Today we’ll talk about two more powerful heroes of Ancient Greece - Perseus and Theseus. We associate the name of the first with Medusa the Gorgon and Andromeda, the second with the Minotaur and Ariadne. But let's take things in order.
The king of Argos, Acrisius, learned from the oracle that he was destined to die at the hands of the son of his daughter Danae. Wanting to avoid fate, Acrisius imprisoned his daughter Danae in a copper tower, but the thunderer Zeus entered her in the form of golden rain, with one goal - to replenish his collection. After this, Danae gave birth to Perseus. One day the king heard a child's laughter and discovered that he was now a grandfather. Frightened Acrisius, placing his daughter and grandson in a box, ordered him to be beaten tightly and then thrown into the sea. (Sasha Pushkin probably had excellent marks in ancient Greek literature at the Lyceum)
Danaë and Perseus were saved when their box was washed up on the island of Seriphos. At that time, the fisherman Dictys was fishing on the shore. The box became entangled in the nets, and together with them Dictys pulled it ashore. He opened the box and, to his surprise, saw in it an amazingly beautiful woman and a charming little boy.
John William Waterhouse "Danae" 1892
Having learned who they were and what happened to them, the fisherman took pity on them and took them into his house. Perseus grew by leaps and bounds, grew into a tall, slender young man, and no one in Serif could compare with him in beauty, dexterity and strength. The king of the island of Serif, Polydectes, heard about him and ordered Perseus and his mother to come to the palace. The beauty of Danae captivated Polydectes, he affectionately received the queen and her son and settled them in his palace. One day Perseus found his mother in tears; she confessed to him that Polydectes was forcing her to marry him, and asked her son for protection. Perseus warmly stood up for his mother. To get rid of Perseus, Polydectes sent Perseus to get the head of the gorgon Medusa.
The Gorgons are the female monsters Stheno (Steino), Euryale and Medusa, who turned everyone who looked at them into stone. Of the three sisters, only Medusa was mortal.
Caravaggio "Medusa" 1596
Presumably Leonardo da Vinci's "Medusa" 1600
Peter Paul Rubens "Medusa" 1618
Arnold Böcklin "Medusa" 1878
Perseus set off on a long journey. He needed to reach the western edge of the earth, the country where the goddess Night and the god of death Tanat reigned. Terrible gorgons also lived in this country. Their entire body was covered with shiny and strong scales, like steel. No sword could cut these scales, only the curved sword of Hermes. The gorgons had huge copper hands with sharp steel claws. On their heads, instead of hair, poisonous snakes moved, hissing. The faces of the gorgons, with their fangs sharp as daggers, with lips red as blood, and with eyes burning with rage, were filled with such malice, they were so terrible that everyone turned to stone at one glance at the gorgons.
Athena and Hermes helped Perseus. Athena gave Perseus a copper shield, so shiny that everything was reflected in it, like in a mirror; Hermes gave Perseus his sharp sword, which cut the hardest steel like soft wax.
Joseph Werner "Perseus and the Nymphs" 1700
Paris Bordone "Mercury and Minerva arming Perseus" 1555
Edward Coley Burne-Jones "The Armament of Perseus" 1885
Long was the path of Perseus. Finally he reached a dark country where the old Grays lived, the goddesses Pefredo, Enio and Deino, the personification of old age, the daughters of the sea deity Forkis, the sisters of the Gorgons, who blocked the path to the latter.
They had only one eye and one tooth on all three. They took turns using them. While one of the grays had an eye, the other two were blind, and the sighted grayya led the blind, helpless sisters. When, having taken out the eye, Graya passed it on to the next in line, all three sisters were blind. Perseus quietly crept up to them in the darkness, and, on the advice of Hermes, tore out a wonderful eye from one of the girls just at the moment when she was passing it on to her sister. The Grays screamed in horror. Now all three of them were blind. They began to beg Perseus, conjuring him with all the gods, to give them his eye. Then Perseus demanded that they return the eye and show him the way to the Gorgons. The Grays hesitated for a long time, but in order to regain their sight, they had to show this path. So Perseus found out how to get to the island of the Gorgons, and quickly moved on.
John Heinrich Fussli "Perseus returns the eyes of Gray"
Edward Coley Burne-Jones "Perseus and the Grays" 1892
During his further journey, Perseus came to the nymphs. From them he received three gifts: a helmet of the ruler of the underworld of Hades, which made anyone who wore it invisible, sandals with wings, with the help of which he could quickly fly through the air, and a magic bag: this bag either expanded or contracted, depending on the direction. the size of what was in it.
He found the three gorgon sisters sleeping. He carefully approached the monsters, looking at their reflection in the shield. With the help of the omnipresent Hermes, he singled out Medusa from them (after all, she was the only one of the three who was mortal) and cut off her head with one blow. Her dark blood gushed onto the rock, and with the streams of blood, the winged horse Pegasus soared into the sky from Medusa’s body. Perseus quickly grabbed Medusa's head and hid it in a wonderful bag. The sound of his fall woke up the sisters of Medusa, Stheno and Euryale. Flapping their mighty wings, they soared over the island and looked around with burning eyes, but the killer of their sister Medusa disappeared without a trace. And Perseus quickly rushed, invisible in the helmet of Hades, over the roaring sea. Now he is rushing over the sands of Libya. Blood leaked from Medusa's head through the bag and fell in heavy drops onto the sand. From these drops of blood the sands gave birth to poisonous snakes.
Baldassare Peruzzi "Perseus and Pegasus" 1511
Peter Paul Rubens "Perseus saving Andromeda" 1620
Peter Paul Rubens "Perseus and Andromeda" 1621
Francesco Maffei "Cutting off the head of the Gorgon Medusa by Perseus" 1650
Eugene Tyrion "Perseus the Conqueror of Medusa" 1910
So he reached the country where the giant Atlas (Atlas) reigned.
Luxurious gardens grew in his domain, and among the gardens stood a tree with golden branches and foliage, and the apples that grew on this tree were also golden. Atlas treasured this tree like the apple of his eye. The goddess Themis predicted to him that the day would come when the son of Zeus would come to him and steal the golden apples from him. So Perseus flew to him in his winged sandals and turned to Atlas cordially with a request to shelter him as a guest. When Atlas heard that Perseus was the son of Zeus, he immediately drove the hero away, threatening to kill him if he disobeyed. Perseus got angry with the giant for violating that law of hospitality, grabbed Medusa's head from his bag and showed it to Atlas. The giant immediately turned to the mountain. Since then, Mount Atlas (Atlas Mountains) has supported the entire firmament, with all its constellations.
