Theseus Study Guide. decides to go to an Oracle in Pythia to learn if he would ever have a heir. The Oracle s exact

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1 Saraswat and Malhi 1 Theseus Study Guide Section 1: Theseus s quests 1. Birth of Theseus Aegeus, the king of Athens, feared the intentions of his brothers and wished to have an heir. He decides to go to an Oracle in Pythia to learn if he would ever have a heir. The Oracle s exact words were The bulging mouth of the wineskin, o best of men, loose not until thou hast reached the height of Athens. Aegeus was confused by these words and left disappointed. On his journey back to Athens, he stops at Troezen to visit king Pittheus. Aegeus asks the king whether or not he could understand the Oracle s words. King Pittheus understands what the Oracle s words mean, but uses this information for his own benefit. King Pittheus wanted a nephew and decides to get Aegeus drunk. Once Aegeus is drunk, Pittheus introduces his daughter, Aethra, to Aegeus and they sleep together. However, Poseidon did the same act a couple hours before. After nine months pass, Theseus is born. His father could potentially be either Aegeus or Poseidon. 2. The Sword and Sandal Aegeus left a sword and a pair of sandals underneath a rock before he left Troezen. He told Aethra that if she should bear a son and he is able to lift the rock, send him to Athens with the sword and sandals. Once Theseus was old enough, he was easily able to lift the rock and set out to Athens. 3. Journey to Athens Although his mother begged him to take to the sea to avoid all possible dangers on his trip, Theseus wanted to earn himself a reputation. He decides to travel by land and face multiple opponents. The first person Theseus encountered was Periphetes, the club bearer. Periphetes would threaten to beat travelers with a club. Before Periphetes could react to Theseus, Theseus

2 Saraswat and Malhi 2 grabs his club and beats Periphetes with it. The next person Theseus encounters is Sinis, the Pine bender. Sinis would tie people to pine trees and would tear them apart. Theseus was able to easily defeat him and continued his journey. He then came upon Phaea, the Crommyonian sow, who was either a fierce wild pig or a female robber. In either case, Theseus was able to defeat Phaea. After Phaea, Theseus comes upon Sciron, the feet washer, who would make travelers wash his feet so that he could kick them off the cliff and feed them to the turtles. When Theseus encounters him, he grabs him by the foot and tosses him off the cliff. After Sciron, Theseus encounters Cercyon, the wrestler, who would challenge travelers to a wrestling match. However, when he wrestled Theseus, he was clearly disadvantaged and lost his life to him. The last person Theseus encounters is Procrustes, the stretcher, who would offer people a bed to sleep on during the night. However, he would either stretch them or cut them in order to make them fit the bed. Theseus defeated him by making Procrustes fit the bed. 4. Theseus arrives at Athens Once Theseus arrives at Athens, he is immediately recognised by Medea, the wife of Aegeus. She did not enjoy the idea of Aegeus being succeeded by a son who was from a previous relationship. Medea convinces Aegeus to send Theseus to capture the Marathon Bull. Theseus is easily able to capture the bull. Once he showed it to Aegeus and Medea, he sacrifices it to Apollo. With this plan foiled by Theseus, Medea plotted an alternative plan to kill him. She would poison him during a feast, but before Theseus can drink the poison, Aegeus recognises the sword and sandals. Aegeus proclaims him his successor and banishes Medea for her attempts to kill him. 5. Theseus and the Minotaur Shortly after Theseus arrives at Athens, Aegeus has to pay his third year tribute to king Minos, king of Crete. The Athenians are required to do so because they killed Minos son, Androgeus.

3 Saraswat and Malhi 3 Every year the Athenians send seven men and seven women to Crete where they will be thrown into the Labyrinth and eaten by the Minotaur. Once Theseus hears of this, he wants to help his fellow Athenians and volunteers to go to Crete. Upon arriving at Crete, Minos daughter, Ariadne, falls in love with him. She is determined to assist him and learns secrets about the Labyrinth. Before Theseus is put into the Labyrinth, Ariadne gives him a ball of thread. This thread would guide him out of the Labyrinth when he needed to escape. Once Theseus finds the Minotaur, he easily defeats him and is able to escape the Labyrinth. Theseus promised to marry Ariadne and that is the first thing he does when he escapes the Labyrinth. However, the marriage is short lived because Theseus leaves her sleeping on the island of Dia. The reason for this was either because Dionysus wanted her for himself or Theseus had fallen in love with another woman. 6. King of Athens Theseus had promised his father that, if he succeeds in killing the Minotaur, he would sail back with white sails. If he did not succeed, then the sails would remain black. However, when Theseus sailed back to Athen, he forgot to change the sails. When Aegeus saw the black sails, he thought his son was dead and killed himself by jumping into the ocean. After the death of Aegeus, Theseus is made king. He is known for the political unification of Attica under Athens and put into place the Isthmian Games. 7. Pirithous and Theseus While Theseus was king, he became good friends with Pirithous, king of Lapiths. Together, they went on a number of expeditions. They went among the Amazons where Theseus obtained his new wife, Hippolyte. They also went on the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. Their greatest adventure was also their worst. They planned to abduct Persephone, the wife of Hades, from the underworld. The plan ended up failing and Theseus and Pirithous were trapped in the

4 Saraswat and Malhi 4 Underworld. They remained stuck on two enchanted seats until Hercules came and released Theseus from his chair, but he was unable to help Pirithous. 8. Death of Theseus While Theseus was trapped in the Underworld, Menestheus took over Athens. When Theseus was finally freed by Hercules, he quickly went back to Athens only to see a new ruler. Seeing that he is no longer welcomed in Athens, Theseus decides to flee to the island of Scyros where king Lycomedes ruled. Theseus thought he was safe here, but Lycomedes was a supporter of Menestheus and killed Theseus by pushing him off a cliff. Section 2: Characters 1. Theseus Theseus is the son of Aegeus and Aethra and later becomes the king of Athens. 2. Medea Medea is one of Aegeus wives and plotted to kill Theseus. She was later exiled for his attempts to kill Theseus 3. Aegeus Aegeus is the king of Athens and father to Theseus. He kills himself thinking that his son died to the Minotaur. 4. Minotaur A beast that is half bull and half man. He lived in the Labyrinth in Crete and was killed by Theseus. 5. Ariadne Ariadne is the daughter of king Minos and she helps Theseus defeat the Minotaur. 6. Aethra Aethra is the daughter of Pittheus and is the mother of Theseus.

5 Saraswat and Malhi 5 7. Pirithous Pirithous is the king of Lapiths and is a good friend of Theseus. He is trapped in the Underworld while Theseus escapes. 8. Lycomedes Lycomedes is the king of the island of Scyros. He kills Theseus by pushing him off a cliff. Section 3: Locations 1. Athens Athens is the city Theseus later becomes the king of and is where his father rules. 2. Troezen Troezen is Theseus birth place and where his mother lives. 3. the Underworld The Underworld is where Theseus gets trapped with Pirithous and where Hercules rescues him. 4. Scyros Scyros is where Theseus flees for refuge and later is killed by the king. 5. Crete Crete is where Theseus encounters the Minotaur and where he meets Ariadne. 6. Amazons Amazons is where Theseus ventures with his friend Pirithous and where he finds his wife, Hippolyte. Section 4:

6 Saraswat and Malhi 6 Works Cited Theseus. Greek Mythology, GreekMythology.com,

7 Saraswat and Malhi 7 PLUTARCH, LIFE OF THESEUS. HERMES MYTHS 6 FAVOUR - Greek Mythology,