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{{Short description|Legendary king of Athens who slayed the Minotaur}}
{{other uses|Theseus (disambiguation)}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox deity
| type        = Greek
| name        = Theseus
| image       = Wall painting - Theseus victorious over the Minotaur - Pompeii (VII 2 16) - Napoli MAN 9043 - 01.jpg
| caption     = Theseus after having slain the Minotaur, freeing captive Athenian boys; Cretans approaching to marvel the scene, Antique [[fresco]] from [[Pompeii]]
| god_of      = Founder and Patron of [[Athens]]<br />Slayer of the [[Minotaur]]
| consorts    = [[Phaedra (mythology)|Phaedra]], [[Ariadne]], [[Hippolyta]]
| father      = [[Aegeus]] or [[Poseidon]]
| mother      = [[Aethra (mother of Theseus)|Aethra]]
| abode       = [[Elysium]]
| birth_place = [[Troezen]]
| death_place = [[Skyros]]
| festivals   = [[Theseia]]
| symbols     = [[Sword]], [[Corinthian helmet]] (occasionally)
| offspring   = [[Demophon of Athens|Demophon]], [[Acamas (son of Theseus)|Acamas]], [[Hippolytus of Athens|Hippolytus]]
}}
{{Greek mythology sidebar}}
'''Theseus''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|ˈ|θ|iː|sj|uː|s}}, {{IPAc-en|US|ˈ|θ|iː|s|i|ə|s|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Theseus.wav}}; {{langx|grc|Θησεύς}} {{IPA|grc|tʰɛːsěu̯s|}}) was a divine hero in [[Greek mythology]], famous for slaying the [[Minotaur]]. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages.

Theseus is sometimes described as the son of [[Aegeus]], king of Athens,<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.9.16&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Theseus 1.9.16]; [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#14.2 14], [https://topostext.org/work/206#48 48], [https://topostext.org/work/206#173 173], [https://topostext.org/work/206#241 241], [https://topostext.org/work/206#244 244], [https://topostext.org/work/206#251 251], [https://topostext.org/work/206#257 257] & [https://topostext.org/work/206#270 270]</ref> and sometimes as the son of the god [[Poseidon]]. He is raised by his mother, [[Aethra (mother of Theseus)|Aethra]], and upon discovering his connection to Aegeus, travels overland to Athens, having many adventures on the way. When he reaches Athens, he finds that Aegeus is married to [[Medea]] (formerly wife of [[Jason]]), who plots against him.

The most famous legend about Theseus is his slaying of the Minotaur, half man and half bull. He then goes on to unite [[Attica]] under Athenian rule: the ''[[synoikismos]]'' ('dwelling together'). As the unifying king, he is credited with building a palace on the fortress of the [[Acropolis]]. [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] reports that after ''synoikismos'', Theseus established a cult of [[Aphrodite]] ('Aphrodite of all the People') on the southern slope of the Acropolis.

[[Plutarch]]'s ''Life of Theseus'' makes use of varying accounts of the death of the Minotaur, Theseus's escape, and his romantic involvement with and betrayal of [[Ariadne]], daughter of [[King Minos]].<ref group="lower-roman">"May I therefore succeed in purifying Fable, making her submit to reason and take on the semblance of History. But where she obstinately disdains to make herself credible, and refuses to admit any element of probability, I shall pray for kindly readers, and such as receive with indulgence the tales of antiquity." (Plutarch, ''Life of Theseus'', translated by Bernadotte Perrin).</ref>

Plutarch's avowed purpose is to construct a [[Parallel Lives|life that parallels]] the ''Life of [[Romulus]]'', the [[founding myth]] of Rome. Plutarch's sources, not all of whose texts have survived independently, include [[Pherecydes of Athens|Pherecydes]] (mid-fifth&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC), Demon (c. 400&nbsp;BC), [[Philochorus]], and [[Cleidemus]] (both fourth&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC).<ref>Cueva, Edmund P. (1996). "Plutarch's Ariadne in Chariton's Chaereas and Callirhoe." ''[[American Journal of Philology]]'', '''117'''(3):473–84.</ref> As the subject of myth, the existence of Theseus as a real person has not been proven, but scholars believe that he may have been alive during the Late Bronze Age,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/thes/hd_thes.htm|title=Theseus, Hero of Athens|last=Greene|first=Andrew|date=August 2009 |access-date=25 November 2018}}</ref> or possibly as a king in the 8th or 9th century BC.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199997329/student/materials/chapter23/commentary/|title=Classical Mythology Tenth Edition|last1=Morford|first1=Mark|last2=Lenardon|first2=Robert J.|website=Oxford University Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110071244/https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199997329/student/materials/chapter23/commentary/|archive-date=10 November 2014|url-status=live|access-date=31 October 2016|last3=Sham|first3=Michael}}</ref>

==Birth and early years==
[[File:Laurent de la La Hyre 002.jpg|thumb|left|220px|upright=1.3|''Theseus and Aethra'', by [[Laurent de La Hyre]]]]
[[File:IG II2 971, Athenian decree for Telesias of Troizen (relief).jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Theseus uncovers Aegeus's sword and sandals, relief sculpture on a decree of 140/39 BC]]
[[Aegeus]], one of the primordial [[kings of Athens]], was childless. Desiring an heir, he asked the [[Oracle of Delphi]] for advice. Her cryptic words were "Do not loosen the bulging mouth of the wineskin until you have reached the height of Athens, lest you die of grief." Aegeus did not understand the prophecy and was disappointed. He asked the advice of his host [[Pittheus]], king of [[Troezen]]. Pittheus understood the prophecy, got Aegeus drunk, and gave Aegeus his daughter [[Aethra (mother of Theseus)|Aethra]].<ref>Morford, Mark P. O., Robert J. Lenardon, and Michael Sham. 2014. ''Classical Mythology'' (10th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.</ref>