Edward Coley Burne-Jones' Atlas Turning to Stone 1882
After a long journey, Perseus reached the kingdom of Kepheus. There, on a rock, near the seashore, he saw the beautiful Andromeda, daughter of King Kepheus, chained. She had to atone for the guilt of her mother, Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia angered the sea nymphs. Proud of her beauty, she said that she, Queen Cassiopeia, was the most beautiful of all. The nymphs became angry and begged the god of the seas, Poseidon, to punish Kepheus and Cassiopeia. Poseidon sent, at the request of the nymphs, a monster like a gigantic fish. It emerged from the depths of the sea and devastated the possessions of Kefei. The kingdom of Coffee was filled with crying and groans. He finally turned to the oracle and asked how he could get rid of this misfortune. The oracle said that only by giving his daughter Andromeda to be torn to pieces by the monster would he atone for his guilt.
Gyorgio Vasari "Perseus and Andromeda" 1570
Carlo Saraceni "Chained Andromeda" 16-17th century
Anton Raphael Mengs "Perseus and Andromeda" 1776
Gustave Doré, Andromeda Chained to a Rock, 1869
Frederic Leighton "Perseus on Pegasus, rushing to the aid of Andromeda 1896
Edward Coley Burne-Jones "Perseus and Andromeda" 1888
In a fierce battle, Perseus defeated the sea monster, took the beautiful Andromeda as his wife, simultaneously killing her previous fiancé Phineus, and returned to Seref.
Luco Giordano "Perseus and Phineus" 1680
Sebastiano Ricci "Perseus standing before Phineus with the head of Medusa" 1710
Arriving on the island, Perseus found Danae in the temple, where she was hiding from the persecution of Polydectes. Perseus turned Polydectes and his minions into stones, showing them the head of Medusa the Gorgon, after which he made Dictys the ruler of the island.
Perseus’s grandfather also did not escape the oracle’s prediction: once at the games, Perseus accidentally threw a disk towards the spectators, among whom was Acrisius. The disk hit him and killed him.
Despite the fact that we are not so familiar with the story of another Greek hero - Theseus, among the Greeks this is one of the central figures of the pantheon. I assume that this is due to the fact that Theseus (Theseus) is most likely a real person, the 10th king of Athens. He has an excellent pedigree: on his mother's side, leading to Zeus himself. As for his father, as befits a hero, he had two: a divine one - Poseidon and an earthly one - the Athenian king Aegeus, whose family went back to Hephaestus and Gaia. Ephra, the mother of Theseus, was not the wife of Aegeus and he, after the birth of his son, returned to Athens, left him his sword and sandals, placing them under a large stone, so that, having matured, Theseus, in his father’s sandals and with his sword, went to Athens to Aegean. When Theseus was sixteen years old, he took his father’s sandals and sword out from under the stone and set off for Athens along a particularly dangerous road, where robbers and descendants of monsters lay in wait for travelers on the way from Megara to Athens.
Nicolas Poussin "Theseus Finds His Father's Sword" 1638
Lauren de Geer "Theseus and Ephra" 1640
Antonio Balestra "Theseus Unveiling the Sword" early 18th century
On the way, Theseus defeated and killed:
The robber Periphetus, who killed travelers with a copper club.
The robber Sinis, who dealt with travelers by tying them to two bent pine trees.
Crommyon pig,
The robber Skiron, who forced travelers to wash his feet at the cliff and kicked them into the abyss,
The robber Kerkion, who forced travelers to fight to the death.
The robber Damaste (nicknamed Procrustes), who laid travelers on his bed, and those whose legs were short, cut off their legs, and those whose legs were large, he stretched their legs along the length of this bed.
Theseus arrived in Athens when the temple of Apollo Delphinius was being built, and the workers mockingly called him a girl, then he threw the cart, showing his strength. The young hero, however, was not recognized by Aegeus, to whom Medea (then wife of Aegeus) instilled fears of the stranger and persuaded Aegeus to drug the young man with poison. During the meal, Theseus pulled out his sword to cut the meat. The father recognized his son and threw away the cup of poison.
When Theseus came to Athens, all of Attica was plunged into deep sadness. For the third time, ambassadors from Crete arrived from the powerful King Minos to collect tribute. This tribute was heavy and shameful. The Athenians had to send seven boys and seven girls to Crete every nine years. There they were locked in a huge palace, the Labyrinth, and they were devoured by the terrible monster Minotaur, with the body of a man and the head of a bull.
George Frederick Watts "Minotaur" 1885
Minos imposed this tribute on the Athenians because they killed his son Androgeus.
Now for the third time the Athenians had to send a terrible tribute to Crete. They have already equipped a ship with black sails as a sign of grief for the young victims of the Minotaur. Seeing the general sadness, the young hero Theseus decided to go with the Athenian boys and girls to Crete, free them and stop paying this terrible tribute. It was possible to stop payment only by killing the Minotaur. Therefore, Theseus decided to engage in battle with the Minotaur and either kill him or die.
Master Cassoni Campana "Theseus and the Minotaur. Cretan legend" Early 16th century
The ship set off under a black sail, but Theseus took with him a spare white one, under which he was supposed to return home after defeating the monster. On the way to Crete, Theseus proved to Minos his descent from Poseidon by retrieving from the bottom of the sea a ring thrown by Minos. Theseus and his companions were placed in a labyrinth, where Theseus killed the Minotaur. Theseus and his companions emerged from the labyrinth thanks to the help of Ariadne, who fell in love with Theseus.
Jacob van Loo "Ariadne" 1652
Nicolo Bambini "Ariadne and Theseus" mid-18th century
She gave him a ball of thread, which led him out of the labyrinth where the minotaur lived. At night, Theseus with the Athenian youth and Ariadne secretly fled to the island of Naxos.
Cima de Conegliano "Theseus kills the Minotaur" Late 15th century.
Charles Edouard Chaize "Theseus, conquering the Minotaur" 1791
When Theseus and his companions were resting from their journey, the god of wine Dionysus appeared to Theseus in a dream and told him that he must leave Ariadne on the deserted shore of Naxos, since the gods had appointed her to be his wife, the god Dionysus. Theseus woke up and, full of sadness, went on, forgetting to change the sails, which was the reason for the death of Aegeus, who threw himself into the sea when he saw the black sail and thereby became convinced of the death of his son. According to legend, this is why the sea is called the Aegean.
