Theseus
Lineage
Born in Troizen
Mother - Aethra
Father - Aegeus or Poseidon
On the same night that Aethra was with Aegeus she
also was with Poseidon.
Who is Theseus’ father – Aegeus or Poseidon? The
world may never know!
When she became pregnant, Aegeus decided to
return to Athens
Before leaving, Aegeus buried his
sandals and sword under a huge
rock and instructed her to have
Theseus move the rock to retrieve
evidence of his royal parentage
after he grew up
Meanwhile, Aegeus returned to
Athens, where he married Medea
after she fled Corinth following the
slaughter of her and Jason’s
children
Theseus grows up in the
homeland of his mother
He moved the rock and
recovered his father’s sandals
and sword
After learning the truth about his father from his
mother, Theseus set out for Athens
To get to Athens, he could either travel by sea or by
land, a much more perilous journey
Obviously, he chooses the LAND ROUTE, where he
will face many monsters and monstrous mortals.
Theseus’ Adventures
Part I: Periphetes/Corynetes
Periphetes, also known as Corynetes
Son of Vulcan/Hephaestus and
Anticleia
He likes to scoop up travelers and
bop them on the head with his club in
a fierce deathblow
Theseus, however, is no ordinary
traveler...he is a HERO
Theseus kills him by throwing a
boulder and takes the club, which
Theseus carries with him thereafter
Theseus’ Adventures
Part II: Sinis (aka Pityocamptes)
Sinis, son of Polypemon and Sylea, was a malicious fiend
who waylaid travelers to rob them
He then proceeded to tie them between two bent pine trees,
which, when released, would tear his victims apart
Theseus, however, is no ordinary traveler...he is a HERO
Theseus turned the tables on Sinis and killed him through
the same method
Theseus then found Sinis’s daughter, Perigune, hiding in a
bed of wild asparagus. He became her lover and she bore
him a son, Melanippus, whose descendants refrained from
burning asparagus.
Theseus’ Adventures
Part III: Crommyonian Sow
The Crommyonian Sow is
named Phaea (“Grey”)
This offspring of Typhon and
Echidna was an enormous pig
that enjoyed terrorizing the
countryside and bothering
travelers
Theseus, however, is no
ordinary traveler...he is a
HERO
Theseus killed this pig like a
guy wanting Bar-B-Que
Theseus’ Adventures
Part IV: Sciron
Sciron, son of either Pelops or Poseidon, was a ruffian
who forced unwary travelers to wash his feet before
he would allow them to pass. When they bent down,
he would kick them off a cliff to be eaten by a
gargantuan turtle
Theseus, however, is no ordinary traveler...he is a
HERO
Theseus pretended to bend down to wash Sciron’s
feet, but grabbed them instead and hurled Sciron off
the cliff
Theseus’ Adventures
Part V: Cercyon
Cercyon was the king of Eleusis
He was the son of Poseidon and one of the daughters of
Amphictyon, or Poseidon and the nymph Argiope, or
Branchus and the nymph Argiope, or Hephaestus.
He had two children, Alope and Hippothous.
Alope had a scandalous affair with Poseidon (her own
grandfather!) and gave birth to Hippothoon. Cercyon
buried her alive, but Poseidon turned her into a spring.
Cercyon’s hobby was to challenge travelers to a
wrestling match in which he would kill them fair and
square
Theseus, however, is no ordinary traveler...he is a
HERO
Theseus beats Cercyon at his own game and kills
him in a round on the ground
Theseus’ Adventures
Part VI: Procrustes (the stretcher), aka Polypemon
(the baneful) and Damastes (the tamer)
Procrustes, a son of Poseidon, was a bandit who
earned himself the nickname of “THE STRETCHER”
He owned an inn where he offered travelers a bed to
rest in
But, when a traveler got into bed, Procrustes would
help him out by making him fit the bed exactly by
stretching them out or chopping off any protrusions,
such as the feet or head
Theseus, however, is no ordinary traveler...he is a
HERO
Theseus kindly put Procrustes to bed before unkindly
chopping of his head
Theseus’ Adventures
Part VII: The Athens Segment
At long last, Theseus arrived in Athens where Aegeus greets him
with hospitality as a renowned hero and not as a son
Medea, unfortunately, immediately recognizes Theseus as Aegeus’
long lost son
She wants her son Medus to inherit the throne and so she connives
a malicious plot to kill Theseus and secure the throne
First, she asked him to capture the Bull of Marathon (formerly the
Cretan Bull), hoping it would kill Theseus. Theseus caught it and
sacrificed it to Apollo.