But following the instructions of [[Athena]] in a dream, Aethra left the sleeping Aegeus and waded across to the island of Sphairia that lay close to Troezen's shore. There, she poured a libation to Sphairos (Pelops's charioteer) and [[Poseidon]] and was possessed by the sea god in the night. The mix gave Theseus a combination of divine as well as mortal characteristics in his nature; such double paternity, with one immortal and one mortal, was a familiar feature of other [[Greek hero]]es. After Aethra became pregnant, Aegeus decided to return to Athens. Before leaving, however, he buried his sandals and sword under a huge rock<ref group="lower-roman">Rock "which had a hollow in it just large enough to receive these objects," Plutarch says.</ref> and told Aethra that when their son grew up, he should move the rock, if he were heroic enough, and take the tokens for himself as evidence of his royal parentage. In Athens, Aegeus was joined by [[Medea]], who had left [[Ancient Corinth|Corinth]] after slaughtering the children she had borne to [[Jason]], and had taken Aegeus as her new consort.

Thus Theseus was raised in his mother's land. When Theseus grew up to be a young man, he moved the rock and recovered his father's tokens. His mother then told him the truth about his father's identity and that he must take the sword and sandals back to the king [[Aegeus]] to claim his birthright. To journey to Athens, Theseus could choose to go by sea (which was the safe way) or by land, following a dangerous path around the [[Saronic Gulf]], where he would encounter a string of six entrances to the [[Greek underworld|Underworld]],<ref group="lower-roman">Compared to [[Labours of Hercules|Hercules and his Labours]], "Theseus is occupied only with the sacred Entrances that are local to the lands of Athens" (Ruck and Staples 1994:204).</ref> each guarded by a [[chthonic]] enemy. Young, brave, and ambitious, Theseus decided to go alone by the land route and defeated many bandits along the way.<ref>McNiven, Timothy J. "Behaving like an other: telltale gestures in Athenian vase painting." In ''Not the classical ideal'' ed. Beth Cohen, p. 81. Brill, 2000.</ref>

==The Six Labours==
[[File:Theseus Map.jpg|thumb|right|Map of Theseus's labours]]
[[File:Theseus Minotaur BM Vase E84 n4.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Theseus and the [[Crommyonian Sow]], with Phaea (detail of a kylix)]]The six entrances to the underworld, more commonly known as the Six Labours, are as follows:
* At the first site, which was [[Epidaurus]], sacred to [[Apollo]] and the healer [[Asclepius]], Theseus turned the tables on the chthonic bandit, [[Periphetes]], the Club Bearer, who beat his opponents into the Earth, taking from him the stout staff that often identifies Theseus in vase-paintings.
* At the [[Isthmus of Corinth|Isthmian]] entrance to the Underworld was a robber named [[Sinis (mythology)|Sinis]], often called "Pityokamptes" ({{Langx|grc|Πιτυοκάμπτης||he who bends Pinetrees}}). He would capture travelers, tie them between two [[pine]] trees that were bent down to the ground, and then let the trees go, [[Dismemberment#Torn apart by two trees|tearing his victims apart]]. Theseus slew him by his own method. He then seduced Sinis's daughter, [[Perigune]], fathering the child [[Melanippus]].
* In another deed north of the [[Isthmus]], at a place called [[Crommyon]], he killed an enormous pig, the [[Crommyonian Sow]], bred by an old crone named Phaea. Some versions name the sow herself as Phaea. The ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'' by [[Pseudo-Apollodorus]] described the Crommyonian Sow as an offspring of [[Typhon]] and [[Echidna (mythology)|Echidna]].
* Near [[Megara]], a robber named [[Sciron]] forced travelers along the narrow cliff-face pathway to wash his feet. While they knelt, he kicked them off the cliff behind them, where they were eaten by a giant turtle (or, in some versions, a sea monster). Theseus pushed him off the cliff where he was eaten as well.
* Another of these enemies was [[Cercyon of Eleusis|Cercyon]], king at the holy site of [[Eleusis]], who challenged passers-by to a wrestling match and, when he had beaten them, killed them. Theseus beat Cercyon at wrestling and then killed him instead.
* The last bandit was [[Procrustes]] the Stretcher, who had two beds, one of which he offered to passers-by in the plain of Eleusis. He then'' made'' them fit into it, either by stretching them or by cutting off their feet. Since he had two beds of different lengths, no one would fit. Theseus once again employed Procrustes's own method on him, cutting off his legs and decapitating him with his axe.

==Medea, the Marathonian Bull, Androgeus, and the Pallantides==
[[File:Kylix 57.1.jpg|thumb|Silver [[kylix]] with Theseus and the Marathon bull, 445–440 BC, part of the Vassil Bojkov collection, [[Sofia]], [[Bulgaria]]]]
When Theseus arrived in Athens, he did not reveal his true identity immediately. [[Aegeus]] gave him hospitality but was suspicious of the young, powerful stranger's intentions. Aegeus's consort [[Medea]] recognized Theseus immediately as Aegeus's son and worried that Theseus would be chosen as heir to Aegeus's kingdom instead of her son [[Medus]]. She tried to arrange to have Theseus killed by asking him to capture the [[Cretan Bull|Marathonian Bull]], an emblem of Cretan power.