Angelica Kaufman "Ariadne abandoned by Theseus" 1774
George Frederick Watts "Ariadne on the Island of Naxos" 1875
Evelyn de Morgan "Ariadne on Naxos" 1877
A number of popular expressions are associated with the name of Theseus:
1. Ariadne's thread is every sure tool, a pointer for solving a complicated problem.
2. Procrustean bed - means the desire to fit something into a rigid framework or artificial standard, sometimes sacrificing something essential for this.
3. Less known is "The Ship of Theseus or Theseus's Paradox" - a paradox that can be formulated as follows: “If all the constituent parts of the original object were replaced, does the object remain the same?”
The ship on which Theseus returned from Crete to Athens was kept by the Athenians for quite a long time, and was sent annually with a sacred embassy to Delos. During repairs, the boards were gradually replaced in it, until a dispute arose among philosophers: was it still the same ship, or another, new one? In addition, the question arises: if a second ship is built from old planks, which one will be the real one?
The hero Theseus is the son of King Aegeus. - Procrustean bed. - Medea wants to poison Theseus. - Ariadne's thread in the labyrinth of the Minotaur. - Ariadne, abandoned by Theseus. - Black Sails: the myth about the name of the Aegean Sea. - Amazonomachy. - Theseus and Pirithous in the kingdom of shadows. - Death of Theseus.
Hero Theseus - son of King Aegeus
The main character of almost all heroic Athenian myths is Theseus. The Athenians wanted to embody in Theseus, just as the Dorians did with Hercules, all the exploits and great deeds of the Athenian mythological cycle. But the Athenian hero Theseus never enjoyed such fame among all the Greeks as Hercules, although to give glory and splendor to the name of Theseus, feats were attributed to him that were an exact copy of s.
Theseus is the son of the Athenian king Aegeus and Ephra, a descendant of. Theseus was born near Trezena, and he was raised by his grandfather, the wise Pittheus. taught Theseus horse riding, shooting and various gymnastic exercises.
Aegeus, going to Athens, put his sword and sandals under a large and heavy stone and told his wife to send Theseus to him only when he moved this stone and found the sword and sandals.
Sixteen-year-old Theseus picked up the stone, armed himself with a sword, put on sandals and went to Athens to seek his father and glory.
An antique bas-relief located in the Campanian Museum depicts the young hero Theseus, surrounded by his family, lifting a stone.
Approaching Athens, Theseus was ridiculed by a crowd of young Athenians for his long clothes, which were considered a sign of effeminacy among the ancient Athenians. The hero Theseus, who was called the red girl, decided not to show himself to Father Aegeus before he covered his name with glory.
PROCRUSTEAN BED
All the surrounding areas of Athens in that mythical era were inhabited by robbers who robbed and killed passers-by and terrified the country with their atrocities.
First of all, Theseus went to Epidaurus, where the villain Periphetus was rampant. Periphetus killed all passers-by with a copper club. The hero Theseus killed Periphetus and took his club for himself.
Then Theseus went to the Isthmus of Corinth and killed another robber there, Sinis. The robber Sinis had the habit of tying all the travelers who fell into his hands by the arms and legs to the tops of two trees. Theseus subjected Sinis to the same fate. Several antique vases and bas-reliefs depict this heroic feat. Theseus also established the Isthmian Games in honor of the god (Neptune). Returning from the Isthmus of Corinth, near Eleusis, Theseus killed the terrible Crommion pig Faye, who was devouring people.
the villain Procrustes possessed no less original mania. Procrustes apparently wanted all people in the world to be the same height as him. Procrustes had a bed on which he laid his prisoners. If it turned out that Procrustes’ captives did not fit on Procrustes’ bed, then he cut off their heads or legs. On the contrary, if Procrustean bed turned out to be too long, the robber Procrustes pulled the legs of his captives by force until he tore them off.
Having killed Procrustes, Theseus went to fight with Sciron, who threw the travelers he had robbed from the top of a cliff onto the sandy shore of the sea. There the robber Sciron kept turtles, which he fattened with human meat. Theseus gave Skiron over to be eaten by the turtles in the same way.
Thus, retribution, that primitive expression of justice among the ancient Greeks, plays a prominent role in all the myths about the exploits of Theseus. The hero Theseus is in the myths of ancient Greece, like Hercules, a champion of truth, a guardian of the law, a patron of the oppressed and a formidable opponent of all enemies of humanity.
Having cleared Attica of villains, Theseus decided that he could now appear before his father Aegeus, and went to Athens.
Medea wants to poison Theseus
The king of Athens, Aegeus, was then completely dependent on the sorceress Medea, with whom Aegeus married.
Medea feared the influence of her hero-son on Aegeus. Seeing that Aegeus did not recognize Theseus, Medea persuaded the king to give the stranger a cup of poisoned wine during the feast.
Fortunately for Theseus, the hero took out his sword to cut the meat, and Father Aegeus, recognizing him by the sword, snatched the goblet from Theseus, which the hero was about to bring to his lips. The cruel Medea was forced to flee from Athens.
Many ancient bas-reliefs depict the scene of this feast. Aegeus snatches the cup from Theseus, and Medea stands in the distance, waiting for the effect of the drink she has poisoned.
Ariadne's Thread in the Minotaur's Labyrinth
Theseus helped Father Aegeus get rid of his nephews who were challenging him for the Athenian throne. Theseus then went to look for the wild Marathon bull that was ravaging the country. Theseus brought the Marathon bull alive to Athens and sacrificed it to Apollo. This marathon bull, caught by Theseus, was nothing more than one caught at one time by Hercules, and then released by him.
Returning to Athens, Theseus was struck by the sadness that dominated there. Theseus was answered to his questions that the time had come to send tribute to King Minos on the island of Crete.
Several years ago, Minos accused Aegeus of killing his son, and begged his father to punish the entire country of Aegeus. The Lord of the Gods sent a plague on her. The oracle asked by the Athenians said that the plague would end only when they promised to annually send seven girls and seven boys to the island of Crete to be devoured by the monster Minotaur, the son of Pasiphae, the wife of Minos, and a bull. Now the time has come to send this tribute for the third time.
