Foundation Stories: Theseus/Athens Flashcards
What is the story of the naming of Athens
Legenday kind Cercrops founded a city in Attica and needed a name for it
Both Athena and Poseidon came to this city to claim patronage for it
Poseidon arrived first and struck the centre of the acropolis with his trident creating a hole in the ground creating a spring of sea water
Athena then arrived and planted the first olive tree
Zeus and Cecrops judged the gifts declaring Athena the winner, as olives were an essential part of Athenian lifestyle and the salt in the sea water spring made it largerly unusable
Therefore, Athens was named after Athena
Theseus’s Conception
Aegeus, King of Athens had been to Delphi to ask how to get an heir
On his way home he visited King Pittheus of Troezen asking him to interpret the oracle
The oracle said that the next time Aegeus had sex he would concieve a son so he got Aegeus drunk and convincd him to sleep with his daughter Aethra
The same night Aethra recieved a message ftom Athena that he should wad to the island of Sphairia and lay on the shore
Poseidon emerged from the sea and had sex with Aethra so the child she carried contained both human and godly characteristics
Theseus’s Childhood
Aegeus was worried that Theseus’s cousins in Athens would be jealous of THeseus and kill him, so he left him in Troezen
Aegeus placed his sandals and sword under a rock and told Aethra when her son was worthy to be his heir he would lift the rock and bring the snadals and sword back to him
When he came of age, Theseus easily lifted the rock retriveing the sandals and sword
He chose to go to athens by land which was full of danger instead of by boat as he looked up to Heracles’ labours and wanted to be a great hero like him
8 Labours of Theseus
Periphetes
Sinis
Crommyonian sow
Sciron
Cercyon
Procrustes
Bull of MArathon
The Minotaur
What happened in Theseus’s first labour, Pereiphetes
Periphetes was a bandit that would hide on the side of the road, jump out and beat travellers to death with his club
Theseus spotted him and beat him with his own club and took the club and used it in his subsequent labours
What happened in Theseus’s second labour, Sinis
Sinis was a robber who would tie his victims to the ends of bent pine trees and release them, killing the victim
Thesues tricked Sinis by asking him for help bending a pine and then letting go flinging Sinis to his death
Thesues courts Sinis’s daughter Perigune and she gave birth to a son called Melanippus
What happened in Theseus’s third labour, Crommyonian sow
First version:
Thesues saught out this sow and killed it, thinking that a true hero should seek out beasts to fight on occasion
Second version:
Actually a female thief, given the nickname sow due to her animalistic behaviour
What happened in Theseus’s fourth labour, Sciron
Scrion was an old man who would sit on a path by the cliffs edge and ask passers by to wash his feet
As they bent down to wash them he would kick them into the sea where they would be consumed by a giant turtle
Theseus defeated him by cathing the old man by his feet and flinging him off the cliff
What happened in Theseus’s fifth labour, Cercyon
Theseus arrived at Eleusis, a city ruled by King Cercryon who would challenge passers by to a wrestling match as a show of strenght and the winner would become king of Eleusis. Cercyon killed everyone who had previously tried until Thesues, who defeated him due to the fact that he discovered the art of wrestling
Theseus then became king of Eleusis but still moved on to Athens
What happened in Theseus’s sixth labour, Procrustes
Procrustes would invite visitors to stay a night on a magical bed that would fit anyone
They would lie down on the bed and if they were too tall he would chop off their feet and head and if they were too small he would use his mallet to strech them out
Thesues tricked Procrustes by asking him to lay on his bed to test it but then quickly chopped off his head
What happened when Thesues arrived in Athens
He arrived in Athens to find his father under the control of the witch Medea.
He did not revela himself to his father but Medea knew who he was and convinced Aegeus that he posed a threat to Athens
She arranged or him to fight the Bull of Marathon to prove his heroism which he easily defeated
Medea then arragned to have Theseus poisoned during the sacrafice but to carve the meat Theseus pulled out his father’s sword which Aeneas immediately recognised and in his excitement knocked over the posion exposing Medea and causing her to flee Athens
What happened in Theseus’s seventh labour, Bull of Marathon
The Bull of Marathon had been terrorising Attica ever since Heracles had brought it back as part of his labours.
Theseus is challenged by Medea to defeat it in hopes of it killing him but he easily defeats the Bull thwarting Medea’s plans
What happened in Theseus’s eigth labour, The Minotaur
King Minos had demanded that seven girls and boys be sent from Athens to Crete each year as a sacrafice to the MInotaur
The sacrafices were drawn by lot but Theseus volunteers showing his courage
Theseus meets Ariadne who falls in love with him
She gives him a ball of wool so he would not get lost in the labyrinth and a sword so he could kill the minotaur
What happened on Theseus’ return from Crete
Thesues was succseful and when leaving Crete, Ariadne ran away with him, however Thesues left Ariadne on the island of Naxos before returning to Athens.
First Version:
Ariadne was pregnant and while they rested on Naxos, Thesues and the ship was swept away by storms
Second Version:
Thesues fell in love with another woman and abandoned Ariadne on Naxos
Third Version:
While on Naxos, Athena came to Thesues in a dream telling him that Dionysus had chosen Ariadne for his bride and so Thesues should leave her on Naxos
Upon returning to Athens Theseus was meant to remove the black sail and replace it with a white to symbolise that he was safe
However he forgot to change the sail and when Aegeus saw it, he believed Theseus to be dead and comitted suicide by jumping into the sea