Theseus’ Adventures
Part VII.2: The Athens Segment
When he succeeds, she tries to poison him, but he is no
ordinary hero...he is a SUPERHERO
With mere nanoseconds to spare, Aegeus recognizes his very
own sandals and sword, now carried by his son
Aegeus knocks the poisoned goblet from Theseus’ hand
Meanwhile, Not in Theseus’ Adventures
Minos rules the island of Crete
He asked for a bull to sacrifice to Poseidon
However, this Cretan Bull was such a fine specimen
as far as bulls go, that Minos decided to keep said bull
As punishment for his selfishness, the gods made his
wife Pasiphae fall in love with the Cretan Bull
From this unholy union ordained by the gods, the
MINOTAUR is born
Minos encloses the Minotaur in a big maze, the
LABYRINTH
Minotaur Adventures
Androgeos, the son of Minos,
was killed in Athens, either
hunting the Bull of Marathon or
at the funeral games of King
Laius of Thebes
Because of this, Minos invaded
Athens, which gave up after
plague struck
The treaty settlement involved
the delivery of 7 young men and
7 young women from Athens to
Crete every year to serve as
Minotaur food
Theseus’ Adventures
Part VIII: Party in Crete
Theseus hears about this grave injustice against the Athenian
youths and resolves to travel amongst them but kill the
minotaur for he is no ordinary sacrifice...he is a HERO
Aegeus agrees to let Theseus go so long as Theseus
changes the customary black sail of mourning to white for his
return trip
Upon arriving in Crete, Theseus and Minos contest each
others’ divine paternity
Zeus supports Minos with a lightning bolt filled with pizzazz
Poseidon supports Theseus by helping him reclaim a golden
ring thrown into the sea by Minos
Theseus’ Adventures
Part IX: The Minotaur
Ariadne, daughter of Minos, falls in
love with Theseus
But, he is to die in the labyrinth
This does not sit well with Ariadne,
so she helps Theseus by giving him
a sword and ball of yarn with which
to navigate
Theseus then kills the Minotaur
(whose name is actually Asterius or
Asterion)
After retrieving his fellow Athenians
and Ariadne, Theseus punches
holes in the boats of Minos before
fleeing
Theseus’ Adventures
Part X: Naxos
Theseus and his trusty crew
make a pitstop at the island of
Naxos, also known as Dia
Here, Theseus abandons
Ariadne
Ariadne, with good spiteful
reasoning, curses Theseus
Luckily, Dionysus/Bacchus just
happened to be wandering by
and he picked up Ariadne and
either marries her or has
Artemis/Diana kill her
Theseus’ Adventures
Part XI: Delos
Theseus and his companions now stop at the
island of Delos
Here, they invent the Crane Dance, a twisting and
turning dance commemorating their not so happy
times with the Labyrinth
Upon leaving Delos, Theseus continues home to
Athens
Unfortunately, Theseus forgets to change the black
saild
Aegeus, upon seeing the black sails, despairs
Aegeus, however, is no ordinary king...he is a
SUICIDAL KING
He jumps into what is now known as the Aegean
Sea and dies
Theseus’ Adventures
Part XII: Hippolyta
Theseus quests through the wild lands of the
Amazons, a race of women warriors
Welcomed by Queen Hippolyta who boarded his ship
with gifts, Theseus seems to bear the Amazons no ill
will
Theseus, however, is no ordinary hero...he is an
ABDUCTOR
He sails for Athens with Hippolyta as his bride,
sparking a war between the Amazons and the
Athenians
Eventually, Hippolyta bears a son, Hippolytus, for
Theseus
However, Theseus ditches Hippolyta for Phaedra
Theseus’ Adventures
Part XIII: Phaedra
Phaedra bore Theseus two sons, Demophon and Acamas
Meanwhile, Hippolytus offends Aphrodite by his desire to worship
Artemis and reject love
Aphrodite then makes Phaedra fall in love with Hippolytus
Hippolytus, however, said NO!!!
In revenge Phaedra wrote a letter to Theseus claiming
that Hippolytus raped her. She then killed herself.
Theseus believed her, drove Theseus from the palace,
and prayed to his father Poseidon to curse Hippolytus.
Poseidon caused a bull to rise up out of the waves
and spook Hippolytus’ horses. The horses then
dragged Hippolytus to his death.
Trip to Hades
Theseus and his friend, Pirithous son of Dia and Ixion (or Zeus), decided to
marry daughters of Zeus.
Theseus chose Helen and Pirithous chose Persephone.
They kidnapped Helen and left her with Theseus’s mother Aethra. (Helen was
later rescued by Dioscuri.)
Together, the two traveled to the underworld to kidnap Persephone.
When they arrived, Theseus sat down on a rock and found himself unable to
move.
Pirithous was led away by the Furies to eternal torment.
Theseus is later rescued by Heracles and receives forgiveness from
Persephone.
But, when he tried to save Pirithous, the whole underworld shook so he returned
to the upper world.
Sources of Myth
Bibliotheca by Apollodorus
Metamorphoses by Ovid
Theseus by Plutarch