Theseus volunteered to go among the young men and kill the monster Minotaur. It was not easy to fulfill this promise, because the Minotaur had extraordinary power. In addition, King Minos, not wanting to show him off, kept the Minotaur in a cage built by the inventor Daedalus. Any mortal who found himself in the labyrinth of the Minotaur could no longer get out of it, so confusing were all the entrances and exits there.
Theseus, aware of the danger of the enterprise, went before leaving for advice from the oracle of Apollo, who in turn advised Theseus to resort to the protection of the goddess.
Aphrodite inspired Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, to love the beautiful hero. Ariadne gave Theseus a ball of thread. End Ariadne's threads remained in her hands so that Theseus could then use this guiding thread to find a way out of the labyrinth. Theseus managed, thanks to his dexterity, to kill the terrible Minotaur and, thanks to Ariadne's thread, to get out of the labyrinth.
In gratitude for his deliverance, Theseus built a temple to the gods in Troezen.
According to many scientists - researchers of mythology, the victory of Theseus over the Minotaur is, as it were, a symbol of the fact that the ancient Greek religion, becoming more and more soft and humane, began to strive for the destruction of human victims.
Ancient art quite often depicted the victory of Theseus over the Minotaur. Of the newest artists, Antonio Canova sculpted two sculptural groups on this mythological theme, which are in the museum in Vienna.
Ariadne abandoned by Theseus
When Theseus left the island of Crete, Ariadne, daughter of Minos, followed him. But Theseus, probably not wanting to incur the displeasure of the Athenians by marrying a foreigner, left Ariadne on the island of Naxos, where the god Dionysus saw him.
Such treachery of the hero of the myths of ancient Greece in relation to the girl who saved his life is a very unclear and unexplained act in mythology.
Some myths say that Theseus did this in obedience to orders, while others say that Dionysus himself asked Theseus not to take Ariadne, whom he had chosen as his wife, far away.
The myth of Ariadne, abandoned by Theseus, served as a theme for many works of ancient art. In Herculaneum they found a picturesque image on the wall representing Ariadne on the shore; Theseus's ship moves away in the distance, and the god Eros, standing next to Ariadne, sheds tears with her.
When at the beginning of the 18th century the fashion spread to paint portraits of modern people, giving them the attributes and poses of heroes of ancient mythology and surrounding them with appropriate settings, the French artist Larguilier depicted the modern actress Duclos in the image of Ariadne, but in a dress with hoops and with a huge plume of feathers on her head .
Black Sails: the myth about the name of the Aegean Sea
Theseus's absent-mindedness was the reason for the death of Aegeus: the son promised his father, if he defeated the Minotaur, to replace the black sails of the ship with white ones, but forgot to do this. King Aegeus, seeing the returning ship of Theseus with black sails and believing that his son had died, threw himself from a high tower into the sea, which from then on was called the Aegean.
Amazonomachy
Theseus, having ascended the throne of his father, first took up the organization of his state, and then went with Hercules on a campaign against.
Theseus married the Amazon queen Antiope, with whom he had a son, Hippolytus. But, returning to his homeland, Theseus left the Amazon Antiope to marry Phaedra, Ariadne’s sister.
The angry Amazons decided to take revenge for the insult inflicted by Theseus on their queen, and raided Attica, but were defeated and destroyed. This war with the Amazons (Amazonomachy), which the Athenians considered one of the most important facts in their heroic history, is reproduced in countless monuments of ancient art.
Close ties of friendship connected Theseus with the king of the Lapiths, Pirithous, who invited him, along with other noble Athenians, to his wedding with Hippodamia. During the wedding feast, a famous incident occurred, from which Theseus emerged victorious.
Pirithous helped Theseus kidnap Helen, but her brothers took her sister away from Theseus and gave her as a wife to the Spartan king Menelaus.
Pirithous, in turn, asked Theseus to go with him to Pluto’s dwelling and help him kidnap the goddess Persephone, for whom Pirithous had a strong love. It was not easy to fulfill such a request, but friendship imposes certain responsibilities. Theseus, willy-nilly, had to agree and go down to Hades with Pirithous.
This attempt, however, ended not only sadly, but also shamefully for the friends, because the gods, angry at such insolence, punished Theseus and Pirithous as follows. Arriving in Hades, both friends sat down to rest on the stones; when Theseus and Pirithous wanted to get up, they, despite all their efforts, could not do it. Friends Theseus and Pirithous, by the will of the gods, stuck to the stones on which they were sitting.
And only Hercules, when he came to Hades to get Kerberos (), begged the god Pluto to allow him to free Theseus.
As for the king of the Lapiths, Pirithous, Hercules did not even think about getting him out of such a difficult and awkward situation.
Death of Theseus
Theseus ended his earthly career very sadly: he went to Skyros to visit King Lycomedes, who, jealous of Theseus’ strength and courage, decided to destroy him. King Lycomedes of Skyros pushed Theseus off the cliff, and the glorious hero died.
There were two famous paintings of Theseus in Athens. One of them was written by Parrhasius, and the other by Euphranor. The artist Euphranor said that Theseus Parrhasius ate roses, while his Theseus ate meat.
This apt remark, says the Roman writer Pliny the Elder, very characteristically and correctly determined the direction of the two rival art schools of ancient Greece.
A beautiful antique statue of Theseus has survived to this day.
ZAUMNIK.RU, Egor A. Polikarpov - scientific editing, scientific proofreading, design, selection of illustrations, additions, explanations, translations from ancient Greek and Latin; all rights reserved.
Also mastered it. The lord of the sea, however, generously ceded to Aegeus the right to be called the father of any child that Efra gave birth to. When Aegeus woke up and saw that he was in Ephra’s bed, he remembered the dream in which Poseidon spoke to him. He decided that if a son was born, he should not be abandoned to the mercy of fate or sent somewhere, but raised secretly in Troezen.
Before leaving, Aegeus left his sword and sandals under a hollow rock known as the Altar of Strong Zeus, propped up with a large boulder. If the boy, when he grows up, can move this stone and get these things, he should be sent along with them to Athens. Until then, Ephra must remain silent so that the nephews of Aegeus, the fifty sons of Pallant, do not destroy the child.
Theseus's childhood and youth
Theseus grew up in Troezen, where his grandfather Pittheus carefully spread the rumor that the boy's father was Poseidon. One day, Hercules, who was dining in Troezen with Pittheus, took off his lion skin and hung it on the back of a chair. The boys who entered from the yard at the sight of the “lion” rushed away screaming, and only one seven-year-old Theseus quickly grabbed an ax lying on the woodpile and boldly moved towards the beast.
