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+As in books on geography, Sossius Senecio, the writers
+ crowd the countries of which they know nothing into the
+ furthest margins of their maps, and write upon them
+ legends such as, " In this direction lie waterless deserts
+ full of wild beasts;" or, “ Unexplored morasses;" or,
+ “ Here it is as cold as Scythia ;” or, “ A frozen sea so
+ I, in my writings on Parallel Lives, go through that
+ period of time where history rests on the firm basis of
+ facts, and may truly say, “ All beyond this is portentous
+ and fabulous, inhabited by poets and mythologers, and
+ there is nothing true or certain."
When I had written the lives of Lykurgus the law
+ giver and Numa the king, it appeared to me natural to go
+ back to Romulus also, as I was engaged on the history of
+ times so close to his. So when I was reflecting, in the
+ words of AEschylus,
+ a Against this chieftain, who can best contend ?
+ Whom shall I match in fight, what trusty friend ?”
+ it occurred to me to compare the founder of the fair and
+ famous city of Athens with him, and to contrast Theseus
+ with the father of unconquered glorious Rome. Putting
+ aside, then, the mythological element, let us examine his
+ story, and wherever it obstinately defies probability, and
+ cannot be explained by natural agency, let us beg the in
+ dulgence of our readers, who will kindly make allowance
+ for tales of antiquity.
Theseus appears to have several points of resemblance
+ to Romulus. Both were unacknowledged illegitimate
+ children, and were reputed to descend from the Gods.
+ “ Both warriors, well we all do know:
+ and both were wise as well as powerful. The one founded
+ Rome, while the other was the joint founder of Athens;
+ and these are two of the most famous of cities. Both
+ carried off women by violence, and neither of them escaped
+ domestic misfortune and retribution, but towards the end
+ of their lives both were at variance with their countrymen,
+ if we may put any trust in the least extravagant writings
+ upon the subject.
Theseus traced his descent on the father's side from
+ Erechtheus and the original Autocthones,* while on the
+ mother's side he was descended from Pelops. For Pelops
+ surpassed all the other princes of the Peloponnesus in the
+ number of his children as well as in wealth; and of these
+ he gave many of his daughters in marriage to the chief
+ men of the country, and established many of his sons as
+ rulers in various cities. One of these, Pittheus, the grand
+ father of Theseus, founded Trœzen, which is indeed but
+ a little state, though he had a greater reputation than any
+ man of his time for eloquence and wisdom. The nature
+ of this wisdom of his seems to have been much of the
+ same kind as that which made the reputation of
+ Hesiod, in the collection of maxims known as the ‘ Works
+ and Days.' One of these maxims is indeed ascribed to
+ Pittheus:
+ “ Let promised pay be truly paid to friends."
+ At any rate, this is what Aristotle the philosopher has
+ recorded ; and also Euripides, when he speaks of Hippolytus
+ as “ child of holy Pittheus," shows the prevailing opinion
+ about Pittheus. Now Ægeus desired to have children,
+ and the Oracle at Delphi is said to have given him the
+ well-known response, forbidding him to have intercourse
+ Athens called themselves, meaning that they were sprung from the
+ soil itself, not immigrants from some other country.
+
+ appearing to explain this clearly. Consequently, on his
+ way home, he went to Trœzen, and asked the advice of
+ Pittheus about the response of the God, which ran thus:
+ “ Great chief, the wine-skin's foot must closed remain,
+ Till thou to Athens art returned again."
+ Pittheus clearly perceived what the oracle must mean, and
+ persuaded or cheated Ægeus into an intrigue with Æthra.
+ Afterwards, when he discovered that he had conversed
+ with the daughter of Pittheus, as he imagined that she
+ might prove with child, he left behind him his sword and
+ sandals hidden under a great stone, which had a hollow
+ inside it exactly fitting them. This he told to AEthra
+ alone, and charged her if a son of his should be born, and
+ on growing to man's estate should be able to lift the stone
+ and take from under it the deposit, that she should send
+ him at once with these things to himself, in all secrecy,
+ and as far as possible concealing his journey from obser
+ vation. For he greatly feared the sons of Pallas, who
+ plotted against him, and despised him on account of his
+ childlessness, they themselves being fifty brothers, all the
+ sons of Pallas.
When Æthra's child was born, some writers say
+ that he was at once named Theseus, from the tokens
+ placed under the stone; others say that he was afterwards
+ so named at Athens, when Ægeus acknowledged him as
+ his son. He was brought up by his grandfather Pittheus,
+ and had a master and tutor, Konnidas, to whom even to
+ the present day, the Athenians sacrifice a ram on the day
+ before the feast of Theseus, a mark of respect which is
+ much more justly due to him, than those which they pay
+ to Silanion and Parrhasius, who have only made pictures
+ and statues of Theseus.
As it was at that period still the custom for those
+ who were coming to man's estate to go to Delphi and offer
+ to the god the first-fruits of their hair (which was then
+ cut for the first time),* Theseus went to Delphi, and they
+ among the Greeks, the hair being dedicated to some god. The first
+ instance of this is in Homer's Iliad, where Achilles speaks of having
+
+ But he only cut the front part of his hair, as Homer tells
+ us the Abantes did, and this fashion of cutting the hair
+ was called Theseus's fashion because of him. The Abantes
+ first began to cut their hair in this manner, not having, as
+ some say, been taught to do so by the Arabians, nor yet
+ from any wish to imitate the Mysians, but because they
+ were a warlike race, and met their foes in close combat,
+ and studied above all to come to a hand-to-hand fight with
+ their enemy, as Archilochus bears witness in his verses:
+ “ They use no slings nor bows,
+ Eubœa's martial lords,
+ But hand to hand they close
+ And conquer with their swords.”
+ So they cut their hair short in front, that their enemies
+ might not grasp it. And they say that Alexander of
+ Macedon for the same reason ordered his generals to have
+ the beards of the Macedonians shaved, because they were
+ a convenient handle for the enemy to grasp.
Now while he was yet a child, Æthra concealed
+ the real parentage of Theseus, and a story was circulated
+ by Pittheus that his father was Poseidon. For the people
+ of Trœzen have an especial reverence for Poseidon; he is
+ their tutelar deity; to him they offer first-fruits of their
+ harvest, and they stamp their money with the trident
+ as their badge. But when he was grown into a youth,
+ and proved both strong in body and of good sound sense,
+ then AEthra led him to the stone, told him the truth
+ about his father, and bade him take the tokens from
+ beneath it and sail to Athens with them. He easily lifted
+ the stone, but determined not to go to Athens by sea,
+ though the voyage was a safe and easy one, and though
+ his mother and his grandfather implored him to go that
+ way. By land it was a difficult matter to react Athens,
+ as the whole way was infested with robbers and bandits.
+ That time, it seems, produced men of great and un
+ wearied strength and swiftness, who made no good use of
+ offered their hair to Herakles. The Roman emperor Nero, in latef
+ times, imitated this custom.
