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Theseus

Theseus: Great Athenian HeroAegeus: Theseus’s father, ruler of AthensMinos: Powerful ruler of Crete, lost his

only son AndrogeusMinotaur: Belonged to Minos, slayed by

Theseus Ariadne: Mino’s daughter who fell in

love with Theseus, helped him get his way out with Golden Thread. She marries him but dies on the return to Athens.

Characters

Antiope/Hippolyta: From the Amazon, had a kid with Theseus

Hippolytus: Son of TheseusPirithous: Theseus’s friend,

adventurous, got trapped in underworld.

Phaedra: Ariadne’s sister, marries Theseus

Characters

Ariadne

Theseus grew up with his mother, but his father was Aegeus, King of Athens. Before Theseus was born, The King placed his sword and shoes behind some stone. Aegeus said that when his child grew strong enough to move the stone, that then the child could search for him. Aegeus would claim the child as his if the child succeeded in finding him.

Textual Evidence – “…so that when his mother finally took him to the stone he lifted it with no trouble at all” (209).

Theseus was able to move the stone without any difficulty.

Tasks - The Sword And the Stone

Theseus was offered a ship to take to Athens but denied it because he thought of it as a flight from danger and he wanted to be great like his cousin Hercules

Made his way to Athens via roads controlled by bandits

Theseus killed them just as they had killed people

Sciron was thrown over a precipice just as he had kicked people into the sea

Sinis was killed just as he had killed people: tied to 2 pine trees bent to the ground and let go

Procrustes was placed upon an iron bed and stretched/cut so that he would fit; just as he had done to people in the past

Developed a great legacy in Athens because of these events

Road To Athens

Theseus arrived known as an acknowledged hero. He was invited by King Aegeus (who was Theseus’ father but

Aegeus didn’t know) to a banquet. Medea the heroine of the golden fleece, and the wife of King

Aegeus planned to poison Theseus because they saw him as a threat to the king’s power.

But Theseus drew his sword- the sword that King Aegeus had put under a heavy stone.

Arrival in Athens

Aegeus immediately recognized the sword and knocked the cup with the poison in it out of Theseus’ hand.

Years before Theseus came to Athens a great misfortune happened.

Minos the ruler of Crete lost his only son Androgeus. Androgeus was visiting the Athenian king.

King Aegeus would send his guests to kill the bull, but the bull would always kill the guests/youths.

Minos captured Athens and demanded that every 9 years they send tributes made up of 7 maidens and 7 youths.

When the tributes got to Crete, they would be fed to the Minotaur.

Arrival in Athens (cont.)

“The minotaur was a monster, half bull, half human, the offspring of Mino’s wife Pasiphae and a wonderfully beautiful bull”(211).

“Poseidon had given this bull to Mino’s in order that he should sacrifice it to him, but Mino’s could not bear to slay him”(211).

“Poseidon had made Pasiphae fall madly in love with it ”(211).

Background of the Minotaur

Theseus offered himself in place of the tributes.

With Ariadne's help he used to Golden thread to retraces his steps in the Labyrinth. He came up to the Minotaur when it was asleep. With his own hands he “battered the monster to death”(213).

With the golden thread, he easily found his way out.

Theseus In Crete Facing the Minotaur – The Task

When taken to Crete, Minos' daughter, Ariadne, fell in love with Theseus at first sight and decided to help him if he would marry her. She forced Daedalus to tell Theseus how to get out.

BUT After escaping the Labyrinth, Theseus and Ariadne fled by ship. They stopped at the island of Naxos, where Theseus and Ariadne ended up being separated. There are two stories on what happened: one she was seasick, went ashore, and was later found she dead; and the other, Theseus abanded her and Dionyus found her and comforted her.

Ariadne’s Help and “Reward”

During his return “Both stories agree that when he drew near to Athens he (Theseus) forgot to hoist the white sail” (213).

Before he left for Crete, Theseus told his father if he lived he would change the ships sail to white to signal to his father he survived. But because Aegeus saw the black sail he threw himself off a cliff into the sea, because he had thought his son had died.

Theseus then became King of Athens

“He told his father … he would have the black sail which the ship with its cargo of misery always carried changed to a white one, so that Aegeus could know long before it came to land his son was safe”(212).

Return to Athens

King of Athens Wise and disinterested

king “He did not want to

rule over the; he wanted people's government where all would be equal”(215).

Organized a commonwealth (an independent country or community)

Kept one office for himself: Commander in Chief (hint: loved war

and was a good warrior.)

Let citizens vote All because of Theseus

this happened : "Athens became, of all earth's cities, the happiest and most prosperous, the only true home of liberty, the one place in the world where: the people governed themselves ”(215).

Theseus Rule

Why? “Theseus led his army against Thebes, conquered her and forced her to allow them to be buried but when he was a victor, he did not return the evil to the Thebans for the evil they had done” (215).

He was a just and fair knightImportance: Since he was

considered the perfect knight, lots of people looked up to him as a leader.

The Perfect Knight

Theseus had many other adventures because he loved the dangers that came with them.

Quest : Get Something“He (Theseus) was one of the men who sailed on the Argo to find the Golden Fleece”(216).

Task: Do something“He took part in the great Calydonian Hunt, when the

King of Calydon called upon the noblest in Greece to help him kill the terrible boar which was laying waste his country”(216).

Journey/Quest/Task (Other Adventures )

AmazonsTheseus could not hold

back his love of danger to he traveled to the country of the Amazons, “the women warriors ”(216).

