Minotaur. But Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, fell in love
with Theseus, obtained the secret to the Labyrinth from Daedalus, the constructor, and disclosed the
way out to Theseus, and also gave him a very long ball of string just to be sure. Theseus was the first to find the Minotaur in the last part of the Labyrinth, and he killed him,
Theseus then fled from Crete and came to Naxos with the other Athenians who had meant to be sacrificed to the Minotaur and of course, Ariadne who had asked to take her with him, and have her as his wife in Athens. But Theseus was of royal blood, and very ruthless so not particularly wanting to marry her, when the ship reached Naxos Theseus left her there.
On returning from Crete Theseus was supposed to spread white sails on his ship on approaching
Athens saying that he and the other people sent to be sacrificed were alright. But he forgot this detail, which he had agreed with his father, and Aegeus, seeing from the Acropolis in Athens the ship with a black sail, thought that Theseus had died and cast himself down into the sea and perished.
More proof that Theseus is ruthless comes now. On hearing of the death he did not appear upset although he ensured proper funeral rites were held.
Then Theseus was declared successor to the throne of Athens, the sons of Pallas 5 (the Pallantides)
would not accept it and they went to war but were defeated by Theseus.
Theseus had other wars. He fought against the Amazons and he also had a son with one of them.
As you can tell Theseus has a long list of lovers. When Theseus abandoned Ariadne (Dionysus took care of her). her father Minos offered Theseus (now king) another daughter, Phaedra, and her he gave to Theseus as wife. But Phaedra, after she had given two children, Acamas and Demophon , to Theseus, fell in love with the son Hippolytus that Theseus had by the Amazon. But as Hippolytus refused her she hanged herself when her passion was made public.
As for Hippolytus, when Phaedra, his stepmother, fell in love with him he fled from her, because he
hated all women. But Phaedra, fearing that he might accuse her to his father, falsely charged
Hippolytus with an assault. Theseus believed her and prayed to Poseidon that Hippolytus might
perish. So when he was riding in his chariot and driving beside the sea, Poseidon sent up a bull from
the surf, and the horses were frightened, the chariot dashed to pieces, and Hippolytus, entangled in
the reins, was dragged to death. But after having being raised from the dead by Asclepius, he became
king in Italy under the name of Virbius.
Theseus and Pirithous were good friends. So Theseus helped him in fighting the Centaurs. The Lapiths are a people from Thessaly who became famous mainly because of this war against the
Centaurs, in which they were helped by Theseus.
Theseus and Pirithous decided that it would suit them perfectly to marry daughters of Zeus. So Theseus, with Pirithous' help, carried off Helen from Sparta for himself, when she was twelve years old. For this the Dioscuri (brothers of Helen) ravaged Attica, and Theseus' mother was taken as a prisoner and ended up in Troy as Helen's maid.
Pirithous made his own choice too. He thought that Persephone would fit as his wife. So both friends descended to Hades in order to fetch her. But they got caught and sat in the Chair of Oblivion until Heracles came to Hades and rescued them. But some say that Pirithous still sits there.
Some have said that Theseus was fifty years old when he abducted Helen, who was not, as they say, of marriageable age. But those who had wished to defend Theseus have said that the girl was carried off by the Messenian brothers Idas and Lynceus, the enemies of the Dioscuri, and that Theseus just watched over her on their account and refused to surrender her to her brothers, the Dioscuri.
Others have said that Theseus did not carry off Helen but her father Tyndareus entrusted her to him, for fear of Enarophorus, son of Hippocoon who sought to take Helen by force while she was still a child.
Yet Theseus and his accomplice Pirithous are still believed to have gone to Sparta, seizing Helen as she was dancing in a temple of Artemis. When they came out of Peloponnesus and felt out of danger, they cast lots for the girl and Theseus won. But as she was still too young, he conveyed her to Aphidnae and kept her there in complete secrecy.
When the Dioscuri came from Sparta to get Helen back they gave the sovereignty of Athens to Menestheus, who became Theseus' successor. So Theseus, as an exile, went to Scyros, which was under the rule of King Lycomedes. Theseus died in Scyros. Some say that Lycomedes 1 threw Theseus down an abyss, thus killing him. But others say that he slipped and fell down by himself while walking in high places after supper as was his custom.
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