+
+ lence, taking advantage of their strength to overpower
+ and slay all who fell into their hands, and disregarding
+ justice and right and kindly feeling, which they said
+ were only approved of by those who dared not do injury
+ to others, or feared to be injured themselves, while men
+ who could get the upper hand by force might disregard
+ them. Of these ruffians, Herakles in his wanderings cut
+ off a good many, but others had escaped him by concealing
+ themselves, or had been contemptuously spared by him on
+ account of their insignificance. But Herakles had the mis
+ fortune to kill Iphitus, and thereupon sailed to Lydia and
+ was for a long time a slave in that country under Omphale,
+ which condition he had imposed upon himself as a penance
+ for the murder of his friend. During this period the
+ country of Lydia enjoyed peace and repose; but in Greece
+ the old plague of brigandage broke out afresh, as there
+ was now no one to put it down. So that the journey
+ overland to Athens from Peloponnesus was full of peril;
+ and Pittheus, by relating to Theseus who each of these
+ evildoers was, and how they treated strangers, tried to
+ prevail upon him to go by sea. But it appears that
+ Theseus had for a long time in his heart been excited by
+ the renown of Herakles for courage: he thought more
+ of him than of any one else, and loved above all to listen
+ to those who talked of him, especially if they had seen
+ and spoken to him. Now he could no longer conceal that
+ he was in the same condition as Themistokles in later
+ times, when he said that the trophy of Miltiades would
+ not let him sleep. Just so did the admiration which
+ Theseus conceived for Herakles make him dream by night
+ of his great exploits, and by day determine to equal them
+ by similar achievements of his own.
As it happened, they were connected, being second
+ cousins; for AEthra was the daughter of Pittheus, and
+ Alkmena the daughter of Lysidike, and Lysidike and
+ Pittheus were brother and sister, being the children of
+ Pelops and Hippodameia. So Theseus thought that it
+ would be a great and unbearable disgrace to him that his
+ cousin should go everywhere and clear the sea and land
+ of the brigands who infested them, and he should refuse
+
+ ing discredit upon his reputed father by a pusillanimous
+ flight by sea, and upon his real father by bringing him
+ only the sandals and an unfleshed sword, and not proving
+ his noble birth by the evidence of some brave deed accom
+ plished by him. In this spirit he set out on his journey,
+ with the intention of doing wrong to no one, but of
+ avenging himself on any one who offered wrong to him.
And first in Epidaurus he slew Periphetes, who
+ used a club as his weapon, and on this account was called
+ the club-bearer, because he laid hands upon him and
+ forbade him to proceed farther on his way. The club took <
+ his fancy, and he adopted it as a weapon, and always used
+ it, just as Herakles used his lion's skin; for the skin was
+ a proof of how huge a beast the wearer had overcome,
+ while the club, invincible in the hands of Theseus, had
+ yet been worsted when used against him. At the Isthmus
+ he destroyed Sinis the Pine-bender by the very device by
+ which he had slain so many people, and that too without
+ having ever practised the art, proving that true valour
+ is better than practice and training. Sinis had a daughter,
+ a tall and beautiful girl, named Perigoune. When her
+ father fell she ran and hid herself. Theseus sought her
+ everywhere, but she fled into a place where wild asparagus
+ grew thick, and with a simple child-like faith besought the
+ plants to conceal her, as if they could understand her words,
+ promising that if they did so she never would destroy or
+ burn them. However, when Theseus called to her, pledging
+ himself to take care of her and do her no hurt, she came
+ out, and afterwards bore Theseus a son, named Melanippus.
+ She afterwards was given by Theseus in marriage to
+ Deioneus, the son of Eurytus of Œchalia. Ioxus, a son of
+ Melanippus, and Theseus's grandchild, took part in
+ Ornytus's settlement in Caria; and for this reason the
+ descendants of Ioxus have a family custom not to burn
+ the asparagus plant, but to reverence and worship it.
Now the wild sow of Krommyon, whom they called 1
+ Phaia, was no ordinary beast, but a fierce creature and
+ hard to conquer. This animal he turned out of his way
+ to destroy, that it might not be thought that he performed
+ his exploits of necessity. Besides, he said, a brave man
+
+ way, but that in the case of wild beasts he must himself
+ seek them out and attack them. Some say that Phaia
+ was a murderous and licentious woman who carried on
+ brigandage at Krommyon, and was called a sow from her
+ life and habits, and that Theseus put her to death.
Before coming to Megara he slew Skeiron by flinging
+ him down a precipice into the sea, so the story runs,
+ because he was a robber, but some say that from arrogance
+ he used to hold out his feet to strangers and bid them
+ wash them, and that then he kicked the washers into the
+ sea. But Megarian writers, in opposition to common
+ tradition, and, as Simonides says, “ warring with all
+ antiquity," say that Skeiron was not an arrogant brigand,
+ but repressed brigandage, loved those who were good and
+ just, and was related to them. For, they point out, Æakus
+ is thought to have been the most righteous of all the
+ Greeks, and Kychreus of Salamis was worshipped as a
+ god, and the virtue of Peleus and Telamon is known to
+ all. Yet Skeiron was the son-in-law of Kychreus, and
+ father-in-law of Æakus, and grandfather of Peleus and
+ Telamon, who were both of them sons of Endeis, the
+ daughter of Skeiron and his wife Chariklo. It is not then
+ reasonable to suppose that these, the noblest men of their
+ time, would make alliances with a malefactor, and give
+ and receive from him what they prized most dearly. But
+ they say that Theseus slew Skeiron, not when he first
+ went to Athens, but that afterwards he took the town of
+ Eleusis which belonged to the Megarians, by dealing
+ treacherously with Dickies, who was the chief magistrate
+ there, and that on that occasion he killed Skeiron. This
+ is what tradition says on both sides.
At Eleusis Theseus overcame Kerkyon of Arcadia in
+ wrestling and killed him, and after journeying a little farther
+ he killed Damastes, who was surnamed Prokroustes, by com
+ pelling him to fit his own body to his bed, just as he used
+ to fit the bodies of strangers to it. This he did in imita
+ tion of Herakles ; for he used to retort upon his aggressors
+ the same treatment which they intended for him. Thus
+ Herakles offered up Busiris as a sacrifice, and overcame
+ Antæus in wrestling, and Kyknus in single combat, and
+
+ the origin of the proverb, “ A Termerian mischief," for
+ Termerus, it seems, struck passers-by with his head, and
+ so killed them. So also did Theseus sally forth and
+ chastise evildoers, making them undergo the same cruelties
+ which they practised on others, thus justly punishing
+ them for their crimes in their own wicked fashion.