[[File:Kylix Aisón Teseo (M.A.N. Madrid) 04.jpg|thumb|right|220px|upright=1.3|Theseus captures the [[Cretan Bull|Marathonian Bull]] (kylix painted by [[Aison (vase painter)|Aison]], 5th century BC)]]

On the way to [[Marathon, Greece|Marathon]], Theseus took shelter from a storm in the hut of an ancient woman named [[Hecale]]. She swore to make a sacrifice to [[Zeus]] if Theseus were successful in capturing the bull. Theseus did capture the bull, but when he returned to Hecale's hut, she was dead. In her honor, Theseus gave her name to one of the [[deme]]s of Attica, making its inhabitants in a sense her adopted children.

When Theseus returned victorious to Athens, where he sacrificed the Bull, Medea tried to poison him. At the last second, Aegeus recognized the sandals and the sword and knocked the poisoned wine cup from Theseus's hands. Thus father and son were reunited, and Medea fled to [[Anatolia|Asia]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Medea {{!}} Characteristics, Family, & Plays|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Medea-Greek-mythology|access-date=27 April 2021|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>

When Theseus appeared in the town, his reputation had preceded him, as a result of his having traveled along the notorious coastal road from Troezen and slain some of the most feared bandits there. It was not long before the [[Pallantides]]' hopes of succeeding the childless Aegeus would be lost if they did not get rid of Theseus (the Pallantides were the sons of [[Pallas (son of Pandion)|Pallas]] and nephews of King [[Aegeus]], who was then living at the royal court in the sanctuary of Delphic Apollo).<ref>{{cite Plutarch|Theseus|12}}</ref> So they set a trap for him. One band of them would march on the town from one side while another lay in wait near a place called Gargettus in ambush. The plan was that after Theseus, Aegeus, and the palace guards had been forced out the front, the other half would surprise them from behind. However, Theseus was not fooled. Informed of the plan by a herald named Leos, he crept out of the city at midnight and surprised the Pallantides. "Theseus then fell suddenly upon the party lying in ambush, and slew them all. Thereupon the party with Pallas dispersed," Plutarch reported.<ref>{{cite Plutarch|Theseus|13}}</ref>

==Theseus and the Minotaur==
{{Redirect|Theseus and the Minotaur}}
[[Pasiphaë]], wife of King [[Minos]] of Crete, had several children. The eldest of these, [[Androgeus (son of Minos)|Androgeus]], set sail for Athens to take part in the [[Panathenaic Games]], which were held there every four years. Being strong and skillful, he did very well, winning some events outright. He soon became a crowd favorite, much to the resentment of the Pallantides, who assassinated him, incurring the wrath of Minos.

[[File: Theseus and the Minotaur.gif|thumb|left|upright|Theseus and the Minotaur]]

When King Minos heard what had befallen his son, he ordered the Cretan fleet to set sail for Athens. Minos asked Aegeus for his son's assassins, saying that if they were to be handed to him, the city would be spared. However, not knowing who the assassins were, King [[Aegeus]] surrendered the whole city to Minos's mercy. His retribution was to stipulate that at the end of every [[Great Year]], which occurred after every seven cycles on the solar calendar, the seven most courageous youths and the seven most beautiful maidens were to board a boat and be sent as tribute to Crete, never to be seen again.

[[File:Teseo in lotta col minotauro, da chieti, s.n. 01.JPG|thumb|Mosaic from [[Chieti]] depicting Theseus fighting the Minotaur, [[National Archaeological Museum, Naples]], 1st c. BC – 1st c. AD]]

In another version, King Minos had waged war with the Athenians and was successful. He then demanded that, at nine-year intervals, seven Athenian boys and seven Athenian girls were to be sent to Crete to be devoured by the [[Minotaur]], a half-man, half-bull monster that lived in the [[Labyrinth]] created by [[Daedalus]].

{{anchor|Labyrinth}}On the third occasion, Theseus volunteered to talk to the monster to stop this horror. He took the place of one of the youths and set off with a black sail, promising to his father, Aegeus, that if successful he would return with a white sail.<ref group="lower-roman">Plutarch quotes [[Simonides]] to the effect that the alternate sail given by Aegeus was not white, but "a scarlet sail dyed with the tender flower of luxuriant [[Quercus ilex|holm oak]]." (Plutarch, 17.5).</ref> Like the others, Theseus was stripped of his weapons when they sailed. On his arrival in Crete, [[Ariadne]], King Minos's daughter, fell in love with Theseus and, on the advice of Daedalus, gave him a ball of thread (a clew), so he could find his way out of the Labyrinth.<ref group="lower-roman">Ariadne is sometimes represented in vase-paintings with the thread wound on her [[spindle (textiles)|spindle]].</ref> That night, Ariadne escorted Theseus to the Labyrinth, and Theseus promised that if he returned from the Labyrinth he would take Ariadne with him. As soon as Theseus entered the Labyrinth, he tied one end of the ball of string to the doorpost and brandished his sword which he had kept hidden from the guards inside his tunic. Theseus followed Daedalus's instructions given to Ariadne: go forwards, always down, and never left or right. Theseus came to the heart of the Labyrinth and upon the sleeping Minotaur. The beast awoke and a tremendous fight occurred. Theseus overpowered the Minotaur with his strength and stabbed the beast in the throat with his sword (according to one ''[[scholium]]'' on Pindar's Fifth Nemean Ode, Theseus strangled it).<ref>[[Károly Kerényi|Kerényi, Karl]] (1959). ''The Heroes of the Greeks.'' p. 232, note 532.</ref>
[[File:Affreschi romani - Ercolano - Teseo liberatore.JPG|thumb|Theseus on an antique fresco from [[Herculaneum]]]]

