Foundation Myths

Question 1

Theseus parents

Answer 1

• Aethra was his mother
• Aegeus or Poseidon was his father

Question 2

The naming of Athens

Answer 2

• Cecrops had founded a city but needed a patron god
• Athena and Poseidon competed to become the patron god, with Cecrops and Zeus as judges
• Poseidon dug his trident into the sea and a saltwater fountain erupted
• Athena planted an olive tree
• Olives were very valued in Greece, as they would make olive oil, so Cecrops chose Athena, and his city was named Athens

Question 3

The adventures of Theseus
1. Perphetes the club-bearer

Answer 3

• Periphetes the club-bearer would hide on the side of the road, jump out and beat travellers to death with club.
  -Theseus spotted him before he could pounce, grappled with him, then beat his with his own club.
• Theseus kept the club as a prize and used it in the rest of his labours

Question 4

The adventures of Theseus
2. Sinis the pine- bender

Answer 4

• Sinis was a robber who would tie his victims to the end of bent pine trees then release them, tearing them to pieces
• Version 1. Theseus tricked Sinis by asking him to help bend a pine tree, but let go, and Sinis was flung to his death
• Version 2. Theseus tied Sinis to two pines and he was torn in half
• After killing Sinis, Theseus married his daughter Perigune and they had a son called Melanippus

Question 5

The adventures of Theseus
3. Crommyonian sow

Answer 5

• Version 1. The sow was actually a woman, nicknamed for her beastlike behaviour
• Version2. The sow was brought up by an old woman
• Theseus killed her

Question 6

The adventures of Theseus
4. Sciron

Answer 6

• Sciron was an old man who would sit on a path by the cliff’s edge
• He would ask passers- by to wash his feet and as the bent to do this, he would kick them into the sea
• They would then be eaten by a giant turtle
• Theseus caught the old man by the feet and threw him off the cliff

Question 7

The adventures of Theseus
5. King Cercyon

Answer 7

• Theseus arrived at Eleusis, a city ruled by King Cercyon
• Cercyon would challenge passers-by to a wrestling match, and the winner would become king
• Theseus defeated him and became king, but then moved on to Athens

Question 8

The adventures of Theseus
6. Procrustes and the bed

Answer 8

• Procrustes would invite visitors to stay the night on a magical bed that would fit anyone
• Once they accepted and lay down, he would stretch them out with his mallet if they were too short or chop off their head and feet with an axe if they were too tall
• Before he tried it himself, Theseus persuaded Procrustes to test out his own bed: so Theseus quickly chopped his head off