When Theseus was sixteen years old, Ephra took her son to the boulder under which Aegeus hid his sword and sandals, and told about his mortal father. Theseus easily rolled away the boulder and took the things left for him. After this, he went to Athens, but, contrary to the warnings of Pittheus and the pleas of his mother, not by safe sea route, but by land, because he wanted to repeat the exploits of his cousin Hercules, whom he had always admired, and to clear the coastal road leading from Troezen to Athens. He decided not to get into a fight, but also not to let anyone down. Act like Hercules - so that the punishment of the villains matches the crime.
Labors of Theseus
Near Epidaurus he encountered a robber Periphetom who killed travelers with his iron club. Theseus snatched the club from the robber's hands and beat Periphetus with it. Theseus liked the club so much that from then on he always carried it with him; although he himself managed to deflect her deadly blow, in his hands she struck without missing a beat.
On the Corinthian Isthmus, the young hero met a robber Sinis, who, possessing enormous strength, could bend pine trees so that their tops touched the ground. He often asked unsuspecting passersby to help him in this matter, and he himself unexpectedly released the pine tree. The tree unbent, throwing the passerby high, and he crashed to death. Sometimes Sinis bent the tops of two neighboring trees to the ground and tied his victim with one hand to one tree and the other to the other. The liberated trees tore the unfortunate man in half. Theseus defeated Sinis and treated him in the same way as he treated his victims. Sinisa's daughter named Periguna at first sight she fell in love with Theseus, forgave him for the murder of her hated father and gave birth to his son at the appointed time Melanippe.
In Crommion, Theseus delivered the local population from a ferocious and terrible wild pig. The inhabitants of Crommion, many of whom were victims of the monster, did not dare to leave their homes or work in the fields.
Moving along the coastal road, Theseus came to sheer cliffs protruding straight from the sea, in which he settled Skiron. This robber forced travelers passing by to wash his feet; when the traveler bent down at his feet, Sciron pushed him off the cliff into the sea, where a huge turtle was swimming, ready to devour the next victim. But instead of washing the robber’s feet, Theseus lifted him over the rock and threw him into the sea.
Theseus's next opponent was the Arcadian king Kerkion, terrifying with its cruelty. Kerkion forced all passersby to fight him and killed them either during the fight or after it. Theseus grabbed Kerkion by the knees and, to the delight of Demeter, who was watching the fight, slammed his head to the ground. Kerkion's death was instantaneous.
Having already entered Attica, Theseus met another famous robber - Procrustes. In Procrustes' house there were two beds - one large and the other small. Offering travelers an overnight stay, he laid the short ones on a large bed and, tying their limbs, stretched the unfortunate ones until the huge bed fit, and offered the tall ones a short bed, chopping off or sawing off those parts of the body that did not fit on it. Theseus treated Procrustes in exactly the same way as he did with others - he “shortened” him by his head.
Only on the banks of the Kefissus River was the young hero greeted in a friendly manner for the first time since he left Troezen. The sons of Phitalus performed a rite of cleansing of spilled blood over Theseus and showed him hospitality. He entered Athens dressed in clean long clothes, with neatly styled hair.
Theseus in Athens
Theseus found Athens in a state of ferment. The king had no legitimate heir, so the fifty sons of his brother Pallant made plans to seize the throne. At that time, King Aegeus lived with Medea. When she fled Corinth, he gave her refuge in Athens and then married her, since she assured him that her witchcraft charms would help him find an heir, since Aegeus did not know that Ephra had already given him Theseus. Medea hoped that the throne would go to their son Honey, despite his mother's foreign origin.
Although the exploits performed by Theseus on the way to Athens aroused great interest in him and provided a warm welcome, the hero had not yet told anyone who he was or where he was from. However, the sorceress Medea immediately recognized Theseus and, fearing that her plans regarding the fate of her own son might be thwarted, convinced Aegeus that the stranger was an assassin or a spy. At the feast, Aegeus was supposed to offer Theseus a cup of poisoned wine, prepared in advance by Medea. At the last moment, when Theseus formed a sword to cut off a piece of fried meat served to the table, the king recognized his son by it and threw away the cup of poison. He embraced Theseus, convened a public meeting and declared him his son. A joy reigned in Athens, such as the city had never known. Theseus wanted to take revenge on Medea, but she eluded him, enveloping herself in a magic cloud, and left Athens with her son.
The appearance of Theseus deprived the sons of Pallantus, who were claiming the Athenian throne, of any hope of ever ruling Athens, so they, led by their father, openly opposed Aegeus. Pallant with twenty-five sons and a large army went to the city, while the other twenty-five sons lay in ambush. Having learned about the plans of the Pallantides from their messenger named Leos from the Agni family, Theseus attacked those hiding in ambush and killed everyone. After this, Pallant and his remaining sons prayed for peace. The Pallantides never forgot the betrayal of Leos and never afterwards married the Agnias.
Subsequently, having inherited the Athenian throne after the death of Aegeus, Theseus, in order to strengthen his power, immediately executed all his opponents, but did not touch the remaining Pallantides and their father. A few years later, he killed them as a precaution and was acquitted by the court, which regarded the killing as “justified.”
It is not known whether Aegeus sent his son against the fierce white bull Poseidon at the instigation of Medea, or whether Theseus himself decided to kill this fire-breathing monster in order to gain even greater favor with the Athenians, but this is what happened. The bull brought by Hercules from Crete and set free in the Argos valley went to Marathon and began killing people there, and among the dead was the Cretan prince Androgeus, son of Minos. Theseus found the bull, boldly grabbed it by its deadly horns and triumphantly dragged it to Athens, where he sacrificed it.
Theseus on Crete
Having dealt with the bull, Theseus learned about the heavy tribute that the Cretan king Minos imposed on Athens as punishment for the death of his son - once every nine years the Athenians sent seven young men and seven girls to Crete, who were devoured in the labyrinth by the bull-headed Minotaur, born of Queen Pasiphae from the white bull killed by Theseus. Theseus undertook to free his compatriots and future subjects from this terrible tribute and decided to go to Crete among the young men destined to be devoured by the monster - despite the most sincere attempts of Aegeus to dissuade him. The hero, however, did not neglect useful preparations: he donated to Apollo from everyone an olive branch entwined with white wool, and also replaced the two girls with a pair of feminine young men who, nevertheless, possessed remarkable courage and sound mind. The ships on which the fourteen victims were sent were usually equipped with black sails, but this time Aegeus gave his son a white sail, which, if successful, he was to hoist upon his return.
