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    … Crete-mythology. A terrible misfortune had befallen the city of Athens. Androgeus, only son of Minos, the powerful King of Crete, lost his life during a visit to the Athenian King Aegeus. In defiance of all tradition, Aegeus had sent his guest on a dangerous expedition to kill a fearsome bull.

It was the bull that killed the teenager and Minos, in retaliation, invaded the country, took Athens and declared that he would raze the city to the ground unless the Athenians agreed to pay him tribute of seven young men and as many young women every nine years. A terrible fate awaited these unfortunate people. As soon as they arrived in Crete, they were fed to the Minotaur. 

       It was a half-bull, half-man monster, the offspring of Minos' wife Pasiphae and a bull of marvellous beauty. Poseidon had once given this bull to Minos to offer him as a holocaust, but Minos could not decide to sacrifice it and kept it for himself. As a punishment, Poseidon made Pasiphae fall in love with the beast.

        When the Minotaur was born, Minos did not kill him. He ordered Daedalus, the great architect and inventor, to build a place of confinement from which it would be impossible to escape, and Daedalus built the Labyrinth, which has become famous the world over. Once inside the maze, there was no way out. 

When the Minotaur was born, Minos did not kill him. He ordered Daedalus, the great architect and inventor, to build a place of confinement from which it would be impossible to escape, and Daedalus built the Labyrinth, which became famous throughout the world. Once inside the maze, there was no way out. It was here that the young Athenians were led to become the victims of the Minotaur. They had no way of escaping him, for if they ran, they risked meeting the monster at every turn of the enclosure, just as he might appear at any moment if they remained motionless. Such was the doom promised to the fourteen young Athenian men and women a few days after Theseus' arrival in the city. The time had come for a new delivery of the tribute.

        Theseus, son of King Aegeus, immediately came forward and offered to be among the victims. Everyone appreciated his generosity and admired his greatness of spirit, but no one suspected that he intended to kill the Minotaur. However, he confided his intention to his father and promised that if he succeeded, he would change the black sail that was always hoisted on the ship carrying the lamentable cargo into a white one, so that Aegeus would know long before he touched land that his son was coming back to him safe and sound.

        When they landed in Crete and before being led to the Labyrinth, the young Athenians had to parade before the islanders. Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, was among the spectators; she saw Theseus passing by and was infatuated at first sight. 

Like an oak tree falls on the hill She sent for Daedalus and asked him to show her a way out of the Labyrinth; then she sent for Theseus; she told him that she would ensure his escape on condition that he promised to take her with him to Athens to marry him. He, no doubt, had no difficulty in agreeing to this; so she gave him what she had received from Daedalus, a length of thread which he was to tie at one end to the inside of the door and unwind as he went along. This he did, and now assured that he could retrace his steps, he boldly set out to find the Minotaur. The monster was asleep when he found it; Theseus sprang up with his sword and pinned it to the ground; then with his fists - he had no other weapon - he hammered the beast to death: 

The monster was asleep when he found him; Theseus rushed forward, sword raised, and pinned him to the ground; then, with his fists - he had no other weapon - he hammered the beast to death:

Crushing everything under its weight
So did Theseus. He expressed life
Of the savage brute and now she's dead.
Only the head still moves but the horns are useless.

        When Theseus stood up after this terrifying fight, the wire pack was still where he had dropped it - he had only to make his way out. The others followed, and taking Ariadne with them, they ran to the ship that returned to Athens after crossing the sea.

On the way, they landed on the island of Naxos and what happened there is related with some variations. One account says that Theseus left Ariadne there. She was asleep and he took advantage of this to set sail again, without her. Dionysus then met her and consoled her. The other version is much more favourable to Theseus. Ariadne was suffering from a violent seasickness, so the hero had her put ashore for a short rest while he himself went back on board to attend to some urgent task. A stormy wind blew the ship out to sea and kept her there for a long time. On his return, the hero learned that Ariadne had died and was greatly distressed.

       Both versions agree that he forgot to hoist the white sail as he approached Athens; perhaps his joy at the success of his voyage had driven all other thoughts from his mind, or perhaps his grief at losing Ariadne.

However, the black sail remained attached to the mast, and from the Acropolis, where he had been staring at the sea for days, his father saw it. For him it was the sign of his son's death; from the top of a rock he plunged into the sea and died. And since then the sea into which he fell has been named after him, Aegean.

        Theseus thus became King of Athens, and a wise and selfless ruler if ever there was one.

He immediately declared that he had no desire to rule, but wanted a government of the people by the people, where all would be equal. He therefore renounced royal power and established the republic; he had a council hall built where all citizens would meet and vote.

He kept for himself only the office of Commander-in-Chief. And so Athens became the happiest and most prosperous of all the world's cities, the only home of real freedom, the only place on earth where people governed themselves.

And it was for this reason that, during the great War of the Seven against Thebes, when the victorious Thebans refused to bury those of their enemies who had died, the defeated turned to Theseus and Athens, convinced that free men led by such a man would never consent to such an injustice towards the dead.

Their prayers were not in vain. Theseus led his army against Thebes, conquered the city and forced it to grant burial to the dead. But the triumphant hero refused to repay the Thebans evil for evil and behaved like a perfect knight.

He forbade his soldiers to enter the city and plunder it; he had not come to punish the Thebans but to bury the dead Argives, and when his duty was done he led his army back to Athens.

        He shows the same qualities in many other stories.

He welcomed the ageing Odipus whom everyone had rejected; he stayed by his side when he died, supporting and comforting him. He protected the two helpless daughters of the same Oedipus and on the death of their father sent them safely home. When, in a fit of madness, Heracles killed his wife and children and then wanted to kill himself when he came to his senses, Theseus alone remained with him. Fearing that they would be contaminated by the presence of a man guilty of such a crime, all the other friends of Heracles had fled, but Theseus reached out to him, raised his courage, made him understand that to kill himself would be cowardice, and finally took him back with him to Athens.He welcomed the ageing Odipus whom everyone had rejected; he stayed by his side when he died, supporting and comforting him. He protected the two helpless daughters of the same Oedipus and on the death of their father sent them safely home. When, in a fit of madness, Heracles killed his wife and children and then wanted to kill himself when he came to his senses, Theseus alone remained with him. Fearing that they would be contaminated by the presence of a man guilty of such a crime, all the other friends of Heracles had fled, but Theseus reached out to him, raised his courage, made him understand that to kill himself would be cowardice, and finally took him back with him to Athens.

Yet all the duties of state and all the exploits required of a knight-errant to defend the weak and oppressed were not enough to curb Theseus' passion for the danger itself. He went to the land of these warrior women, the Amazons, - some say with Heracles, others, alone - and kidnapped their Queen, sometimes named Antiope and sometimes Hippolyta. It is certain that the son she gave to Theseus was called Hippolytus and that after his birth the Amazons invaded Attica, the country surrounding Athens, and even managed to penetrate the city. They were finally defeated and as long as Theseus lived, no other enemy ever entered Athens again.

    He had many other adventures. He was one of those who embarked on the Argo and set out to conquer the Golden Fleece. He took part in the great Calydonian Hunt, when the King of Calydon called upon the most noble princes of Greece to help him exterminate the terrible boar that was ravaging his country. It was then that Theseus saved the life of Pirithoes, his reckless and impetuous friend, as he was to do many times afterwards. Although Pirithoes was just as adventurous as Theseus, he certainly did not achieve the same successes and was thus constantly in trouble. Theseus, who was very fond of him, helped him out every time. (see our page (La Crète et sa mythologie). Voir nos pages Top 10 in Crete  and the Knossos museum

"Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes"
Edith Hamilton