As he proceeded on his way, and reached the
+ river Kephisus, men of the Phytalid race were the first to
+ meet and greet him. He demanded to be purified from
+ the guilt of bloodshed, and they purified him, made pro
+ pitiatory offerings, and also entertained him in their
+ houses, being the first persons from whom he had received
+ any kindness on his journey. It is said to have been on
+ the eighth day of the month Kronion, which is now called
+ Hekatombeion, that he came to his own city. On entering
+ it he found public affairs disturbed by factions, and the
+ house of Ægeus in great disorder; for Medea, who had
+ been banished from Corinth, was living with Ægeus, and
+ had engaged by her drugs to enable Ægeus to have
+ children. She was the first to discover who Theseus was,
+ while Ægeus, who was an old man, and feared every one
+ because of the disturbed state of society, did not recognise
+ him. Consequently she advised Ægeus to invite him to a
+ feast. that she might poison him. Theseus accordingly
+ came to Ægeus's table. He did not wish to be the first to
+ tell his name, but, to give his father an opportunity of
+ recognising him, he drew his sword, as if he meant to cut
+ some of the meat with it, and showed it to Ægeus.
+ Ægeus at once recognised it, overset the cup of poison,
+ looked closely at his son and embraced him. He then
+ called a public meeting and made Theseus known as his
+ son to the citizens, with whom he was already very popular
+ because of his bravery. It is said that when the cup was
+ overset the poison was spilt in the place where now there
+ is the enclosure in the Delphinium, for there Ægeus dwelt;
+ and the Hermes to the east of the temple there they call
+ the one who is “ at the door of Ægeus.”
But the sons of Pallas, who had previously to
+ this expected that they would inherit the kingdom on the
+ death of Ægeus without issue, now that Theseus was
+
+ should be king, a man who was merely an adopted child
+ of Pandion, and had no blood relationship to Erechtheus,
+ and next that Theseus, a stranger and a foreigner, should
+ inherit the kingdom. They consequently declared war.
+ Dividing themselves into two bodies, the one proceeded to
+ march openly upon the city from Sphettus, under the com
+ mand of PaRas their father, while the other lay in ambush
+ at Gargettus, in order that they might fall upon their
+ opponents on two sides at once. But there was a herald
+ among them named Leos, of the township of Agnus, who
+ betrayed the plans of the sons of Pallas to Theseus. He
+ suddenly. attacked those who were in ambush, and killed
+ them all, hearing which the other body under Pallas
+ dispersed. From this time forth they say that the town
+ ship of Pallene has never intermarried with that of Agnus,
+ and that it is not customary amongst them for heralds to
+ begin a proclamation with the words " Acouete Leo,"
+ (Oyez) for they hate the name of Leo* because of the
+ treachery of that man.
Now Theseus, who wished for employment, and
+ also to make himself popular with the people, went to
+ attack the Lull of Marathon, who had caused no little
+ trouble to the inhabitants of Tetrapolis. He overcame
+ the beast, and drove it alive through the city for all men
+ to see, and then sacrificed it to Apollo of Delphi. Hekale,
+ too, and the legend of her having entertained Theseus, does
+ not seem altogether without foundation in fact; for the
+ people of the neighbouring townships used to assemble and
+ perform what was called the Hekalesian sacrifice to Zeus
+ Hekalus, and they also used to honour Hekale, calling her
+ by the affectionate diminutive Hekaline, because she also,
+ when feasting Theseus, who was very young, embraced
+ him in a motherly way, and used such like endearing
+ diminutives. She also made a vow on Theseus's behalf,
+ when he was going forth to battle, that if he returned
+ safe she would sacrifice to Zeus; but as she died before he
+ returned, she had the above-mentioned honours instituted
+ by command of Theseus, as a grateful return for her
+ hospitality. This is the legend as told by Philochorus.
Shortly after this the ship from Crete arrived for
+ the third time to collect the customary tribute. Most
+ writers agree that the origin of this was, that on the death
+ of Androgens, in Attica, which was ascribed to treachery,
+ his father Minos went to war, and wrought much evil to
+ the country, which at the same time was afflicted by
+ scourges from Heaven (for the land did not bear fruit, and
+ there was a great pestilence and the rivers sank into the
+ earth). So that as the oracle told the Athenians that, if
+ they propitiated Minos and came to terms with him, the
+ anger of Heaven would cease and they should have a
+ respite from their sufferings, they sent an embassy to
+ Minos and prevailed on him to make peace, on the con
+ dition that every nine years they should send him a
+ tribute of seven youths and seven maidens. The most
+ tragic of the legends states these poor children when they
+ reached Crete were thrown into the Labyrinth, and there
+ either were devoured by the Minotaur or else perished with
+ hunger, being unable to find the way out. The Minotaur,
+ as Euripides tells us, was
+ " A form commingled, and a monstrous birth,
+ Half man, half bull, in twofold shape combined."
Philochorus says that the Cretans do not recog
+ nise this story, but say that the Labyrinth was merely a
+ prison, like any other, from which escape was impossible,
+ and that Minos instituted gymnastic games in honour of
+ Androgeus, in which the prizes for the victors were these
+ children, who till then were kept in the Labyrinth. Also
+ they say that the victor in the first contest was a man of
+ great power in the state, a general of the name of Taurus,
+ who was of harsh and savage temper, and ill-treated the
+ Athenian children. And Aristotle himself, in his treatise
+ on the constitution of the Bottiæans, evidently does not
+ believe that the children were put to death by Minos, but
+ that they lived in Crete as slaves, until extreme old age;
+ and that one day the Cretans, in performance of an ancient
+ vow, sent first-fruits of their population to Delphi. Among
+ those who were thus sent were the descendants of the
+ Athenians, and, as they could not maintain themselves
+ there, they first passed over to Italy, and there settled
+
+ and took the name of Bottiæans. For this reason, the
+ Bottiæan maidens when performing a certain sacrifice
+ sing “ Let us go to Athens." Thus it seems to be a terrible
+ thing to incur the hatred of a city powerful in speech and
+ song ; for on the Attic stage Minos is always vilified and
+ traduced, and though he was called “ Most Kingly " by
+ Hesiod, and “ Friend of Zeus " by Homer, it gained him no
+ credit, but the playwrights overwhelmed him with abuse,
+ styling him cruel and violent. And yet Minos is said to
+ have been a king and a lawgiver, and Rhadamanthus to
+ have been a judge under him, carrying out his decrees.
So when the time of the third payment of the
+ tribute arrived, and those fathers who had sons not yet
+ grown up had to submit to draw lots, the unhappy people
+ began to revile Ægeus, complaining that he, although the
+ author of this calamity, yet took no share in their afflic
+ tion, but endured to see them left childless, robbed of
+ their own legitimate offspring, while he made a foreigner
+ and a bastard the heir to his kingdom. This vexed
+ Theseus, and determining not to hold aloof, but to share the
+ fortunes of the people, he came forward and offered himself
+ without being drawn by lot. The people all admired
+ his courage and patriotism, and Ægeus finding that his
+ prayers and entreaties had no effect on his unalterable
+ resolution, proceeded to choose the rest by lot. Hellanikus
+ says that the city did not select the youths and maidens
+ by lot, but that Minos himself came thither and chose
+ them, and that he picked out Theseus first of all, upon
+ the usual conditions, which were that the Athenians
+ should furnish a ship, and that the youths should embark
+ in it and sail with him, not carrying with them any
+ weapon of war; and that when the Minotaur was slain,
+ the tribute should cease. Formerly, nO one had any hope
+ of safety; so they used to send out the ship with a black
+ sail, as if it were going to a certain doom; but now
+ Theseus so encouraged his father, and boasted that he
+ would overcome the Minotaur, that he gave a second sail,
+ a white one, to the steersman, and charged him on his
+ return, if Theseus were safe, to hoist the white one, if not,
+ the black one as a sign of mourning. But Simonides says
+
+ but " a scarlet sail embrued in holm oak's juice," and that
+ this was agreed on by him as the signal of safety. The
+ ship was steered by Phereklus the son of Amarsyas,
+ according to Simonides.