After decapitating the beast, Theseus used the string to escape the Labyrinth and managed to escape with all of the young Athenians and Ariadne as well as her younger sister [[Phaedra (mythology)|Phaedra]]. Then he and the rest of the crew fell asleep on the beach of the island of Naxos, where they stopped on their way back, looking for water. Theseus then abandoned Ariadne, where [[Dionysus]] eventually found and married her. On his way back from Crete, he also stopped on the island of [[Delos]], where, according to [[Plutarch]], "Theseus danced with the young Athenians a dance still performed by the inhabitants of the island, consisting of twisting and twisted movements that reproduce the shapes of the labyrinth. Dicearchos states that this dance is called 'Crane'."<ref>{{cite Plutarch|Theseus|21}}</ref> Theseus forgot to put up the white sails instead of the black ones, so his father, the king, believing he was dead, committed suicide, throwing himself off a cliff of [[Sounion]] and into the sea, causing this body of water to be named the Aegean Sea.

==Ship of Theseus==
{{also|Ship of Theseus}}

According to [[Plutarch]]'s ''Life of Theseus'', the ship Theseus used on his return from [[Minoan civilization|Minoan Crete]] to [[Classical Athens|Athens]] was kept in the Athenian harbor as a memorial for several centuries.

<blockquote>The ship wherein Theseus and the youth of [[Athens]] returned had thirty oars, and was preserved by the Athenians down even to the time of [[Demetrius Phalereus]],<ref group="lower-roman">Demetrius Phalereus was a distinguished orator and statesman, who governed Athens for a decade before being exiled, in 307 BCE.</ref> for they took away the old planks as they decayed, putting in new and stronger timber in their place...<ref>{{cite Plutarch|Theseus|23|1}}</ref></blockquote>

The ship had to be maintained in a seaworthy state, for, in return for Theseus's successful mission, the Athenians had pledged to honor [[Apollo]] every year henceforth. Thus, the Athenians sent a religious mission to the island of [[Delos]] (one of Apollo's most sacred sanctuaries) on the Athenian state galley—the ship itself—to pay their fealty to the god. To preserve the purity of the occasion, no executions were permitted between the time when the religious ceremony began to when the ship returned from Delos, which took several weeks.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Cooper |editor1-first=John M. |editor2-last=Hutchinson |editor2-first=D. S. |year=1997 |title=Plato: Complete Works |url=https://archive.org/details/completeworks00plat |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/completeworks00plat/page/37 37] |location=Indianapolis |publisher=Hackett |isbn=0-87220-349-2}}</ref>

To preserve the ship, any wood that wore out or rotted was replaced; it was thus unclear to philosophers how much of the original ship remained, giving rise to the philosophical question of whether it should be considered "the same" ship or not. Such philosophical questions about the nature of identity are sometimes referred to as the "[[Ship of Theseus]]" paradox.

Regardless of these issues, the Athenians preserved the ship. They believed that Theseus had been an actual, historical figure and the ship gave them a tangible connection to their divine provenance.

==Theseus and Pirithous==
[[File:Antonio_Canova_Teseo_defeats_the_centaur.jpg|thumb|''Theseus Defeats the Centaur'' by [[Antonio Canova]] (1804–1819), [[Kunsthistorisches Museum]]]]

Theseus's best friend was [[Pirithous]], king of the [[Lapiths]]. Pirithous had heard stories of Theseus's courage and strength in battle but wanted proof so he rustled Theseus's herd of cattle and drove it from [[Marathon, Greece|Marathon]] and Theseus set out in pursuit. Pirithous took up his arms and the pair met to do battle but were so impressed with each other's gracefulness, beauty and courage they took an oath of friendship<ref>{{cite Plutarch|Theseus|30|1|2}}</ref> and joined the [[Calydonian boar hunt]].

In ''Iliad'' I, [[Nestor (mythology)|Nestor]] numbers Pirithous and Theseus "of heroic fame" among an earlier generation of heroes of his youth, "the strongest men that Earth has bred, the strongest men against the strongest enemies, a savage mountain-dwelling tribe whom they utterly destroyed." No trace of such an oral tradition, which Homer's listeners would have recognized in Nestor's allusion, survived in the literary epic. Later, Pirithous was preparing to marry [[Hippodamia (wife of Pirithous)|Hippodamia]]. The [[centaur]]s were guests at the wedding feast, but got drunk and tried to abduct the women, including Hippodamia. The Lapiths won the ensuing battle.
[[File:Wall painting - Peirithoos receiving the centaurs at his wedding - Pompeii (VII 2 16) - Napoli MAN 9044.jpg|thumb|left|[[Pirithous]] and [[Hippodamia (wife of Pirithous)|Hippodamia]] receiving the centaurs at his wedding. Antique fresco from [[Pompeii]]]]

In [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' Theseus fights against and kills [[Eurytus]], the "fiercest of all the fierce centaurs"<ref>Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' XII: 217–153</ref> at the wedding of [[Pirithous]] and [[Hippodamia (wife of Pirithous)|Hippodamia]].

