Theseus

Lineage Born in Troizen Mother - Aethra Father - Aegeus or Poseidon

On the same night that Aethra was with Aegeus she also was with Poseidon. Who is Theseus’ father – Aegeus or Poseidon? The world may never know! When she became pregnant, Aegeus decided to return to Athens

Before leaving, Aegeus buried his sandals and sword under a huge rock and instructed her to have Theseus move the rock to retrieve evidence of his royal parentage after he grew up Meanwhile, Aegeus returned to Athens, where he married Medea after she fled Corinth following the slaughter of her and Jason’s children

Theseus grows up in the homeland of his mother He moved the rock and recovered his father’s sandals and sword

After learning the truth about his father from his mother, Theseus set out for Athens To get to Athens, he could either travel by sea or by land, a much more perilous journey Obviously, he chooses the LAND ROUTE, where he will face many monsters and monstrous mortals.

Theseus’ Adventures Part I: Periphetes/Corynetes Periphetes, also known as Corynetes Son of Vulcan/Hephaestus and Anticleia He likes to scoop up travelers and bop them on the head with his club in a fierce deathblow Theseus, however, is no ordinary traveler...he is a HERO Theseus kills him by throwing a boulder and takes the club, which Theseus carries with him thereafter

Theseus’ Adventures Part II: Sinis (aka Pityocamptes) Sinis, son of Polypemon and Sylea, was a malicious fiend who waylaid travelers to rob them He then proceeded to tie them between two bent pine trees, which, when released, would tear his victims apart Theseus, however, is no ordinary traveler...he is a HERO Theseus turned the tables on Sinis and killed him through the same method Theseus then found Sinis’s daughter, Perigune, hiding in a bed of wild asparagus. He became her lover and she bore him a son, Melanippus, whose descendants refrained from burning asparagus.

Theseus’ Adventures Part III: Crommyonian Sow The Crommyonian Sow is named Phaea (“Grey”) This offspring of Typhon and Echidna was an enormous pig that enjoyed terrorizing the countryside and bothering travelers Theseus, however, is no ordinary traveler...he is a HERO Theseus killed this pig like a guy wanting Bar-B-Que

Theseus’ Adventures Part IV: Sciron Sciron, son of either Pelops or Poseidon, was a ruffian who forced unwary travelers to wash his feet before he would allow them to pass. When they bent down, he would kick them off a cliff to be eaten by a gargantuan turtle Theseus, however, is no ordinary traveler...he is a HERO Theseus pretended to bend down to wash Sciron’s feet, but grabbed them instead and hurled Sciron off the cliff

Theseus’ Adventures Part V: Cercyon Cercyon was the king of Eleusis He was the son of Poseidon and one of the daughters of Amphictyon, or Poseidon and the nymph Argiope, or Branchus and the nymph Argiope, or Hephaestus. He had two children, Alope and Hippothous. Alope had a scandalous affair with Poseidon (her own grandfather!) and gave birth to Hippothoon. Cercyon buried her alive, but Poseidon turned her into a spring.

Cercyon’s hobby was to challenge travelers to a wrestling match in which he would kill them fair and square Theseus, however, is no ordinary traveler...he is a HERO Theseus beats Cercyon at his own game and kills him in a round on the ground

Theseus’ Adventures Part VI: Procrustes (the stretcher), aka Polypemon (the baneful) and Damastes (the tamer) Procrustes, a son of Poseidon, was a bandit who earned himself the nickname of “THE STRETCHER” He owned an inn where he offered travelers a bed to rest in But, when a traveler got into bed, Procrustes would help him out by making him fit the bed exactly by stretching them out or chopping off any protrusions, such as the feet or head Theseus, however, is no ordinary traveler...he is a HERO Theseus kindly put Procrustes to bed before unkindly chopping of his head

Theseus’ Adventures Part VII: The Athens Segment At long last, Theseus arrived in Athens where Aegeus greets him with hospitality as a renowned hero and not as a son Medea, unfortunately, immediately recognizes Theseus as Aegeus’ long lost son She wants her son Medus to inherit the throne and so she connives a malicious plot to kill Theseus and secure the throne First, she asked him to capture the Bull of Marathon (formerly the Cretan Bull), hoping it would kill Theseus. Theseus caught it and sacrificed it to Apollo.