When the ship reached Crete, Minos descended into the bay in his chariot to count the victims. He really liked one of the girls brought, and he was ready to take possession of her, but Theseus stood up for the young compatriot. In the ensuing verbal squabble, each of them called the other fatherless, after which Minos declared Zeus his father, and Theseus declared that he was the son of Poseidon. Throwing a ring with a seal into the waves, Minos suggested that Theseus retrieve it from the seabed and thereby confirm his relationship with Poseidon. To this, Theseus demanded that Minos be the first to prove that he was the son of Zeus. Having turned to his father in prayer, the Cretan king received dazzling lightning and a deafening clap of thunder in response. Then Theseus dived into the sea, where a school of dolphins escorted him with honor to Amphitrite, the wife of Poseidon. The sea queen sent the Nereids in all directions, they quickly found the ring of Minos and gave it to Theseus, and Amphitrite herself (they say, after stormy bed games, with which the goddess was pleased) handed him a golden crown decorated with stones; emerging from the sea, Theseus held in his hands both a ring and a crown of divine beauty (which he later gave to Ariadne).
Ariadne. Labyrinth of the Minotaur.
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Even before leaving for Crete, Theseus, on the advice of the oracle, made sacrifices to Aphrodite, and the goddess made the beautiful Ariadne, daughter of Minos, fell in love with the Athenian prince at first sight. The beauty secretly promised to help him kill the Minotaur if Theseus vowed to take her with him to Athens and make her his wife. Theseus happily accepted this proposal and promised to marry Ariadne. The famous labyrinth builder Daedalus had previously given Ariadne a magical ball of thread and taught her how to enter and exit the labyrinth. She had to open the door and tie the free end of the thread to the door lintel, the ball would roll in front of her and lead through tricky turns and passages to the interior where the Minotaur lived. Ariadne gave this ball to Theseus and ordered him to follow the ball until it led him to a sleeping monster, who should be grabbed by the hair and sacrificed to Poseidon. He will find his way back by winding the thread into a ball. By this time, two young men, disguised as girls, killed the guards of the women's chambers and freed the captives, the rest of the young men were freed by Theseus. They made holes in the bottoms of the Cretan ships to prevent the pursuit, and then together leaned on the oars and slipped out into the open sea. Ariadne secretly fled with Theseus.
A few days later, having landed on the island of Naxos, Theseus left the sleeping Ariadne on the shore and sailed away. The motives for this action are explained in different ways. Some say that he left her because of a new lover named Egla, the daughter of Panopeus, others - that he was afraid of troubles that Ariadne’s arrival in Athens could cause, and others - that the god Dionysus, who fell in love with Ariadne, appeared to Theseus in a dream and demanded to give up the girl to him. Be that as it may, the priests of Dionysus in Athens confirm that when Ariadne discovered that she was left alone, abandoned on the island, she began to lament bitterly, cursing Theseus, for whom she abandoned her parents and homeland. Then the gentle and affectionate Dionysus appeared with his cheerful retinue of satyrs and maenads to save Ariadne. He immediately married her, and she bore him many children.
The gods heard Ariadne's curses, and her revenge overtook Theseus. It is possible that he lost Ariadne, perhaps from joy at the sight of his native shore, but he forgot about his promise to his father to raise a white sail. Aegeus, watching the ship from the acropolis, saw a black sail and, out of grief, threw himself off a cliff into the sea, which has since been called the Aegean.
Further acts of Theseus
Having inherited the Athenian throne, Theseus united the whole of Attica around Athens, previously divided into twelve communities, each deciding its own affairs independently, turning to the Athenian king only when necessary. In order for these communities to renounce their independence, Theseus had to appeal to each of them separately. Ordinary citizens and the poor were ready to recognize his power, and he brought the rest into submission - some by persuasion, and some by force. Theseus established the Panathenaic Games in honor of the patroness of the city, the goddess Athena, making them accessible to all of Attica. He became the first Athenian king to mint money, and his coins bore the image of a bull.
He also annexed Megara, previously owned by his uncle Nysus, to the Athenian kingdom, and also inherited Troezen after his grandfather Pittheus.
When the Theban regent Creon, intoxicated by the victory over the seven leaders (epigones) who opposed Thebes, refused to give the bodies of their loved ones to the wives and mothers of the dead Argives, Theseus, as a result, suddenly attacked Thebes, captured them, imprisoned Creon, and handed over the bodies of the dead to their relatives, who They made a big funeral pyre. Previously, Theseus had provided Oedipus and his daughter Antigone with refuge in Athens, and when people sent by Creon tried to force Oedipus to return to Thebes (the oracle predicted special luck for the area where Oedipus would spend the last years of his life and die), he prevented these attempts.
Theseus's closest friend was Pirithous, king of the Thessalian Lapiths. Pirithous received reports of Theseus' strength and courage, and he decided to test them by attacking Attica and stealing a herd of cows. When Theseus rushed in pursuit of the kidnappers, Pirithous boldly turned to face him - and they were so amazed by each other’s beauty and courage that they even forgot about the cattle, hugged each other and swore eternal friendship to each other. Together they took part in the Calydonian hunt and together went on an expedition to the land of the Amazons, where they kidnapped their queen Antiopus. The Amazons were delighted by the arrival of such a large number of beautiful and strong warriors. Antiope herself came to greet Theseus with gifts, but when she boarded the ship, her beauty turned his head, he unexpectedly raised the anchor and kidnapped her. However, it is unlikely that her fate was, as many believe, unhappy, because she gave the city of Themiscyra on the Thermodon River into the possession of Theseus as proof of the feeling that he managed to kindle in her heart.
After a while, Antiope's sister Orithia decided to take revenge on Theseus. She entered into an alliance with the Scythians and marched at the head of a large army of Amazons to Athens. The battle at the city walls lasted four months. Antiope, now the wife of Theseus, who bore him a son Hippolyta, fought heroically on his side, but was killed by the Amazon Molpadia, whom Theseus subsequently killed. That time, for the first time, the Athenians repelled an attack by foreigners. The wounded Amazons who remained on the battlefield were sent to Chalkis for treatment. Orithia with a handful of her people fled to Megara, where she lived out the rest of her days.