But Philochorus says that Theseus had one Nausithous
+ sent him from Skirus of Salamis, to steer the ship, and
+ Phæax to act as look-out, as the Athenians had not yet
+ turned their attention to the sea.
One of the youths chosen by lot was Menestheos the
+ son of Skirus's daughter. The truth of this account is
+ attested by the shrines of Nausithous and Phæax, which
+ Theseus built at Phalerum, and by the feast called the
+ Kybernesia or pilot's festival, which is held in their
+ honour.
When the lots were drawn Theseus brought the
+ chosen youths from the Prytaneum, and proceeding to the
+ temple of the Delphian Apollo, offered the suppliants'
+ bough to Apollo on their behalf. This was a bough of
+ the sacred olive-tree bound with fillets of white wool.
+ And after praying he went to sea on the sixth day of the
+ month Munychion, on which day even now they send
+ maidens as suppliants to the temple of the Delphian
+ Apollo. And there is a legend that the Delphian oracle
+ told him that Aphrodite would be his guide and fellow
+ traveller, and that when he was sacrificing a she-goat to
+ her by the seaside, it became a he-goat; wherefore the
+ goddess is called Epitragia.
When they reached Crete, according to most
+ historians and poets, Ariadne fell in love with him, and
+ from her he received the clue of string, and was taught
+ how to thread the mazes of the Labyrinth. He slew the
+ Minotaur, and, taking with him Ariadne and the youths,
+ sailed away. Pherekydes also says that Theseus also
+ knocked out the bottoms of the Cretan ships, to prevent
+ pursuit. But Demon says that Taurus, Minos's general,
+ was slain in a sea-fight in the harbour, when Theseus
+ sailed away. But according to Philochorus, when Minos
+ instituted his games, Taurus was expected to win every
+ prize, and was grudged this honour; for his great influence
+ and his unpopular manners made him disliked, and soandal
+
+ account, when Theseus offered to contend with him, Minos
+ agreed. And, as it was the custom in Crete for women as
+ well as men to be spectators of the games, Ariadne was
+ present, and was struck with the appearance of Theseus,
+ and his strength, as he conquered all competitors. Minos
+ was especially pleased, in the wrestling match, at Taurus's
+ defeat and shame, and, restoring the children to Theseus,
+ remitted the tribute for the future. Kleidemus tells the
+ story in his own fashion and at unnecessary length, be
+ ginning much farther back. There was, he says, a
+ decree passed by all the Greeks, that no ship should sail
+ from any post with more than five hands on board, but
+ Jason alone, the master of the great ship Argo, should
+ cruise about, and keep the sea free of pirates. Now when
+ Daedalus fled to Athens, Minos, contrary to the decree,
+ pursued him in long war galleys, and being driven to
+ Sicily by a storm, died there. When his son Deukalion
+ sent a warlike message to the Athenians, bidding them
+ give up Daedalus to him, or else threatening that he
+ would put to death the children whom Minos had taken
+ as hostages, Theseus returned him a gentle answer, beg
+ ging for the life of Dædalus, who was his own cousin
+ and blood relation, being the son of Merope, the daughter
+ of Erechtheus. But he busied himself with building a
+ fleet, some of it in Attica, in the country of the Thymai
+ tadae, far from any place of resort of strangers, and some
+ in Trœzen, under the management of Pittheus, as he did
+ not wish his preparations to be known. But when the
+ ships were ready to set sail, having with him as pilots,
+ Dædalus himself and some Cretan exiles, as no one
+ knew that he was coming, and the Cretans thought that it
+ was a friendly fleet that was advancing, he seized the
+ harbour, and marched at once to Knossus before his arrival
+ was known. Then he fought a battle at the gates of the
+ Labyrinth, and slew Deukalion and his body-guard. As
+ Ariadne now succeeded to the throne, he made peace with
+ her, took back the youths, and formed an alliance between
+ the Cretans and the Athenians, in which each nation
+ swore that it would not begin a war against the other.
There are many more stories about these events,
+
+ Some say that she hanged herself when deserted by
+ Theseus, and some, that she was taken to Naxos by his
+ sailors, and there dwelt with Œnarus, the priest of
+ Dionysus, having been deserted by Theseus, who was in
+ love with another.
+ “ For Ægle's love disturbed his breast."
+ This line, we are told by Hereas of Megara, was struck
+ out of Hesiod's poems by Peisistratus ; and again he says
+ that he inserted into Homer's description of the Shades,
+ a Peirithous and Theseus, born of gods,"
+ to please the Athenians. Some writers say that Theseus
+ had by Ariadne two sons, Staphylus and Œnopion, whom
+ Ion of Chios follows when he speaks of his own native
+ city as that
+ " Which erst (Enopion stablished, Theseus' son."
+ The pleasantest of these legends are in nearly every one's
+ mouth. But Pæon of Amathus gives an account peculiar to
+ himself, that Theseus was driven by a storm to Cyprus,
+ and that Ariadne, who was pregnant, suffered much from
+ the motion of the ship, and became so ill, that she was set
+ on shore, but Theseus had to return to take charge of the
+ ship, and was blown off to sea. The women of the country
+ took care of Ariadne, and comforted her in her bereave
+ ment, even bringing forged letters to her as if from
+ Theseus, and rendering her assistance during her confine
+ ment ; and when she died in childbirth, they buried her.
+ Theseus, on his return, grieved much, and left money to
+ the people of the country, bidding them sacrifice to
+ Ariadne; he also set up two little statues, one of silver,
+ and the other of brass. And at this sacrifice, which takes
+ place on the second day of the month Gorpiæus, one of the
+ young men lies down on the ground, and imitates the cries
+ of a woman in travail; and the people of Amathus call
+ that the grove of Ariadne Aphrodite, in which they show
+ her tomb.
But some writers of Naxos tell a different story, peculiar
+ to themselves, that there were two Minoses and two
+
+ in Naxos, and was the mother of Staphylus and his brother,
+ while the younger was carried off by Theseus, and came
+ to Naxos after he deserted her; and a nurse called Korkyne
+ came with her, whose tomb they point out. Then Naxians
+ also says that this Ariadne died there, and is honoured,
+ but not so much as the elder; for at the feast in honour
+ of the elder, there are merriment and revelry, but at that
+ of the younger gloomy rites are mingled with mirth.
