Theseus, The Great Hero of Attica

Growing Up

• He grew up without a father, living with his mother Aethra in Troezen. His true father was Poseidon, but he was said to be directly related to the King of Athens, Ageus.

Hand-Me Downs• His father had resumed his throne in Athens

and left his pregnant wife before Theseus was born. Before leaving, he left his armor and sword under a large boulder. He did this so when Theseus was strong enough to lift the boulder and retrieve the armor, he could be recognized by his dad when he went to Athens.

Theseus and the Six Labors

• The famous Six Labors were really just six people/creatures that Theseus had to kill on his way to Athens; they were gruesome, fierce, and most of all, supernaturally gifted.

• He killed each of these brigands by using their own unique methods of murder.

Only ONE will survive…

The Super Six • Periphetes, son of Hephaestas, had an enormous club• Sinis, “The Pine Bender”, attached people to two bent

trees with ropes, and dismembered them by releasing the tension suddenly.

• The Colossal Sow of Crommyon• Sciron, who made travelers wash his feet, and then

fed them to a giant turtle. • Cerayon, Greece`s best wrestler• Procrustes, “The Stretcher”, who made travelers lie in

a small bed, and while they slept, would lop off their legs if they were too long.

Father and Son Re-unite

• Ageus finally meets his dad in Athens, however it turns out that the king has remarried a malicious woman, Medeia. She recognized Theseus and Ageus` son instantly.

• Ageus had not recognized his son yet, but he heard from the people that his son had killed six of the fiercest men in Greece, so he invited him to his home.

• The issue was that the queen was already pregnant with the king`s son, and wanted her offspring to succeed to the throne. At the banquet that night, she attempted to kill Theseus.

• Theseus was carving a boar with his father`s sword, when Ageus finally recognized him. As Theseus was about to drink a goblet of poisoned wine, Ageus had a sudden urge to knock it out of his sons hand, saving him.

Theseus Works for His Father

• Theseus became a mercenary for his father. He defeated Ageus`s biggest rival and brother, Pallas.

Bull of Marathon

• After Heracles had driven the Cretan Bull to Marathon, Theseus took it to Athens and sacrificed it to Delphi.

Theseus and the Minotaur

• King Aegus and King Minos were having a huge dispute. To settle it, Minos demanded a sacrifice every 1-9 years of several Athenian youths, and nobles. They would be sent into a cavernous labyrinth and held at the mercy of the abominable minotaur. Theseus volunteered one year to become a tribute, so that he could kill this thing.

Ariadne

• The daughter of Minos, Ariadne, fell hopelessly in love with the young man. She was determined to help him kill the creature.

• She gave him a long spool of thread so he could retrace his steps out of the labyrinth. Another myth says that she gave him a luminous wreath to light his way.

• Theseus returned to Athens after slaying the Minotaur. He was instructed to raise a white sail on his return, so his father could see that he had made it out alive.……. He forgot to

• His father leapt into the sea where he drowned. Thus, we get the Aegean Sea.

• Theseus takes his fathers place on the throne of Athens.