Also according to Ovid, Phaedra, Theseus's wife, felt left out by her husband's love for Pirithous and she used this as an excuse to try to convince her stepson, Hippolytus, to accept being her lover, as Theseus also neglected his son because he preferred to spend long periods with his companion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theoi.com/Text/OvidHeroides1.html#4|title=OVID, HEROIDES IV – Theoi Classical Texts Library|website=theoi.com|language=en|access-date=11 September 2022}}</ref><ref>[[Ovid]]'s ''[[Heroides]]'', [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0085%3Apoem%3D4 4]</ref>

===Abduction of Persephone and encounter with Hades===
[[File:Theseus Helene Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2309 n2.jpg|thumb|Theseus carries off Helen, on an [[Attica|Attic]] red-figure [[amphora]], c. 510 BC]]

Theseus, a great abductor of women, and his bosom companion, [[Pirithous]], since they were sons of Zeus and Poseidon, pledged themselves to marry daughters of Zeus.<ref>Scholia on ''Iliad'' III.144 and a fragment (#227) of [[Pindar]], according to Kerenyi 1951:237, note 588.</ref> Theseus, in an old tradition,<ref>[[Athenaeus]], ''[[Deipnosophistae]]'' [http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/Literature/Literature-idx?type=turn&id=Literature.AthV3&entity=Literature.AthV3.p0079&q1=helen&pview=hide 13.4 (557a)];

cf. Kerenyi (1959:234) and note.</ref> chose [[Helen of Troy|Helen]], and together they kidnapped her, intending to keep her until she was old enough to marry. Pirithous chose [[Persephone]], even though she was already married to [[Hades]], king of the underworld. They left Helen with Theseus's mother, [[Aethra (Greek mythology)|Aethra]] at [[Aphidna]], whence she was rescued by the [[Dioscuri]].

On Pirithous's behalf they rather unwisely traveled to the underworld, domain of [[Persephone]] and her husband [[Hades]]. As they wandered through the outskirts of [[Tartarus]], Theseus sat down to rest on a rock. As he did so he felt his limbs change and grow stiff. He tried to rise but could not. He was fixed to the rock. As he turned to cry out to his friend, he saw that Pirithous too was crying out. Around him gathered the terrible band of [[Furies]] with snakes in their hair, torches, and long whips in their hands. Before these monsters, the hero's courage failed and he was led away to eternal punishment.

For many months in half-darkness, Theseus sat immovably fixed to the rock, mourning for both his friend and for himself. In the end, he was rescued by [[Heracles]] who had come to the underworld for his 12th task. There he persuaded Persephone to forgive him for the part he had taken in the rash venture of Pirithous. So Theseus was restored to the upper air but Pirithous never left the kingdom of the dead, for when Heracles tried to free Pirithous, the underworld shook. They then decided the task was beyond any hero and left. When Theseus returned to Athens, he found that the [[Dioscuri]] had taken Helen and Aethra to [[Sparta]].

==Phaedra and Hippolytus==
[[File:Theseus saves Hippodameia, Athens - Pl. Victoria, 2005.JPG|thumb|220px|upright=1.3|''Theseus saves Hippodameia'', work by [[Johannes Pfuhl]] in Athens]]

[[Phaedra (mythology)|Phaedra]], Theseus's second wife and the daughter of King Minos, bore Theseus two sons, [[Demophon of Athens|Demophon]] and [[Acamas (son of Theseus)|Acamas]]. While these two were still in their infancy, Phaedra fell in love with [[Hippolytus (son of Theseus)|Hippolytus]], Theseus's son by the [[Amazons|Amazon]] queen [[Hippolyta]]. According to some versions of the story, Hippolytus had scorned [[Aphrodite]] to become a follower of [[Artemis]], so Aphrodite made Phaedra fall in love with him as punishment. He rejected her out of chastity.

Alternatively, in Euripides's version, ''[[Hippolytus (play)|Hippolytus]]'', Phaedra's nurse told Hippolytus of her mistress's love and he swore he would not reveal the nurse as his source of information. To ensure that she would [[die with dignity]], Phaedra wrote to Theseus on a tablet claiming that Hippolytus had raped her before hanging herself. Theseus believed her and used one of the three wishes he had received from [[Poseidon]] against his son. The curse caused Hippolytus's horses to be frightened by a sea monster, usually a bull, and to drag their rider to his death. Artemis would later tell Theseus the truth, promising to avenge her loyal follower on another follower of Aphrodite.

In a version recounted by the Roman playwright [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], entitled ''[[Phaedra (Seneca)|Phaedra]]'', after Phaedra told Theseus that Hippolytus had raped her, Theseus called upon Neptune (as he did Poseidon in Euripides's interpretation) to kill his son.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Sen.+Phaed.+941&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2007.01.0008| title = Sen. ''Phaed''. 941–949}}</ref> Upon hearing the news of Hippolytus's death at the hands of Neptune's sea monster, Phaedra committed suicide out of guilt, for she had not intended for Hippolytus to die.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Sen.+Phaed.+1156&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2007.01.0008.| title = Sen. ''Phaed.'' 1159–1198.}}</ref>

In yet another version, Phaedra simply told Theseus Hippolytus had raped her and did not kill herself.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} [[Dionysus]] sent a wild bull that terrified Hippolytus's horses.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

A cult grew up around Hippolytus, associated with the cult of [[Aphrodite]]. Girls who were about to be married offered locks of their hair to him. The cult believed that [[Asclepius]] had resurrected Hippolytus and that he lived in a sacred forest near [[Aricia, Italy|Aricia]] in [[Latium]].