Theseus, when he sailed away from Croto, touched
+ at Delos ; here he sacrificed to the god and offered up the
+ statue of Aphrodite, which Ariadne had given him; and
+ besides this, he and the youths with him danced a measure
+ which they say is still practised by the people of Delos to
+ this day, being an imitation of the turnings and windings
+ of the Labyrinth expressed by complicated evolutions per
+ formed in regular order. This kind of dance is called by
+ the Delians “ the crane dance," according to Diksearchus.
+ It was danced round the altar of the Horns, which is all
+ formed of horns from the left side. They also say that he
+ instituted games at Delos, and that then for the first time
+ a palm was given by him to the victor.
As he approached Attica, both he and his steers
+ man in their delight forgot to hoist the sail which was to
+ be a signal of their safety to Ægeus ; and he in his despair
+ flung himself down the cliffs and perished. Theseus, as
+ soon as he reached the harbour, performed at Phalerum
+ the sacrifices which he had vowed to the gods if he re
+ turned safe, and sent off a herald to the city with the news
+ of his safe return. This man met with many who were
+ lamenting the death of the king, and, as was natural, with
+ others who were delighted at the news of their safety, and
+ who congratulated him and wished to crown him with
+ garlands. These he received, but placed them on his
+ herald's staff, and when he came back to the seashore,
+ finding that Theseus had not completed his libation, he
+ waited outside the temple, not wishing to disturb the
+ sacrifice. When the libation was finished he announced
+ the death of Ægeus, and then they all hurried up to the
+ city with loud lamentations: wherefore to this day, at
+ the Oschophoria, they say that it is not the herald that is
+
+ standers cry out, “Eleleu, Iou, Iou;" of which cries the
+ first is used by men in haste, or raising the paean for
+ battle, while the second is used by persons in surprise and
+ trouble.
Theseus, after burying his father, paid his vow to
+ Apollo, on the seventh day of the month Pyanepsion; for
+ on this day it was that the rescued youths went up into
+ the city. The boiling of pulse, which is customary on
+ this anniversary, is said to be done because the rescued
+ youths put what remained of their pulse together into one
+ pot, boiled it all, and merrily feasted on it together. And
+ on this day also, the Athenians carry about the Eiresione,
+ a bough of the olive tree garlanded with wool, just as
+ Theseus had before carried the suppliants' bough, and
+ covered with first-fruits of all sorts of produce, because the
+ barrenness of the land ceased on that day; and they sing,
+ “ Eiresione, bring us figs
+ And wheaten loaves, and oil,
+ And wine to quaff, that we may all
+ Rest merrily from toil."
However, some say that these ceremonies are performed
+ in memory of the Herakleidæ, who were thus entertained
+ by the Athenians; but most writers tell the tale as I have
+ told it.
Now the thirty-oared ship, in which Theseus
+ sailed with the youths, and came back safe, was kept by
+ the Athenians up to the time of Demetrius Phalereus.
+ They constantly removed the decayed part of her timbers.
+ and renewed them with sound wood, so that the ship
+ became an illustration to philosophers of the doctrine of
+ growth and change, as some argued that it remained the
+ same, and others, that it did not remain the same. The
+ feast of the Oschophoria, or of carrying boughs, which to
+ this day the Athenians celebrate, was instituted by
+ Theseus. For he did not take with him all the maidens
+ who were drawn by lot, but he chose two youths, his
+ intimate friends, who were feminine and fair to look upon,
+ but of manly spirit; those by warm baths and avoiding
+ the heat of the sun and careful tending of their hair and
+
+ imitate the voice and carriage and walk of maidens.
+ These two were then substituted in the place of two of
+ the girls, and deceived every one; and when they re
+ turned, he and these two youths walked in procession,
+ dressed as now those who carry boughs at the Oschophoria
+ are dressed. They carry them in honour of Dionysus and
+ Ariadne, because of the legend, or rather because they
+ returned home when the harvest was being gathered in.
+ And the women called supper-carriers join in carrying
+ them and partake of the sacrifice, in imitation of the
+ mothers of those who were drawn by lot; for they used
+ continually to bring their children food. Also, old tales
+ are told, because these women used to tell their children
+ such ones, to encourage and amuse them.
These things are related by the historian Demus.
+ Moreover, a sacred enclosure was dedicated to Theseus,
+ and those families out of whom the tribute of the children
+ had been gathered were bidden to contribute to sacrifices
+ to him. These sacrifices were presided over by the
+ Phytalidæ, which post Theseus bestowed upon them as a
+ recompense for their hospitality towards him.
After the death of Ægeus, Theseus conceived a
+ great and important design. He gathered together all
+ the inhabitants of Attica and made them citizens of one
+ city, whereas before they had lived dispersed, so as to be
+ hard to assemble together for the common weal, and at
+ times even fighting with one another.
He visited all the villages and tribes, and won their
+ consent; the poor and lower classes gladly accepting his
+ proposals, while he gained over the more powerful by
+ promising that the new constitution should not include a
+ king, but that it should be a pure commonwealth, with
+ himself merely acting as general of its army and guardian
+ of its laws, while in other respects it would allow perfect
+ freedom and equality to every one. By these arguments
+ he convinced some of them, and the rest knowing his
+ power and courage chose rather to be persuaded than
+ forced into compliance. He therefore destroyed the pry
+ taneia, the senate house, and the magistracy of each
+ individual township, built one common prytaneum and
+
+ acropolis, called the city Athens, and instituted the
+ Panathenaic festival common to all of them. He also
+ instituted a festival for the resident aliens, on the six
+ teenth of the month, Hekatombeion, which is still kept
+ up. And having, according to his promise, laid down his
+ sovereign power, he arranged the new constitution under
+ the auspices of the gods ; for he made inquiry at Delphi
+ as to how he should deal with the city, and received the
+ following answer:
+ “ Thou son of Ægeus and of Pittheus’ maid,
+ My father hath within thy city laid
+ The bounds of many cities ; weigh not down
+ Thy soul with thought; the bladder cannot drown."
The same thing they say was afterwards prophesied by
+ the Sibyl concerning the city, in these words :
+ " The bladder may be dipped, but cannot drown."
Wishing still further to increase the number of
+ his citizens, he invited all strangers to come and share
+ equal privileges, and they say that the words now used,
+ " Come hither all ye peoples," was the proclamation then
+ used by Theseus, establishing as it were a commonwealth
+ of all natiors. But he did not permit his state to fall
+ into the disorder which this influx of all kinds of people
+ would probably have produced, but divided the people into
+ three classes, of Eupatridæ or nobles, Geomori or farmers,
+ Demiurgi or artisans. To the Eupatridæ he assigned the
+ care of religious rites, the supply of magistrates for the
+ city, and the interpretation of the laws and customs sacred
+ or profane, yet he placed them on an equality with the
+ other citizens, thinking that the nobles would always excel
+ in dignity, the farmers in usefulness, and the artisans in
+ numbers. Aristotle tells us that he was the first who
+ inclined to democracy, and gave up the title of king ; and
+ Homer seems to confirm this view by speaking of the
+ people of the Athenians alone of all the states men
+ tioned in his catalogue of ships. Theseus also struck
+ money with the figure of a bull, either alluding to the
+ bull of Marathon, or Taurus, Minos' general, or else to
+
+ came the words, " worth ten," or " worth a hundred oxen."