When Pirithous married Hippodamia, Theseus was the groomsman at the wedding. A countless number of guests were invited to the festive feast, including the centaur neighbors. The centaurs, who had previously not known wine, but only sour milk, began to drink it greedily, without diluting it, out of ignorance, with water, and got so drunk that they began to grab the girls and women present. Theseus was the first to rush to the defense of the bride, whom the centaur was trying to kidnap Eurytion. The ensuing fight continued until dark. Thus began a long feud between the centaurs and their neighbors the Lapiths, in which the centaurs were defeated and Theseus drove them from their ancient hunting grounds on Mount Pelion.
Despite the failed alliance with Ariadne, Theseus married another daughter of Minos - Phaedre. Minos by this time was no longer alive, and this marriage cemented the friendship between Theseus and Deucalion, who inherited the Cretan throne. Phaedra bore her husband two sons - Akamanta And Demophonta. It so happened that she fell passionately in love with her stepson Hippolytus and, rejected by him, hanged herself, leaving a note in which she accused him of monstrous attacks on her honor. Having received the note, Theseus cursed his son and ordered him to immediately leave Athens and never return, and then prayed to Poseidon to send a beast to Hippolytus. As Hippolytus rode along the shore, a gigantic wave crashed onto the shore, a monster emerged from its crest and rushed after the chariot; Ippolit, unable to cope with the team, fell to his death.
Elena's kidnapping. Theseus in the kingdom of Hades.
Around this time, Hippodamia, the wife of Pirithous, died, and the two widowed heroes decided to marry the daughters of Zeus. They chose the Spartan princess Helen, sister of the Dioscuri, swearing to each other that if they get her, then let one of them get her by lot, and the loser they will get some other daughter of Zeus, no matter what it threatens them with. Together they kidnapped Helen while she was performing sacrifices in the Temple of Artemis in Sparta. Elena was then only twelve years old, and although she was already famous for her beauty, it was too early for her to get married; so Theseus sent her to the village of Afidna, punishing his friend Afidnu to guard the girl day and night and keep her whereabouts secret. After this, the friends decided to turn to the oracle of Zeus, whom they called as a witness to their oath, who to choose as Pirithous’ wife, and received an ironic answer: “Why not visit the kingdom of the dead and demand Persephone as a bride? She is the most noble of my daughters.” Theseus was angry when Pirithous took this proposal seriously, but he could not refuse, bound by an oath.
Theseus and Pirithous descended into the underworld by a roundabout route through chasms in the Laconian Tenare, and soon knocked on the doors of the palace of Hades. The ruler of the kingdom of the dead calmly listened to their unprecedentedly impudent demand and, pretending to be hospitable, invited them to sit down. Suspecting nothing, they sat down where it was suggested and found themselves on the throne of oblivion. They were so rooted to the stone throne that they could no longer get up from it without being injured. They were scourged by the Erinyes and tormented by Cerberus with his teeth, and Hades looked at all this and smiled gloomily.
Four years later, Hercules, who came to the kingdom of Hades to, at the behest of Eurystheus, take Cerberus, recognized them when they silently extended their hands to him, begging for help. Persephone kindly allowed Hercules to free her hapless captors and take them with him if he could. Hercules tore Theseus from the stone and returned him to earth, but all attempts to free Pirithous were unsuccessful, since he was a mere mortal, he did not have the blood of the gods, which helped Theseus overcome captivity, and besides, it was Pirithous who was the instigator of this blasphemous enterprise , and Hercules was forced to retreat.
Theseus in exile. Death of a hero.
Returning to Athens, Theseus discovered that not a trace remained of his former popularity in the city. While he was in the kingdom of Hades, the Spartans, led by the Dioscuri, Helen's brothers, invaded Attica, ravaged Aphidna, where Helen was hiding, and, together with her sister, took Ephra, Theseus's mother, to Sparta as a slave. Seized power in Athens Menestheus, the great-grandson of Erechtheus, who gained the favor of the people by reminding the aristocrats of the power that they had lost, and telling the poor that their fatherland and native shrines were stolen from them, and they themselves became a toy in the hands of a rogue of unknown origin named Theseus. Acamant and Demophon, the sons of Theseus, were forced to flee from Athens and found shelter in Euboea with Elephenor. Theseus, too weak after the torment he had endured, did not have the strength to fight Menestheus for power and went into exile. He landed on the island of Skyros, where he owned a piece of land. The local king Lycomedes received the noble guest with a pomp worthy of his fame and origin. After Theseus asked permission to stay on the island, Lycomedes pretended to show Theseus the boundaries of his domain, lured him to the top of a high cliff and treacherously pushed him down. The reason for Lycomedes' vile act was his desire to please his friend Menestheus, who usurped the Athenian throne after the expulsion of Theseus, as well as the fear that Theseus might seize power on the island. Some say that Lycomedes was simply accustomed to consider the plot of land that belonged to Theseus as his own. One way or another, Lycomedes presented the whole matter as if Theseus fell drunk because he drank too much before the walk.
Menestheus, whose power was no longer threatened, became one of Helen’s suitors and, at the head of the Athenian army, went to Troy, where he died. The throne was inherited by Demophon, the son of Theseus, who returned from Troy with his grandmother Ephra. Around 475 BC The Athenian commander Kimon, having captured Skyros, found the remains of Theseus, which were reverently transported to Athens and placed in a specially built temple of the hero, who, as the Athenians believed, helped them defeat the Persian army in the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. e.
After the murder of Androgeus, the son of the Cretan ruler Minos, by the bull from Marathon, Athens had to pay a terrible tribute to powerful Crete. Minos constantly demanded seven beautiful girls and seven young boys, whom immediately upon arrival he sent to the Labyrinth of his own palace to be devoured by the bull-man Minotaur, who was born from the bull sent to Crete by Poseidon and Minos’ wife Paisaphia.
In the third ship with the “tribute” sailed young Theseus, the only son of the poor Athenian ruler Aegeus. The Delphic oracle chose Theseus as a patroness in this campaign in the person of the beautiful Aphrodite.
On Crete, Theseus immediately attracted the attention of both Minos, who began to threaten the royal youth with torn to pieces, and his daughter Ariadne, who, thanks to the efforts of Aphrodite, immediately fell in love with him.
After a series of bullying from Minos, who considered himself the son of Zeus, Theseus recalled that the blood of Poseidon flowed in his veins. As proof of his descent from the god of the seas, the brave young man jumped into the depths of the sea after the golden ring arrogantly thrown there by Minos. The god Triton came to Theseus' aid, and in an instant brought the hero to the gates of Poseidon's palace, where he found the ring of Minos.