==Other stories and death of Theseus==

According to some sources,<ref>Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.9.16&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Theseus 1.9.16]</ref> Theseus also was one of the [[Argonauts]], although [[Apollonius of Rhodes]] states in the ''[[Argonautica]]''{{citation needed|reason=A secondary source is needed here, please|date=July 2019}} that Theseus was still in the underworld at this time. Both statements are inconsistent with [[Medea]] being Aegeus's wife by the time Theseus first came to Athens. With Phaedra, Theseus fathered [[Acamas (son of Theseus)|Acamas]], who was one of those who hid in the [[Trojan Horse]] during the [[Trojan War]]. Theseus welcomed the wandering [[Oedipus]] and helped [[Adrastus]] to bury the [[Seven against Thebes]].

[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] wrote that on the road through the mountains from [[Troezen]] to [[Hermione (Argolis)|Hermione]] there was a large rock that was originally called the altar of Zeus Sthenius, but was later renamed the Rock of Theseus, because Theseus took up the sword and sandals of his father from beneath it.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D32%3Asection%3D7 Pausanias, Description of Greece, 2.32.7]</ref><ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.%202.34.6 Pausanias, Description of Greece, 2.34.6]</ref>

[[Lycomedes]] of the island of [[Skyros]] threw Theseus off a cliff after he had lost popularity in Athens. In 475 BC, in response to an oracle, [[Cimon]] of Athens, having conquered Skyros for the Athenians, identified as the remains of Theseus "a coffin of a great corpse with a bronze spear-head by its side and a sword." (Plutarch, ''Life of Theseus'').<ref name="burkert85">{{cite book|last=Burkert|first=Walter|title=Greek Religion|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1985|isbn=9780674362819|page=206}}</ref> The remains found by Cimon were reburied in Athens. The early modern name ''Theseion'' (Temple of Theseus) was mistakenly applied to the [[Temple of Hephaestus]] which was thought to be the actual site of the [[temenos|hero's tomb]].
{{clear}}

==Adaptations of the myth==
[[File:Theseus-SW.jpg|thumb|upright|Theseus with the head of Minotaur]]
[[File:Theseus Slaying Minotaur by Barye.jpg|thumb|upright|''Theseus Slaying Minotaur'' (1843), bronze sculpture by [[Antoine-Louis Barye]]]]
[[File:Theseus deeds BM E 84.JPG|thumb|The deeds of Theseus, on an [[Attica|Attic]] [[Red-figure pottery|red-figured]] ''[[Kylix (drinking cup)|kylix]]'', c. 440–430 BC ([[British Museum]])]]