+ He permanently annexed Megara to Attica, and set up the
+ famous pillar on the Isthmus, on which he wrote the
+ distinction between the countries in two trimeter lines, of
+ which the one looking east says,
+ “ This is not Peloponnesus, but Ionia,
+ and the one looking west says,
+ “ This is Peloponnesus, not Ionia."
+ And also he instituted games there, in emulation of
+ Herakles; that, just as Herakles had ordained that the
+ Greeks should celebrate the Olympic games in honour
+ of Zeus, so by Theseus's appointment they should celebrate
+ the Isthmian games in honour of Poseidon.
The festival which was previously established there in
+ honour of Melikerta used to be celebrated by night, and to
+ be more like a religious mystery than a great spectacle and
+ gathering. Some writers assert that the Isthmian games
+ were established in honour of Skeiron, and that Theseus
+ wished to make them an atonement for the murder of his
+ kinsman; for Skeiron was the son of Kanethus and of
+ Henioche the daughter of Pittheus. Others say that this
+ festival was established in honour of Sinis, not of Skeiron.
+ Be this as it may, Theseus established it, and stipulated
+ with the Corinthians that visitors from Athens who came
+ to the games should have a seat of honour in as large a space
+ as could be covered by a sail of the public ship which
+ carried them, when stretched out on the ground. This
+ we are told by Hellanikus and Andron of Halikarnassus.
Besides this, according to Philochorus and other
+ writers, he sailed with Herakles to the Euxine, took part
+ in the campaign against the Amazons, and received
+ Antiope as the reward for his valour; but most historians,
+ among whom are Pherekydes, Hellanikus, and Herodorus,
+ say that Theseus made an expedition of his own later than
+ that of Herakles, and that he took the Amazon captive,
+ which is a more reasonable story. For no one of his
+ companions is said to have captured an Amazon; while
+
+ carried her off; for the Amazons, he says, were not averse
+ to men, and did not avoid Theseus when he touched at
+ their coast, but even offered him presents. He invited
+ the bearer of these on board his ship ; and when she had
+ embarked he set sail. But one, Menekrates, who has
+ written a history of the town of Nikæa in Bithynia, states
+ that Theseus spent a long time in that country with
+ Antiope, and that there were three young Athenians,
+ brothers, who were his companions in arms, by name
+ Euneon, Thoas, and Soloeis. Soloeis fell in love with
+ Antiope, and, without telling his brothers, confided his
+ passion to one of his comrades. This man laid the mat
+ ter before Antiope, who firmly rejected his pretensions,
+ but treated him quietly and discreetly, telling Theseus
+ nothing about it. Soloeis, in despair at his rejection,
+ leaped into a river and perished; and Theseus then at
+ length learned the cause of the young man's death. In
+ his sorrow he remembered and applied to himself an
+ oracle he had received from Delphi. It had been enjoined
+ upon him by the Pythia that whenever he should be
+ struck down with special sorrow in a foreign land,
+ he should found a city in that place and leave some of
+ his companions there as its chiefs. In consequence of
+ this the city which he founded was called Pythopolis, in
+ honour of the Pythian Apollo, and the neighbouring river
+ was called Soloeis, after the youth who died in it. He
+ left there the brothers of Soloeis as the chiefs and law
+ givers of the new city, and together, with them one
+ Hermus, an Athenian Eupatrid. In consequence of this,
+ the people of Pythopolis call a certain place in thoir city
+ the house of Hermes, by a mistaken accentuation transfer
+ ring the honour due to their founder, to their god Hermes.
This was the origin of the war with the
+ Amazons; and it seems to have been carried on in no
+ feeble or womanish spirit, for they never could have
+ encamped in the city nor have fought a battle close to
+ the Pnyx and the Museum unless they had conquered the
+ rest of the country, so as to be able to approach the city
+ safely. It is hard to believe, as Hellanikus relates, that
+ they crossed the Cimmerian Bosphorus on the ice; but
+
+ to by the local names, and by the tombs of the fallen.
+ For a long time both parties held aloof, unwilling to
+ engage; but at last Theseus, after sacrificing to Phobos
+ (Fear), attacked them. The battle took place in the
+ month Boedromion, on the day on which the Athenians
+ celebrate the feast Boedromia. Kleidemus gives us accurate
+ details, stating that the left wing of the Amazons stood
+ at the place now called the Amazoneum, while the right
+ reached up to the Pnyx, at the place where the gilded
+ figure of Victory now stands. The Athenians attacked
+ them on this side, issuing from the Museum, and the
+ tombs of the fallen are to be seen along the street
+ which leads to the gate near the shrine of the hero
+ Chalkodus, which is called the Peiræic gate. On this side
+ the women forced them back as far as the temple of the
+ Eumenides, but on the other side those who assailed them
+ from the temple of Pallas, Ardettus, and the Lyceum,
+ drove their right wing in confusion back to their camp
+ with great slaughter. In the fourth month of the war
+ a peace was brought about by Hippolyte; for this writer
+ names the wife of Theseus Hippolyte, not Antiope. Some
+ relate that she was slain fighting by the side of Theseus
+ by a javelin hurled by one Molpadia, and that the column
+ which stands beside the temple of Olympian Earth is
+ sacred to her memory. It is not to be wondered at that
+ history should be at fault when dealing with such ancient
+ events as these, for there is another story at variance
+ with this, to the effect that Antiope caused the wounded
+ Amazons to be secretly transported to Chalkis, where they
+ were taken care of, and some of them were buried there,
+ at what is now called the Amazoneum. However, it is
+ a proof of the war having ended in a treaty of peace, that
+ the place near the temple of Theseus where they swore
+ to observe it, is still called Horcomosium, and that the
+ sacrifice to the Amazons always has taken place before the
+ festival of Theseus. The people of Megara also show a
+ burying-place of the Amazons, as one goes from the
+ market-place to what they call Rhus, where the lozenge
+ shaped building stands. It is said that some others died
+ at Chaeronea, and were buried bv the little stream which
+
+ called Hæmon, about which we have treated in the life
+ of Demosthenes. It would appear that the Amazons
+ did not even get across Thessaly without trouble, for
+ graves of them are shown to this day at Skotussa and
+ Kynoskephalæ.
The above is all that is worthy of mention
+ about the Amazons ; for, as to the story which the author
+ of the ‘ Theseid' relates about this attack of the Amazons
+ being brought about by Antiope to revenge herself upon
+ Theseus for his marriage with Phædra, and how she and
+ her Amazons fought, and how Herakles slew them, all this
+ is clearly fabulous. After the death of Antiope, Theseus
+ married Phædra, having a son by Antiope named Hip
+ polytus, or Demophoon, according to Pindar. As for his
+ misfortunes with this wife and son, as the account given
+ by historians does not differ from that which appears in
+ the plays of the tragic poets, we must believe them to
+ have happened as all these writers say.