Theseus’ Adventures Part VII.2: The Athens Segment When he succeeds, she tries to poison him, but he is no ordinary hero...he is a SUPERHERO With mere nanoseconds to spare, Aegeus recognizes his very own sandals and sword, now carried by his son Aegeus knocks the poisoned goblet from Theseus’ hand

Meanwhile, Not in Theseus’ Adventures Minos rules the island of Crete He asked for a bull to sacrifice to Poseidon However, this Cretan Bull was such a fine specimen as far as bulls go, that Minos decided to keep said bull As punishment for his selfishness, the gods made his wife Pasiphae fall in love with the Cretan Bull From this unholy union ordained by the gods, the MINOTAUR is born Minos encloses the Minotaur in a big maze, the LABYRINTH

Minotaur Adventures Androgeos, the son of Minos, was killed in Athens, either hunting the Bull of Marathon or at the funeral games of King Laius of Thebes Because of this, Minos invaded Athens, which gave up after plague struck The treaty settlement involved the delivery of 7 young men and 7 young women from Athens to Crete every year to serve as Minotaur food

Theseus’ Adventures Part VIII: Party in Crete Theseus hears about this grave injustice against the Athenian youths and resolves to travel amongst them but kill the minotaur for he is no ordinary sacrifice...he is a HERO Aegeus agrees to let Theseus go so long as Theseus changes the customary black sail of mourning to white for his return trip Upon arriving in Crete, Theseus and Minos contest each others’ divine paternity Zeus supports Minos with a lightning bolt filled with pizzazz Poseidon supports Theseus by helping him reclaim a golden ring thrown into the sea by Minos

Theseus’ Adventures Part IX: The Minotaur Ariadne, daughter of Minos, falls in love with Theseus But, he is to die in the labyrinth This does not sit well with Ariadne, so she helps Theseus by giving him a sword and ball of yarn with which to navigate Theseus then kills the Minotaur (whose name is actually Asterius or Asterion) After retrieving his fellow Athenians and Ariadne, Theseus punches holes in the boats of Minos before fleeing

Theseus’ Adventures Part X: Naxos Theseus and his trusty crew make a pitstop at the island of Naxos, also known as Dia Here, Theseus abandons Ariadne Ariadne, with good spiteful reasoning, curses Theseus Luckily, Dionysus/Bacchus just happened to be wandering by and he picked up Ariadne and either marries her or has Artemis/Diana kill her

Theseus’ Adventures Part XI: Delos Theseus and his companions now stop at the island of Delos Here, they invent the Crane Dance, a twisting and turning dance commemorating their not so happy times with the Labyrinth Upon leaving Delos, Theseus continues home to Athens Unfortunately, Theseus forgets to change the black saild Aegeus, upon seeing the black sails, despairs Aegeus, however, is no ordinary king...he is a SUICIDAL KING He jumps into what is now known as the Aegean Sea and dies

Theseus’ Adventures Part XII: Hippolyta Theseus quests through the wild lands of the Amazons, a race of women warriors Welcomed by Queen Hippolyta who boarded his ship with gifts, Theseus seems to bear the Amazons no ill will Theseus, however, is no ordinary hero...he is an ABDUCTOR He sails for Athens with Hippolyta as his bride, sparking a war between the Amazons and the Athenians Eventually, Hippolyta bears a son, Hippolytus, for Theseus However, Theseus ditches Hippolyta for Phaedra

Theseus’ Adventures Part XIII: Phaedra Phaedra bore Theseus two sons, Demophon and Acamas Meanwhile, Hippolytus offends Aphrodite by his desire to worship Artemis and reject love Aphrodite then makes Phaedra fall in love with Hippolytus Hippolytus, however, said NO!!!

In revenge Phaedra wrote a letter to Theseus claiming that Hippolytus raped her. She then killed herself. Theseus believed her, drove Theseus from the palace, and prayed to his father Poseidon to curse Hippolytus. Poseidon caused a bull to rise up out of the waves and spook Hippolytus’ horses. The horses then dragged Hippolytus to his death.

Trip to Hades Theseus and his friend, Pirithous son of Dia and Ixion (or Zeus), decided to marry daughters of Zeus. Theseus chose Helen and Pirithous chose Persephone. They kidnapped Helen and left her with Theseus’s mother Aethra. (Helen was later rescued by Dioscuri.) Together, the two traveled to the underworld to kidnap Persephone. When they arrived, Theseus sat down on a rock and found himself unable to move. Pirithous was led away by the Furies to eternal torment. Theseus is later rescued by Heracles and receives forgiveness from Persephone. But, when he tried to save Pirithous, the whole underworld shook so he returned to the upper world.

Sources of Myth Bibliotheca by Apollodorus Metamorphoses by Ovid Theseus by Plutarch