===Literature===

* In the sixth century BCE, an unknown poet composed a now lost epic, the ''Theseïs'', recounting the most famous myths associated with Theseus.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Powell |first=Barry B. |title=Classical Myth |date=2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-752798-6 |edition=9th |pages=402 |language=English}}</ref>
* [[Sophocles]]'s [[tragedy]] ''[[Oedipus at Colonus]]'' features Theseus as a major character.
* [[Euripides]]'s tragedy ''[[Hippolytus (play)|Hippolytus]]'' and [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]]'s ''[[Phaedra (Seneca)|Phaedra]]'' revolve around the death of Theseus's son.
* In [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]'s epic chivalric romance "[[The Knight's Tale]]", one of the ''[[The Canterbury Tales|Canterbury Tales]]'', Theseus is the duke of Athens, husband of Ypolita, and protector of Emelye, Ypolita's sister, for whom the two knights of Thebes, Arcite and Palamon, do battle.
* [[Jakob Ayrer]] wrote the play ''Theseus'' (1618).
* [[Jean Racine|Racine]]'s ''[[Phèdre]]'' (1677) features Theseus as well as Hippolytus and the title character Phaedra.
* Theseus is a prominent character as the Duke of Athens in [[William Shakespeare]]'s plays, ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' and ''[[The Two Noble Kinsmen]]''. [[Hippolyta]] also appears in both plays.
* In the 1898 short novel ''[[The Story of Perseus and the Gorgon's Head]]'' the mythical story of Theseus is described.
* [[F. L. Lucas]]'s epic poem ''Ariadne'' (1932) is an epic reworking of the Labyrinth myth: Aegle, one of the sacrificial maidens who accompany Theseus to Crete, is Theseus's sweetheart, the Minotaur is Minos himself in a bull-mask, and Ariadne, learning on Naxos of Theseus's earlier love for Aegle, decides to leave him for the Ideal [Dionysus].<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.cambridge.org/fr/academic/subjects/literature/english-literature-1830-1900/ariadne |title=Ariadne |first=F. L. |last=Lucas |year=2014 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1107677524 |author-link=F. L. Lucas}}</ref>
* [[André Gide]]'s ''Thésée'' (1946) is a fictional autobiography where the mythical hero of Athens, now elderly, narrates his life story from his carefree youth to his killing of the Minotaur.
* [[Mary Renault]]'s ''[[The King Must Die]]'' (1958) is a dramatic retelling of the Theseus legend from his childhood in Troizen until the return from Crete to Athens. While fictional, it is generally faithful to the spirit and flavor of the best-known variations of the original story. The sequel is ''[[The Bull from the Sea]]'' (1962), about the hero's later career.
* [[Evangeline Walton]]'s historical fiction novel ''[[The Sword Is Forged]]'' (1983) chronicles the story of Theseus and Antiope.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/evangeline-walton/the-sword-is-forged/ |title=''The Sword Is Forged'' |first=Evangeline |last=Walton |work=[[Kirkus Reviews]] |year=1983 |access-date=16 March 2016}}</ref>
*[[Fran Ross]]'s 1974 novel ''[[Oreo (novel)|Oreo]]'' draws heavily from the Theseus myth.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mullen |first=Harryette Mullen |date=1 March 2002 |title="Apple Pie with Oreo Crust": Fran Ross's Recipe for an Idiosyncratic American Novel |url=https://academic.oup.com/melus/article/27/1/107/946664 |journal=MELUS |language=en |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=107–129 |doi=10.2307/3250639 |jstor=3250639 |issn=0163-755X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
* [[Stephen Dobyns]] wrote the poem ''Theseus within the Labyrinth'' (1986) which provides a retelling of the myth of Ariadne, Theseus and the Minotaur, in particular the feelings of Ariadne.
* In issue No. 12 of the [[Fright Night (comic series)|'' Fright Night'' comic series]], entitled ''Bull-Whipped'', Theseus and the Minotaur are resurrected by the comic's Aunt Claudia Hinault, who is the reincarnation of [[Ariadne]].
* [[Kir Bulychov]]'s 1993 book ''An Attempt on Theseus' Life'' ({{Langx|ru|Покушение на Тезея|italic=yes}}) is about a plot to assassinate a man during a [[virtual reality]] tour in which he lives through Theseus's life.
* [[Aleksey Ryabinin]]'s book ''Theseus: The story of ancient gods, goddesses, kings, and warriors'' (2018) provides a retelling of the myths of Theseus, Aegeus, Minotaur, Ariadne, Pirithous and other personages of Greek mythology.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ryabinin |first=Aleksey |author-link=Aleksey Ryabinin |year=2018 |title=Theseus. The story of ancient gods, goddesses, kings, and warriors. |location=[[Saint Petersburg]] |publisher=Антология |isbn=978-5-6040037-6-3}}</ref><ref>[https://www.kp.ru/daily/26795.4/3829133/ O. Zdanov. Life and adventures of Theseus]. // «KP», 14 February 2018.</ref>
* [[Troy Denning]]'s 1996 novel ''Pages of Pain'' features an amnesic Theseus fighting to recover his past while interacting with some of the more colorful beings of the [[Planescape]] universe.
* [[Steven Pressfield]]'s novel ''[[Last of the Amazons]]'' (2002) attempts to situate Theseus's meeting and subsequent marriage to Antiope, as well as the ensuing war, in a historically plausible setting.
* [[Jorge Luis Borges]] presents a variation of the myth in a short story, "[[The House of Asterion]]" ({{Langx|es|"La Casa de Asterión"|italic=no}}).
* British comedian [[Tony Robinson]] wrote a version of the Theseus story entitled ''Theseus: Super Hero''.
* In [[Gene Wolfe]]'s ''[[Book of the New Sun]]'', set in a very distant future, the protagonist reads a story which appears to blend the myth of Theseus with the story of [[Battle of Hampton Roads]] – presumably because of a confusion between the Minotaur and the {{USS|Monitor}}. (In this version, the Theseus character is now [[Thesis|a student's son]].)

===Opera, film, television and video games===
{{more citations needed|section|date=May 2021}}
* ''[[Thésée (Lully)|Thésée]]'' (1675) is an early French opera by [[Jean-Baptiste Lully]] to a [[libretto]] by [[Philippe Quinault]], based on Ovid.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lully's Thésée |url=https://bemf.org/recordings/lullys-thesee/ |access-date=4 May 2023 |website=Boston Early Music Festival |language=en-US}}</ref>
* ''[[Teseo]]'' (1713) is an [[opera seria]] by [[George Frideric Handel]] to a libretto by [[Nicola Francesco Haym]], based on Quinault.<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 December 2008 |title=Handel's "Teseo" – an introduction |url=https://bachtrack.com/handel-teseo |access-date=4 May 2023 |website=bachtrack.com |language=en}}</ref>
* The opera ''[[Hippolyte et Aricie]]'' (1733) by [[Jean-Philippe Rameau]], based on Racine, features Theseus as a character.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}
*  The musical comedy ''[[By Jupiter]]'' (1942) by [[Rodgers and Hart]], based on the novel [[The Warrior's Husband]] by Julian F. Thompson, features Theseus as one of the two leading men, who falls in love with [[Antiope (Amazon)|Antiope]], in a story radically different from the one in Greek mythology.  <ref>{{cite web | url=https://masterworksbroadway.com/music/by-jupiter/ | title=By Jupiter }}</ref>
* Fictionalized versions of Theseus and the Minotaur appear in the 1960 Italian [[sword-and-sandal]] film ''[[Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete|Teseo contro il Minotauro]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://letterboxd.com/film/the-minotaur-the-wild-beast-of-crete/|title=The Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete |work=Letter Box|access-date=11 May 2022}}</ref> and the 2006 horror film ''[[Minotaur (film)|Minotaur]]''.<ref name="allmoviedvd">{{cite web|title=Minotaur (2005) – Jonathan English|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/minotaur-v342810/releases|publisher=AllMovie|access-date=11 May 2022}}</ref>
* ''[[:ru:Лабиринт. Подвиги Тесея|The Labyrinth: Theseus' Deeds]]'' is a 19 minute 1971 Soviet cartoon, part of a five-cartoon series about Greek mythology made by [[Alexandra Snezhko-Blotskaya]]. It features Theseus (voiced by [[Aleksey Konsovsky]]), here a student of [[Chiron]] (Yakov Belenkiy), starting his adventures. He is shown defeating the Crommyonian Sow, killing Procrustes ([[Anatoli Papanov]]), coming to Athens to meet Aegeus (Viktor Koltsov), and his journey to Crete (with [[Aleksandr Grave]], [[Natalya Kustinskaya]] and Lev Frichinsky providing the voices of Minos, Ariadne and Dionysus, respectively). After Aegeus' suicide, he meets Chiron again and is told further adventures await him.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457031/ The Labirynth]</ref>
* The 1973 Italian film ''[[War Goddess]]'' depicts the story of Antiope and Theseus.
* The film ''[[Immortals (2011 film)|Immortals]]'' (2011), a unique and modernized adaptation of the legend, features [[Henry Cavill]] as Theseus in a battle to save humanity from the evil man-King Hyperion, who seeks to release imprisoned [[Titans]] to contest the Gods.<ref>{{Citation |last=Singh |first=Tarsem |title=Immortals |date=11 November 2011 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1253864/ |type=Action, Drama, Fantasy |publisher=Relativity Media, Virgin Produced, Mark Canton Productions |access-date=13 December 2022}}</ref>
* The video game ''[[Hades (video game)|Hades]]'' has Theseus, along with the [[Minotaur]] (named Asterius in game) acting as the bosses of [[Elysium]], the third level of the game.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Stacey Henley |title=The joy of loving Theseus from Hades  |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-joy-of-loving-theseus-from-hades |access-date=15 May 2024 |website=[[Rock Paper Shotgun]] |date=29 October 2020}}</ref>