However, there are certain other legends about
+ Theseus' marriage which have never appeared on the
+ stage, which have neither a creditable beginning nor a
+ prosperous termination: for it is said that he carried off
+ one Anaxo, a Trcezenian girl, and after slaying Sinis and
+ Kerkyon he forced their daughters, and that he married
+ Periboea the mother of Ajax and also Pherebcea and lope
+ the daughter of Iphikles : and, as has been told already,
+ it was on account of his love for Ægle the daughter of
+ Panopeus that he deserted Ariadne, which was a shameful
+ and discreditable action. And in addition to all this he
+ is charged with carrying off Helen, which brought war
+ upon Attica, and exile and destruction on himself; about
+ which we shall speak presently. But, though many
+ adventures were undertaken by the heroes of those times,
+ Herodorus is of opinion that Theseus took no part in any
+ of them, except with the Lapithae in their fight with the
+ Centaurs; though other writers say that he went to
+ Kolchis with Jason and took part with Meleager in the
+ hunt of the Kalydonian boar.
From these legends arises the proverb, “ Not with
+ out Theseus;” also he by himself without any comrades
+
+ came into vogue, " This is another Herakles."
Theseus, together with Adrastus, effected the recovery
+ of the bodies of those who fell under the walls of the
+ Cadmea at Thebes, not after conquering the Thebans, as
+ Euripides puts it in his play, but by a truce and conven
+ tion, according to most writers. Philochorus even states
+ that this was the first occasion on which a truce was made
+ for the recovery of those slain in battle. But we have
+ shown in our ‘ Life of Herakles' that he was the first to
+ restore the corpses of the slain to the enemy. The tombs
+ of the rank and file are to be seen at Eleutheræ, but those
+ of the chiefs at Eleusis, by favour of Theseus to Adrastus.
+ Euripides's play of the ‘ Suppliants' is contradicted by
+ that of AEschylus, the ‘ Eleusinians,' in which Theseus is
+ introduced giving orders for this to be done.
His friendship for Peirithous is said to have
+ arisen in the following manner : He had a great reputa
+ tion for strength and courage; Peirithous, wishing to
+ make trial of these, drove his cattle away from the plain of
+ Marathon, and when he learned that Theseus was pursu
+ ing them, armed, he did not retire, but turned and faced
+ him. Each man then admiring the beauty and courage of
+ his opponent, refrained from battle, and first Peirithous
+ holding out his hand bade Theseus himself assess the
+ damages of his raid upon the cattle, saying that he himself
+ would willingly submit to whatever penalty the other
+ might inflict. Theseus thought no more of their quarrel,
+ and invited him to become his friend and comrade; and
+ they ratified their compact of friendship by an oath.
+ Hereupon, Peirithous, who was about to marry Deidameia,
+ begged Theseus to come and visit his country and meet
+ the Lapithæ. He also had invited the Centaurs to the
+ banquet; and as they in their drunken insolence laid
+ hands upon the women, the Lapithæ attacked them.
+ Some of them they slew, and the rest they overcame, and
+ afterwards, with the assistance of Theseus, banished from
+ their country. Herodorus, however, says that this is not
+ how these events took place, but that the war was going
+ on, and that Theseus went to help the Lapithæ and while
+ on his way thither first beheld Herakles, whom he made
+
+ his labours and wanderings; and that they met with
+ many compliments and much good feeling on both sides.
+ But one would more incline to those writers who tell us
+ that they often met, and that Herakles was initiated by
+ Theseus's desire, and was also purified before initiation at
+ his instance, which ceremony was necessary because of
+ some reckless action.
Theseus was fifty years old, according to
+ Hellanikus, when he carried off Helen, who was a mere
+ child. For this reason some who wish to clear him of
+ this, the heaviest of all the charges against him, say that
+ it was not he who carried off Helen, but that Idas and
+ Lynkeus carried her off and deposited her in his keeping.
+ Afterwards the Twin Brethren came and demanded her
+ back, but he would not give her up; or even it is said
+ that Tyndareus himself handed her over to him, because
+ he feared that Enarsphorus the son of Hippocoon would
+ take her by force, she being only a child at the time.
+ But the most probable story and that which most writers
+ agree in is the following: The two friends, Theseus and
+ Peirithous, came to Sparta, seized the maiden, who was
+ dancing in the temple of Artemis Orthia, and carried her
+ off. As the pursuers followed no farther than Tegea,
+ they felt no alarm, but leisurely travelled through
+ Peloponnesus, and made a compact that whichever of them
+ should win Helen by lot was to have her to wife, but
+ must help the other to a marriage. They cast lots on this
+ understanding, and Theseus won. As the maiden was
+ not yet ripe for marriage he took her with him to
+ Aphidnæ, and there placing his mother with her gave
+ her into the charge of his friend Aphidnus, bidding him
+ watch over her and keep her presence secret. He himself
+ in order to repay his obligation to Peirithous went on a
+ journey with him to Epirus to obtain the daughter of
+ Aidoneus the king of the Molossians, who called his wife
+ Persephone, his daughter Kore, and his clog Cerberus.
+ All the suitors of his daughter were bidden by him to
+ fight this dog, and the victor was to receive her hand.
+ However, as he learned that Peirithous and his friend
+ were come, not as wooers, but as ravishers, he cast them
+
+ means of his dog, but only guarded Theseus strictly.
Now at this period Mnestheus, the son of
+ Peteus, who was the son of Omeus, who was the son of
+ Erechtheus, first of all mankind they say took to the arts
+ of a demagogue, and to currying favour with the people.
+ This man formed a league of the nobles, who had long
+ borne Theseus a grudge for having destroyed the local
+ jurisdiction and privileges of each of the Eupatrids by
+ collecting them all together into the capital, where they
+ were no more than his subjects and slaves; and he also
+ excited the common people by telling them that although
+ they were enjoying a fancied freedom they really had been
+ deprived of their ancestral privileges and sacred rites, and
+ made to endure the rule of one foreign despot, instead of
+ that of many good kings of their own blood.
While he was thus busily employed, the invasion of
+ Attica by the sons of Tyndareus greatly assisted his
+ revolutionary scheme; so that some say that it was he
+ who invited them to come. At first they abstained from
+ violence, and confined themselves to asking that their
+ sister Helen should be given up to them ; but when they
+ were told by the citizens that she was not in their hands,
+ and that they knew not where she was, they proceeded to
+ warlike measures. Akademus, who had by some means
+ discovered that she was concealed at Aphidnae, now told
+ them where she was; for which cause he was honoured
+ by the sons of Tyndareus during his life, and also the
+ Lacedæmonians, though they often invaded the country
+ and ravaged it unsparingly, yet never touched the place
+ called the Akademeia, for Akademus's sake. Dikæarchus
+ says that Echemus and Marathus, two Arcadians, took
+ part in that war with the sons of Tyndareus; and that from
+ the first the place now called Akademeia was then named
+ Echedemia, and that from the second the township of
+ Marathon takes its names, because he in accordance with
+ some oracle voluntarily offered himself as a sacrifice there
+ in the sight of the whole army.