Ariadne in love, seeing that her lover had returned from the bottom of the sea safe and sound, gave him a skein of thread and a sharp sword. Having tied Ariadne's thread at the entrance to the Labyrinth, Theseus reached the Minotaur, plunged a dagger into his chest and successfully got out with the rest of the doomed.
Photo: Minotaur by Pablo Picasso.
In the photo above, Theseus kills the Minotaur.
Having made a hole in the bottom of all the Cretan ships, Theseus calmly set off on the return journey, taking his beloved with him. In a dream, Theseus had a vision where the god Dionysus called on the young man to give him Ariadne as his wife and disembark her from the ship in Naxos. So Ariadne entered the pantheon of Greek gods.
Having forgotten to change the black ship sails to white ones, Theseus quickly approached the Athenian shores. His father Aegeus noticed from afar a black color, which, as he thought, announced the death of his son, and out of grief he threw himself off a cliff into the sea. This is how the seething sea began to be called the Aegean.
myths of ancient Greece Minotaur part 1
myths of ancient Greece Minotaur part 2
Battles of the Gods. Labyrinth of the Minotaur
Birth and first exploits of Theseus. One of the most famous Greek heroes was Theseus, the son of the Athenian king Aegeus. During the journey, Aegeus lived for some time in the small town of Troezen. There he married a Troezen princess, but did not take his wife with him to Athens, since Aegeus’s relatives wanted to seize power and could kill the princess in a rage. Before leaving Troezen, Aegeus hid his sword and sandals under a huge heavy stone and said to the princess: “If a son is born to you and becomes as strong as me, let him lift this stone, take out his sword and sandals and come to me in Athens.” Soon the princess gave birth to a son and named him Theseus. When Theseus grew up, his mother revealed to him who his father was and led him to a huge stone. Theseus easily picked up this stone, put on his father's sandals, attached his father's sword to his belt and went to Athens.
Procrustes' bed. The road was very dangerous because it was ruled by robbers. The most terrible was Procrustes. He announced to travelers that he would only let in those who fit his bed. He put tall people on a short bed and cut off their legs, and short people - on a long bed and stretched them out. No one could get past the cruel robber into Athens. He killed many people. Theseus also had to follow this road. Smiling evilly, Procrustes came out to meet him and, seeing that the young man was tall, was about to put him on a short bed. But Theseus grabbed Procrustes, forced him to lie on his own bed and killed the villain. The road turned out to be clear, and soon Theseus came to Athens to the court of the king.
Theseus and his father. Things were uneasy at that time in Athens. King Aegeus was already old. Many wanted to seize royal power, knowing that the ruler had no heir. Aegeus was suspicious of strangers, fearing that he might be killed. Therefore, he agreed to the proposal of the sorceress Medea, who lived in his palace, to poison Theseus during the treat.
Theseus did not reveal his name; he wanted his father to recognize him himself. And so, when the meat was served, the guest pulled out a sword from its sheath to cut the food. Aegeus immediately recognized his sword, threw away the cup of poison and hugged his son.
Bull head
Theseus and the Minotaur. The people of Athens were overwhelmed with great sadness at that time. The fact is that every nine years they had to send tribute to the Cretan king Minos - seven boys and seven girls - to the island of Crete. And Minos gave them to be devoured by the Minotaur - a monster with the body of a man and the head of a bull, who lived in a terrible and confusing Labyrinth.
Soon the time came to send the unfortunate young men and women to the island of Crete again. Theseus wanted to go with them. He decided to kill the Minotaur. Aegeus begged his son to stay, but Theseus replied: “I cannot indifferently watch how the best people are taken away to their deaths. I will go with them, kill the monster and free Athens from this cruel tribute.”
Usually, a ship sailing to Crete had a black sail as a sign that those going to Minos had no hope of returning. But this time Theseus took a white sail with him and said to his father: “If I stay alive, the ship will come to Athens under a white sail. If not, under black.”
Ariadne helps Theseus. After some time, the ship was off the coast of Crete. Among the residents who came to the sea to look at the beautiful captives was the daughter of King Minos, Ariadne. She saw sad young men and women leaving the ship. Only one of them walked with his head raised, looking around - Theseus. Ariadne's heart burned with love for this foreign young man, and she decided to save him from the terrible jaws of the monster. At night, she secretly made her way to the dungeon where the prisoners were locked and brought a dagger to Theseus. Theseus must use this dagger to kill the Minotaur. But how will he then get out of the Labyrinth? There are such intricate passages that you can wander through them endlessly. Nobody knows which way to go to find a way out. And Ariadne came up with such a trick. She gave Theseus a ball of thread so that he could tie the end of the thread at the entrance to the Labyrinth.
Battle of Theseus with the Minotaur.
Greek amphora of the 6th century. BC.
Theseus kills the Minotaur. In the morning, the unfortunate prisoners were taken into the labyrinth. Theseus was the first to walk through the Labyrinth, and the thread of the ball marked his path. Theseus made his way for a long time through the intricate corridors, and then a terrible roar was heard ahead. It was the Minotaur who sensed the approach of the man and rushed towards him. Theseus hid behind a ledge of the wall and, when the Minotaur approached, he killed the monster with a decisive and quick blow. With the help of a guiding thread, Theseus got out back.
That same morning the ship set off on its return journey. Joy filled the hearts of the rescued young men and women. In honor of the successful outcome, Theseus decided to land at Delos and make a thanksgiving sacrifice to the god Apollo. Then, together with his companions, he performed a joyful dance, moving now in one direction, now in the other, now forward, now backward, as if reproducing the intricate passages of the labyrinth. The inhabitants of Delos liked the dance, and they began to perform it at all holidays and celebrations.
Aegeus throws himself into the sea. To celebrate, Theseus forgot to change the sails. And his old father stood day after day on the shore, on a high rock, and peered into the deserted surface of the sea. Finally a ship appeared on the horizon. But its sails are not visible. Aegeus peers into the distance until his eyes hurt and sees with horror that the sails remain black. In despair, he throws himself off a cliff into the sea. And since then it has been called Aegean.
The day of Theseus' return became both joyful and sad. The inhabitants of Athens rejoiced when they learned about the victory over the monster and the salvation of the young men and women, and cried when they heard about the death of Aegeus. The Athenians erected the ship on which Theseus sailed to Crete on the shore as a monument.
