Greek Mythology Theseus & Minotaur

Theseus’ Childhood

Characters-Heracles Heracles was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene. Extraordinary strength, courage, ingenuity, and sexual prowess with females were among his attributes.

Characters-Theseus Theseus was the mythical founder-king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered by Aegeus. Theseus was a founder-hero, like Perseus, or Heracles, all of whom battled and overcame foes that were identified with an archaic religious and social order.

Characters-Aethra Aethra was a daughter of King Pittheus of Troezen and the mother of Theseus.

Plot When Theseus was a child, he met Heracles. From that time, Theseus intended to be a hero when he grew up. When Theseus grew up, his mother guided him to a boulder and asked him to lift it up. Thesues did what his mother told and got the things underneath the rock. He then left home and headed for Athens to meet his father.

Theseus Meets Medea

Characters-Aegeus Aegeus was the King of Athens, father of the hero Theseus. His wife was Aethra. Later, Aegeus was also to marry the infamous Medea.

Characters-Medea Medea was an enchantress and witch who used her magic powers to help Jason, the argonaut. Later, after Jason betrayed her, she married the King Aegeus.

Plot Theseus determined to journey to Athens by land, although his mother argued for the safer route by sea. The landward route proved to be infested by an unusual number of villains and thieves. Theseus adopted the credo of doing unto these bad guys what they were in the habit of doing to others.

Plot Upon arriving in Athens, Theseus was proclaimed a great hero. However, King Aegeus, not knowing the hero was his son, felt afraid of the young man’s popularity. Aegeus thus accepted a plan offered by Medea to poison Theseus. Before drinking the poisoned wine, Aegeus recognized Theseus’s sword and he knew he was his son. Medea was then exiled.

The Minotaur

Characters-King Minos Minos was a king of Crete. Every year he made King Aegeus pick seven men and seven women to go to Daedalus' creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten by The Minotaur, a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man.

Characters-Minotaur The Minotaur dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth, at the command of King Minos of Crete. The Minotaur was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus.

Characters-Ariadne Ariadne was the daughter of King Minos of Crete. She aided Theseus in overcoming the Minotaur and was the bride of the god Dionysus.

Characters-Daedlus Daedlus was a skillful craftsman and artisan and the builder of the labyrinth.

The Labyrinth The Labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete. Its function was to hold the Minotaur. Daedalus had made the Labyrinth so cunningly that he himself could barely escape it after he built it.

Plot The reunion of father and son was supposed to be a happy occasion. However, Theseus soon found his father wearing a long face. Athens would send seven young boys and seven young girls to king Minos in Crete as a tribute every nine years. There, they would be sacrificed to the half man half bull Minotaur that lived in the labyrinth. Knowing his father’s worry, Theseus volunteered to be one of the victims, promising his father that his ships would bear white sails if he succeeded.

Plot When Theseus arrived in Crete, the Cretan king Minos’s daughter Ariadne fell in love with him and helped him by giving him a thread to tie to the entrance of the labyrinth in order to find his way back. When Theseus had killed the Minotaur, he fled Crete together with Ariadne. Because of his joy, Theseus forgot to change the sails. As his father Aegeus sat on a rock looking for the ships, he saw the black sails approaching. He jumped from the rock into the sea, which was THEN named the Aegean Sea.

The End