However, the sons of Tyndareus came to Aphidnæ, and
+ took the place after a battle, in which it is said that
+ Alykus fell, the son of Skeiron, who then was fighting on
+
+ said that the place in the territory of Megara where his
+ remains lie is called Alykus. But Hereas writes that
+ Alykus was slain by Theseus at Aphidnæ, and as evidence
+ he quotes this verse about Alykus,
+ “ Him whom Theseus slew in the spacious streets of Aphidnæ,
+ Fighting for fair-haired Helen."
+ But it is not likely that if Theseus had been there, his
+ mother and the town of Aphidnæ would have been taken.
After the fall of Aphidnæ, the people of Athens
+ became terrified, and were persuaded by Mnestheus to admit
+ the sons of Tyndareus to the city, and to treat them as friends,
+ because, he said, they were only at war with Theseus, who
+ had been the first to use violence, and were the saviours
+ and benefactors of the rest of mankind. These words of
+ his were confirmed by their behaviour, for, victorious as
+ they were, they yet demanded nothing except initiation
+ into the mysteries, as they were, no less than Herakles,
+ connected with the city. This was permitted them, and
+ they were adopted by Aphidnus, as Herakles had been by
+ Pylius. They received divine honours, being addressed as
+ " Anakes," either because of the cessation of the war, or
+ from the care they took, when they had such a large army
+ within the walls of Athens, that no one should be wronged ;
+ for those who take care of or guard anything are said to
+ do it " anakos," and perhaps for this reason kings are called
+ “ Anaktes." Some say that they were called Anakas
+ because of the appearance of their stars in the heavens
+ above, for the Attics called " above " “ anekas."
It is said that Æthra, the mother of Theseus,
+ was carried off as a captive to Lacedæmon, and thence to
+ Troy with Helen, and Homer supports this view, when he
+ says that there followed Helen,
+ " Aithra the daughter of Pittheus and large-eyed Klymene."
+ Others reject this verse, and the legend about Mounychus,
+ who is said to have been the bastard son of Laodike, by
+ Demophoon, and to have been brought up in Troy by
+ Aithra. But Istrus, in his thirteenth book of his ‘ History
+ of Attica,' tells quite a different and peculiar story about
+
+ Achilles and Patroklus near the river Spercheius, in
+ Thessaly, and that Hector took the city of Troezen by
+ storm, and amongst the plunder carried off Aithra, who
+ had been left there. But this seems impossible.
Now Aidoneus the Molossian king chanced to
+ be entertaining Herakles, and related to him the story of
+ Theseus and Peirithous, what they had intended to do,
+ and how they had been caught in the act and punished.
+ Herakles was much grieved at hearing how one had
+ perished ingloriously, and the other was like to perish.
+ He thought that nothing would be gained by reproaching
+ the king for his conduct to Peirithous, but he begged for
+ the life of Theseus, and pointed out that the release of his
+ friend was a favour which he deserved. Aidoneus agreed,
+ and Theseus, when set free, returned to Athens, where he
+ found that his party was not yet overpowered. Whatever
+ consecrated grounds had been set apart for him by the city,
+ he dedicated to Herakles, and called Heraklea instead of
+ Thesea, except four, according to Philochorus. But, as he
+ at once wished to preside and manage the state as before,
+ he was met by factious opposition, for he found that those
+ who had been his enemies before, had now learned not to
+ fear him, while the common people had become corrupted,
+ and now required to be specially flattered instead of doing
+ their duty in silence.
He endeavoured to establish his government by force,
+ but was overpowered by faction; and at last, despairing
+ of success, he secretly sent his children to Eubœa, to
+ Elephenor, the son of Chalkodous; and he himself, after
+ solemnly uttering curses on the Athenians at Gargettus,'
+ where now is the place called Araterion, or the place of
+ curses, set sail for Skyros, where he was, he imagined, on
+ friendly terms with the inhabitants, and possessed a
+ paternal estate in the island. At that time Lykomedes
+ was king of Skyros; so he proceeded to demand from him
+ his lands, in order to live there, though some say that he
+ asked him to assist him against the Athenians. Lyko
+ medes, either in fear of the great reputation of Theseus,
+ or else to gain the favour of Mnestheus, led him up to
+ the highest mountain top in the country, on the pretext
+
+ over a precipice. Some say that he stumbled and fell
+ of himself, as he was walking after supper, according
+ to his custom. As soon as he was dead, no one thought
+ any more of him, but Mnestheus reigned over the
+ Athenians, while Theseus's children were brought up as
+ private citizens by Elephenor, and followed him to
+ Ilium. When Mnestheus died at Ilium, they returned
+ home and resumed their rightful sovereignty. In sub
+ sequent times, among many other things which led the
+ Athenians to honour Theseus as a hero or demi-god, most
+ remarkable was his appearance at the battle of Marathon,
+ where his spirit was seen by many, clad in armour, lead
+ ing the charge against the barbarians.
After the Persian war, in the archonship of
+ Phædo, the Athenians were told by the Delphian Oracle
+ to take home the bones of Theseus and keep them with
+ the greatest care and honour. There was great difficulty
+ in obtaining them and in discovering his tomb, on account
+ of the wild and savage habits of the natives of the island.
+ However, Kimon took the island, as is written in my
+ history of his Life, and making it a point of honour to dis
+ cover his tomb, he chanced to behold an eagle pecking
+ with its beak and scratching with its talons at a small
+ rising ground. Here he dug, imagining that the spot had
+ been pointed out by a miracle. There was found the coffin
+ of a man of great stature, and lying beside it a brazen
+ lance-head and a sword. These relics were brought to
+ Athens by Kimon, on board of his trireme, and the de
+ lighted Athenians received them with splendid processions
+ and sacrifices, just as if the hero himself were come to the
+ city. He is buried in the midst of the city, near where
+ the Gymnasium now stands, and his tomb is a place of
+ sanctuary for slaves, and all that are poor and oppressed,
+ because Theseus, during his life, was the champion and
+ avenger of the poor, and always kindly hearkened to their
+ prayers. Their greatest sacrifice in his honour takes
+ place on the eighth of the month of Pyanepsion, upon
+ which day he and the youths came back from Crete. But
+ besides this they hold a service in his honour on the eighth
+ of all the other months, either because it was on the
+
+ from Troezen, as is related by Diodorus the topographer,
+ or else thinking that number to be especially his own,
+ because he is said to have been the son of Poseidon, and
+ Poseidon is honoured on the eighth day of every month.
+ For the number eight is the first cube of an even number,
+ and is double the first square, and therefore peculiarly
+ represents the immovable abiding power of that god whom
+ we address as " the steadfast," and the “ earth upholder.”