Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

THESEUS

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V26, Page 837 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

THESEUS , the See also:

great See also:hero of See also:Attic See also:legend,' son of See also:Aegeus, See also:king of See also:Athens, and Aethra, daughter of Pittheus, king of Troezen. Thus through his See also:father he was descended from See also:Erechtheus and the See also:original stock of See also:Attica; through his See also:mother he came of the See also:Asiatic See also:louse of See also:Pelops. The legend relates that Aegeus, being childless, went to Pittheus, who contrived that Aegeus should have intercourse with his daughter Aethra, and that in due See also:time Aethra brought forth Theseus. It was given out that the See also:child's father was See also:Poseidon, the great See also:god of Troezen, and that Aethra raised a See also:temple to See also:Athena See also:Apaturia, at which Troezenian maids used to dedicate their girdles before See also:marriage. For his See also:tutor and See also:guardian See also:young Theseus had one Cannidas, to whom, down to See also:Plutarch's time, the Athenians were wont to See also:sacrifice a See also:black See also:ram on the See also:eve of the festival of Theseus. On passing out of boyhood Theseus was sent by his rather to Athens. He encountered many adventures on the way. First he met and slew Periphetes, surnamed Corynetes (Clubman). At the See also:isthmus of See also:Corinth dwelt Sinis, called the See also:Pine-See also:Bender, because he killed his victims by tearing them asunder between two pine-trees. Theseus hoisted the Pine-Bender on his own pine-See also:tree. Next Theseus despatched the Crommyonian sow (or See also:boar). Then he flung over a cliff the wicked Sciron, who used to kick his guests into the See also:sea, while perforce they washed his feet.

In See also:

Eleusis Theseus wrestled with Cercyon and killed him. A little farther on he slew See also:Procrustes, who fitted all corners to his only See also:bed: if his See also:guest was too See also:short for the bed, he stretched him out; if he was too See also:long, he cut him down to the requisite length. As he passed through the streets of Athens, his curls and long garment reaching to his ankles See also:drew on him the derision of some masons, who were putting on the roof of the new temple of See also:Apollo Delphinius: " Why," they asked, " was such a See also:pretty girl out alone?" In reply Theseus took the bullocks out of their See also:cart and flung them higher than the roof of the temple. He found his father married to See also:Medea, who had fled from Corinth. Being a See also:witch, she knew Theseus before his father did, and tried to persuade Aegeus to See also:poison his son; but Aegeus recognized him by his See also:sword and took him to his arms. Theseus was now declared See also:heir to the See also:throne, and the Pallantids,2 who had hoped to succeed to the childless king, conspired against Theseus, but he crushed the See also:conspiracy. He then attacked the See also:fire-breathing See also:bull of See also:Marathon and brought it alive to Athens, where he sacrificed it to Apollo Delphinius. Next, came the See also:adventure of the Cretan See also:Minotaur (q.v.), whom Theseus slew by the aid of See also:Ariadne (q.v.). While Theseus was in See also:Crete, See also:Minos, ' The See also:story of Theseus is a See also:strange mixture of (mostly fictitious) See also:political tradition, of aetiological myths invented to explain misunderstood acts of See also:ritual and of a See also:cycle of tales of adventure analogous to the story of the labours of Heracles. All the passages in the Iliad and Odyssey in which his name or allusions to his legend occur are regarded with more or less See also:probability as See also:spurious (but see O. Gruppe, Gr. Myth., i. p.

581). 2 The sons of See also:

Pallas, the See also:brother of Aegeus. 1817. See M. Pellet, Etude historique et biographique sur Theroigne de Mericourt (1886) ; L. Lacour, See also:Les Origines du feminisme contemporain. Trois femmes de la Revolution (See also:Paris, 1900) ; Vicomte de Reiset, La Vraie Theroigne de Mericourt, (Paris, 1903) ; E. and J. de See also:Goncourt, Portraits intimes, du X VIIIe. siecle (2 vols., 1857-58) ; and the See also:play Theroigne de Mericourt of M.. See also:Paul See also:Hervieu, produced at the See also:Theatre Sarah See also:Bernhardt in 1902.

End of Article: THESEUS

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
THESE, THEY 		[next]
THESPIAE

Site © 2006 - Net Industries