Some say Hercules was with Theseus on this adventure

and some say alone“…and brought away one

of them, whose name is given sometimes Antiope, sometimes

Hippolyta”(216).“The Amazons came to

rescue her and invaded Attica, the country around Athens…They were finally defeated and no other enemy entered Attica as long as Theseus lived”(216).

Journey/Quest/Task (Other Adventures )

Pirithous wanted Persephone, wife of the god Hades , so he traveled down to the Underworld with Theseus to get her

Hades knew of Pirithous’ intentions So when Theseus and Pirithous went to the

underworld Hades invited them to sit on the Chair of Forgetfulness. Hercules only lifted Theseus from the chair.

Textual Evidence – “whoever sat on it forgot everything. His mind became a blank and did not move”(218)

Pirithous and the Underworld“Pirithous Quest”

One of Theseus’s flaws was when he banished his son, Hippolytus, for allegedly killing his wife. In actuality Phaedra killed herself for love of her stepson Hippolytus, who he did not love her back.

Textual Evidence – “Know all of you that my son laid violent hands upon my wife”(221).

The goddess Artemis confronted Theseus and told him the truth about what really happened. Theseus realized that he was wrong, and felt terrible about what happened.

Phaedra and Hippolytus

The death of Theseus was very chance, and was not explained in much detail in the text.

“He was at the court of a friend, King Lycomedes, where a few years later Achilles was to hide disguised as a girl Some say that Theseus had gone there because Athens had banished him. At all events, the King, his friend and his host, killed him, we are not told why”(223).

This is all we know on the death of Theseus

Death of Theseus

Archetypal Characters Theseus: HeroHe is portayed as “ larger than life”. Theseus has

outstanding qualities like his bravery and he is willing to sacrifice himself for his people and his society.

Theseus: Sacrifical VictimTheseus is willing to sacrifice himself to the Minotuar

opposed to letting others die unjustly.

Medea: VillianMedean is a villian because she planned to poison Theseus

(the hero) at the banquet. She knew who Theseus was.Medea wanted Theseas dead because as Queen she didn’t

want Aegeus to lose the throne.

Major Archetypes

Archetypal Character Hades: Trickster Hades is a god who played a trick on Theseus

and Pirithous when he deceived them to sit in the Chair of Forgetfulness.

Phaedra: Unfaithful Wife She fell in love with her stepson

Hippolytus (even though under Aphrodite's curse).

Major Archetype

Archetypal Settings Island“On the way there they put in at the island of

Naxos”(213).The island represents isolation which is accurate because

Ariadne was left on the island by herself and also died there

Sea“where he had watched the sea with

straining eyes .. And he threw himself down from rocky height into the sea” Pg (213).

The sea represents chaos of the loss of Ariadne and also the measure of time because Theseus’s father would look out the ocean waiting for his son.

Major Archetypes

Archetypal SymbolsColors Black ( From the ship’s

sail ) = DeathWhite (From the ship’s

sail) = LifeSupernatural

Intervention The gods intervene many

times in this story. For god and for bad

Artemis helped Theseus realize the truth

Hades’s action left Pirithous to stay in the

Underworld

Aphrodite essentially led Phaedra to kill herself

Major Archetypes

Love Conquers AllLove is what lead to

Phaedra killing herself“She is dying for love of

you,” she said.” Give her life. Give her love for love”(220).

Love is what let to Ariadne aiding Theseus in killing the Minotaur

“ Minos’s daughter

Ariadne was among the spectators and she fell in love with Theseus … she sent for Daedalus and told him he must show her a way to got out of the labyrinth”(212).

Motifs and Themes

The Wicked Stepmother Medea is essentially Theseus’s stepmother,

and she tries to poison him because she knows who he is, and she didn’t want Aegeus to lose power

Rags to Riches/ Transformation Before Theseus removed the sword from the stone

he was just a young boy living with his mother, but once he lifted the stone, he really did become the son of the Athenian King.

Motif and Themes

Courageous/Brave Textual Evidence – “And with his fists – he had no

other weapon – he battered the monster to death”(213).

Self-Sacrificial Textual Evidence – “At once Theseus came

forward and offered to be one of the victims”(212).

Kindness Textual Evidence – “When he was a victor he did

not return evil to the Thebans for the evil they had done”(215).

Heroic Qualities

Wise Textual Evidence – Theseus became

King of Athens the most wise and disinterested King”(215).

“Protector of the Defenseless”Textual Evidence - “…..In memory of one

who through his life had been the protector of the defenseless”(223).

Devoted “Theseus was devoted to him and always helped him out

”(217).DeterminedTextual Evidence – “…and the determination to be just as

magnificent himself”(209).

Heroic Qualities

AbsentmindedTextual Evidence – “A violent wind carried him out to sea

and kept him there a long time on his return he found that Adriadne had died and he was deeply effected”(213).

Hot HeadedTextual Evidence – “May I die in wretchedness if I am

guilty… “Dead she proves het truth… Go. You are banished from the land”(221).

Forgetful Textual Evidence – “Either his joy at the success of his

voyage put every thought out of his head, or his grief for Ariadne. The black sail was seen by his father”(213).

Flaws

MAIN POINT: Theseus was still a great hero despite his flaws. Through this myth he learned life comes with mistakes but not to let those mistakes take over your life .

Story Summation

One of the major lessons in Rhesus's story is to Never Give Up. Theseus accomplished many thing but not without a struggle. If Theseus gave up killing the Minotaur and getting the golden fleece, he wouldn’t be the great hero that he is known as today.

Lessons or Cultural Values in Story

• Another cultural value expressed in this myth was Love and Sacrifice. Theseus’s love and willingness to sacrifice has led to him being known as “The Protector of The Defenseless”.