Theseus

1
Chapter 23

• Theseus the Legends of Attica

2
A little background

• 5th c. BCE Athens golden age
• 490 BCE Battle of Marathon
• Battles of Thermopylae Salamis
• Battle of Plataea Athens triumphant
• 431-404 BCE Peloponnesian War
• Athenian ideals in question
• Melian Dialog from Thucydides History

3
What about those snaky guys?

• Cecrops (1st king) and Erichthonius ½
  serpentine
• Serpent autochthonous
• Erichthonius upbringing Athena takes up job
  after unfortunate incident with Cecrops
  daughters
• Can Athens really be autochthonous? Why does it
  matter?

4
Erechtheus 3rd king

• Erechtheum on Acropolis contained
• wooden statue of Athena
• Olive tree from Athena
• Salt spring from Poseidon
• Tomb of Erechtheus
• See p. 596 for plan of Erechtheum

5
Legends of Theseus

• Athens city on the rise needs a hero
• Cimon discovers and transports Theseus bones to
  Athens, c. 475 BCE
• Theseus gets build-up from authors a Hercules
  like figure just for Attica.

6
Labors of Theseus

• Periphetes Corynetes (Club)
• Sinis Pityocamptes (Pine-bender)
• Sow of Crommyon
• Sciron
• Cercyon
• Procrustes (Stretcher)
• See p. 602 for illustration, and addition of
  Bull of Marathon

7
Theseus recognized

• Always pays to have your own eating utensils
• Medea as evil stepmother.

8
The Cretan Incident

• Historical background
• Athens as client state to Crete
• Cretan worship of bull
• The labyrinth
• Mythological background
• Pasiphae Minotaur
• Death of Androgeos

9
The Cretan Incident (contd)

• Theseus volunteers as 1/14
• Contest on Board Ship
• Minos Theseus have connexions
• See Bacchylides, Dithyramb 17, p. 604
• Ariadnes help
• Goddess or mortal?
• Wreath or string?

10
Return to Athens

• Ariadne on Naxos
• What about those black sails?
• Aegean sea

11
Theseus Reputation

• Was there an historical Theseus?
• The idealized king
• Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus
• Euripides Heracles
• Euripides Suppliant Women
• Plutarchs Life of Theseus
• Athenian proverbial tag not without Theseus.
• But
• Euripides Hippolytus

12
Theseus closet

• Kidnapping Helen
• Attempted kidnapping of Persephone
• Abandoning of Ariadne
• Death in exile

13
More on Minoan Crete

• Daedalus marital aids
• Building the Labyrinth
• Taking flight quite literally
• Fall of Icarus
• Daedalus as Athenian

14
Other stories

• Cephalus Procris
• Problem of jealousy
• Procne, Philomela Tereus
• swallow and nightengale
• Used as device in Shakespeares Titus Andronicus