==References==

=== Explanatory notes ===
{{Reflist|group=lower-roman}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
'''Primary sources'''
* Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]''
* [[Ovid]], [[Metamorphoses]]
* [[Plutarch]], ''[http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/theseus.html Theseus]''

'''Secondary sources'''
* [[Walter Burkert|Burkert, Walter]], ''Greek Religion'' (1985)
* [[Stephen Dobyns]], ''Theseus within the Labyrinth'' (1986) https://www.jstor.org/stable/20600617
* [[Károly Kerényi|Kerényi, Karl]], ''The Heroes of the Greeks'' (1959)
* Price, Anne, ''The Quest for Theseus'' (London, 1970) examines the Theseus-Minotaur-Ariadne myth and its historical basis, and later treatments and adaptations of it in Western culture.
* Ruck, Carl A.P. and Danny Staples, ''The World of Classical Myth'': ch. IX "Theseus: making the new Athens" (1994), pp.&nbsp;203–222.
* Sideris, Athanasios, [https://www.academia.edu/19830301/Theseus_in_Thrace._The_Silver_Lining_on_the_Clouds_of_the_Athenian-Thracian_Relations_in_the_5th_century_BC ''Theseus in Thrace. The silver lining on the clouds of the Athenian-Thracian relations in the 5th century BC''] (Sofia, 2015) presents new iconographical sources and examines the role of Theseus in the state ideology of Athens and its gift-diplomacy with Thrace.
*{{cite book |last1=von den Hoff |first1=Ralf |editor1-last=Foxhall |editor1-first=Lin |editor2-last=Gehrke |editor2-first=Hans-Joachim |editor3-last=Luraghi |editor3-first=Nino|title=Intentional History : Spinning Time in Ancient Greece. |date=2015 |publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag |location=Stuttgart |isbn=978-3-515-11288-8 |pages=161–188  |chapter=Media for Theseus or the different images of the Athenian polis hero}}
* Walker, Henry J., ''Theseus and Athens'', Oxford University Press (US 1995). The most thorough scholarly examination of Theseus's archaic origins and classical myth and cult, and his place in classical literature.

== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Wikisource|Lives (Dryden translation)/Theseus|Theseus}}
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.theoi.com/Text/PlutarchTheseus.html (Theoi Project) Plutarch: ''Life of Theseus'']
* [http://greekmythcomix.com/comic/theseus-and-the-minotaur-pt1/ Greek Myth Comix: The Story of Theseus, Pt. 1] [http://greekmythcomix.com/comic/theseus-and-the-minotaur-pt2/ Pt. 2] [http://greekmythcomix.com/comic/theseus-and-the-minotaur-pt3/ Pt. 3] The story of Theseus in comic-strip format, by [http://greekmythcomix.com Greek Myth Comix]
* [https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-000332 The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (images of Theseus)]

{{S-start}}
{{s-reg}}
{{Succession box
| title = [[King of Athens]]
| before = [[Aegeus]]
| after = [[Menestheus]]
| years = 
}}
{{S-end}}
{{Plutarch|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Greek mythological heroes]]
[[Category:Mythological swordfighters]]
[[Category:Argonauts]]
[[Category:Founding monarchs in Europe]]
[[Category:Kings of Athens]]
[[Category:Children of Poseidon]]
[[Category:Katabasis in classical mythology]]
[[Category:Characters in Book VI of the Aeneid]]
[[Category:Theseus| ]]
[[Category:Male Shakespearean characters]]
[[Category:Characters in A Midsummer Night's Dream]]
[[Category:Folklore featuring impossible tasks]]