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Were The Greek Heroes Truly Heroes?

Story VIII

The Story Of Theseus

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-Image Of Theseus-

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Introduction & Commentary

    Theseus, like Perseus, is not a very well known greek hero, but is still a hero nonetheless. Both Theseus and Perseus do exhibit the qualities and characteristics that are associated with more well known greek heroes such as Heracles, Odysseus, and Hektor. Their tales seem to have small portions that are borrowed from the more well known tales, which seems to point to the fact that they were written at a later time period than the "classic" heroes. As a matter of fact there are many allusions to the tales of Heracles in Theseus' tale, and this can be attributed to the fact that Theseus was actually cousins with Heracles. (Example: Theseus and the use of the "club", which, originated in the tale of Heracles). When this takes place it is referred to as "heroic imitation" or "heroic mirroring." This does not take away from these tales by any means, so enjoy.

    Theseus is another hero that was born into royalty. His father was, King Aegus, and his mother, Queen Aethra ruled in the area of present day Athens. His father left before he was born, but left a "birthright" of some sort for his future son, to prove if this child was to be special or not. Aegus left a sword and a pair of sandals underneath a large boulder. He placed these items there, with the though that his future son would lift the boulder up and claim his birthright as future king of the land. Once Theseus was thought to be "of age" to attempt the feat, his mother was to guide him to the boulder so that he may lift the boulder. One day, when Theseus was around sixteen years old, his mother guided him to the stone and informed him of who his father was and that he was destined to lift the boulder to claim his right as king. Theseus, who was gifted with brute strength like Heracles, had to use some other means of lifting the boulder. But, he managed to accomplish the feat and found the sword and the sandals, just as his father had intended. This event shows Theseus' resourcefulness, which, is a heroic trait that we have not really seen since Heracles. After Theseus learned of who his father was, he set out to find him. He began his journey by land, meeting many different villainous and unsavory characters along the way.
 
 

    So Theseus set out on his mission to find his true father, (as did Jason). He adopted a heroic theme to his adventures, which was, "If I witness evil being done, I will return that evil to you." This theme shows up many times in Theseus' story. Theseus begins his journey in a town called, Epidauras. It is here where he meets the first "evildoer", that he vanquishes and exhibits his newly adopted heroic credo. Here he runs into Periphedes who was nicknamed Corynetes, which means "Club Man." Periphedes had a lovely little habit of attacking people with his club, which was wrapped in bronze, to further make an "impact" on his victims. Theseus was close to being Periphedes' next victim, until he snatched the club out of his hand and knocked him on the head with it. This is where Theseus gets his club, that he is seen with in future tales, (this is what I was referring to in my Intro., when I was alluding to Theseus having a club).

    The next villain that Theseus runs into is a man named Sinis. Sinis liked to ask passers-by to assist him in bending back two trees. Once the innocent person was duped into this task, he would let go, leaving them to hold the tree back by themselves, while he sat back and laughed at their misfortune. Once the force of the trees became too much for them to bare, the trees would snap back upwards, leaving the arms of the person attached and the rest of the person flying away. Theseus knew of Sinis' little trick and before Sinis could let go, leaving Theseus to bear the load, Theseus quickly tied his hands to the trees and leaving Sinis to the same fate as his victims. This is another instance where Theseus' resourcefulness and quick thinking benefit him.

    Theseus was nearing Athens and stopped to deal with Sciron. Sciron lived at the top of a very tall cliff, and had a small tub, which, he would make passers-by wash his feet. Once the person was engaged in this activity, he would kick them over the cliff into the ocean, where they were devoured by a humongous man-eating turtle. As in the previous two instances, Theseus knew what Sciron's intentions were and did him in by kicking him over the cliff and sharing the same fate as his victims.

    Theseus ran into a couple more of these villains and dispatched them as he did the first three, making them meet the same fate that they forced their victims to endure. Theseus finally makes it to Athens to meet his father, Aegus. Theseus did not reveal his identity as Aegus' son at first, but was hailed as a hero because he cleaned up the roads around Athens of many villains and he was invited to a banquet that evening. There was an interesting person, who we have seen before, in attendance at this banquet and that was Medea. (Yes this is the same Medea that assisted Jason, and ended up marrying him. She was pretty much dumped by Jason, after their marriage, kicking her to the curb. Needless to say she has a little bit of a chip on her shoulder, regarding heroes). Medea took an immediate disliking for Theseus, because he posed a threat to her son taking Aegus' throne. Medea tried to put an end to Theseus, by making Aegus feel insecure, that, "this young hero poses a threat to your throne." She persuaded Aegus to serve Theseus poisoned wine. Just as the king was about to do this, Theseus was pulling out his father's sword, to prove his identity, and the king throws down the cup with the poisoned wine. This upsets Medea and she leaves.

    Theseus was warmly accepted by his father, and named the heir to the throne. But there is still one more BIG bump in the road for Theseus, and his name is King Minos. You see King Minos' son was killed years before while under the care of the Athenians. So every year Minos would demand seven young men and seven young women of the Athenian people to sacrifice to the Minotaur. The Minotaur was a monster, half man, half bull, that was a man eater. The Mintotaur lived at the center of a complex maze called "The Labyrinth." The young Athenian victims would be dropped into the Labyrinth, and forced to try and escape, but none could escape the deadly Minotaur. Theseus volunteered to be one of the fourteen victims, and in one more final heroic deed, vowing to end all of this terrible plague.

    Now Minos had a daughter, Adriadne, who fell in love with Theseus instantly, (this would prove vital to Theseus surviving the Labyrinth). She informed him she had picked up a clue from the man who had crafted the Labyrinth, Daedulus, that to survive one should take a spool of thread and leave it behind them as they walked through to eventually find their way. Theseus volunteered to enter first. He tied the thread to the entrance of the Labyrinth and carefully made his way through the maze. He finally made it towards the lair of the deadly Minotaur. As he slowly crept towards the beast, he could hear its loud breath as it exhaled from its nostrils. He ran at the beast and wrestled it to the ground. He attacked it with a rock and broke off its horn, stabbing the giant beast to death. (Some versions have Theseus beating it with his club or stabbing it with a sword, but this seems improbable because it is unlikely that they would have allowed Theseus to carry in such weapons). He slowly made his way back to the entrance, with the thread that he laid before in hand.

    Theseus boarded one of Minos' ships, putting holes in the rest so that they may not pursue, and hurriedly sailed back to Athens. He left Adriadne behind, even though she had helped him, but this was not as cowardly as Jason's abandonment of Medea, because Theseus never promised to marry her. Theseus' return home was not very happy either. There was supposed to be a certain signal that Theseus would display on his ship if he was still alive, which, he forgot to display resulting in Aegus throwing himself from the top of a cliff. Even thought Theseus lost his beloved father, he was now king and ruler of Athens. Theseus ruled for many years, wisely and happily.