What makes theseus a mythic hero

At the suggestion of Daedalus, the creator of the Labyrinth, Ariadne provides him with a sword and spool of thread to find his way back through the Labyrinth. Approach Theseus enters the Labyrinth. He must travel through the complex maze devised by Daedalus.

Ordeal Theseus battles with and slays the Minotaur. He uses the thread to make his way out of the Labyrinth. Reward Theseus rescues the young Athenians and takes Ariadne on the boat bound for Greece. Road Back The ship makes a stop at the island of Naxos, and Ariadne is left behind. Atonement Atonement doesn't fit well with Theseus' story. If anything, this is the opposite of atonement.

Theseus forgets to change the sail from black to white to show he had survived. In grief, his father commits suicide. Return Theseus returns to Athens to find that his father has died.

He is now the new king of Athens. Template and Class Instructions These instructions are completely customizable. Student Instructions Use the story of Theseus and map it to the narrative structure of the Hero's Journey.

Click "Start Assignment". Depict and describe how the chosen character's story fits or does not fit into each of the stages of the Hero's Journey. Finalize images, edit, and proofread your work.

Rubric You can also create your own on Quick Rubric. Heroic Journey Rubric. Stages and steps of the hero's journey are exemplary and applied to the hero clearly, precisely, and correctly. Knowledge and examples of the archetypal hero are evident. Abundant examples are used to support claims. Most stages and steps of the hero's journey are accurately applied to the hero.

Strong knowledge of the archetypal hero is apparent, and some traits, but not all, are applied. Many examples are used to support claims. Some stages and steps of the hero's journey are accurately applied to their hero.

Some knowledge of the archetypal hero is evident and has been applied, but is not sufficient. Some examples are used to support claims. Stages and steps of the hero's journey are inaccurately applied to their hero, or not enough stages are incorporated. A little knowledge of the archetypal hero is evident. Few to no examples are used to support claims. Both heroes additionally have links to Athena and similarly complex parentage with mortal mothers and divine fathers.

Theseus became king and therefore part of the historical lineage of Athens, whereas Herakles remained free from any geographical ties, probably the reason that he was able to become the Panhellenic hero. Ultimately, as indicated by the development of heroic iconography in Athens, Herakles was superseded by Theseus because he provided a much more complex and local hero for Athens.

This famous black-figure krater shows Theseus during the Cretan episode, and is one of a small number of representations of Theseus dated before B. Between and B. Around B. The episode is treated in a work by the lyric poet Bacchylides.

In the mid-fifth century B. Additionally, the shield of Athena Parthenos, the monumental chryselephantine cult statue in the interior of the Parthenon, featured an Amazonomachy that included Theseus. The rise in prominence of Theseus in Athenian consciousness shows an obvious correlation with historical events and particular political agendas. In the early to mid-sixth century B. It is worth noting that Athenian democracy was not equivalent to the modern notion; rather, it widened political involvement to a larger swath of the male Athenian population.

Nonetheless, the beginnings of this sort of government could easily draw on the Synoikismos as a precedent, giving Solon cause to elevate the importance of Theseus. Additionally, there were a large number of correspondences between myth and historical events of this period. As king, Theseus captured the city of Eleusis from Megara and placed the boundary stone at the Isthmus of Corinth, a midpoint between Athens and its enemy.

Domestically, Theseus opened Athens to foreigners and established the Panathenaia, the most important religious festival of the city. Historically, Solon also opened the city to outsiders and heightened the importance of the Panathenaia around B. When the tyrant Peisistratos seized power in B. Peisistratos took Theseus to be not only the national hero, but his own personal hero, and used the Cretan adventures to justify his links to the island sanctuary of Delos and his own reorganization of the festival of Apollo there.

Under Kleisthenes, the polis was reorganized into an even more inclusive democracy, by dividing the city into tribes, trittyes, and demes, a structure that may have been meant to reflect the organization of the Synoikismos.

Kleisthenes also took a further step to outwardly claim Theseus as the Athenian hero by placing him in the metopes of the Athenian treasury at Delphi, where he could be seen by Greeks from every polis in the Aegean. The oligarch Kimon ca. After the first Persian invasion ca. At this time, the Amazonomachy became a key piece of iconography as the Amazons came to represent the Persians as eastern invaders.

In B. This act represented the final solidification of Theseus as national hero. Greene, Andrew. The lovely Antigone, sister of the Queen of the Amazons was sent as an emissary to find out whether the intentions of the strangers were peaceful or not.

Theseus took one look at the beautiful emissary and forgot all about diplomatic affairs. He immediately set sail to Athens with the dumbfounded Antigone. The warrior-lady must have been impressed with the intrepid king of Athens, as she apparently didn't object to her own abduction.

When they reached Athens, Theseus made her his queen and Antigone bore her husband a son, Hippolytus. The outraged Amazons did not waste their time and launched their attack towards Athens. Their attack was so strong that they managed to penetrate deep into the Athenian territory. Theseus soon organized his forces and unleashed a vicious counterattack that forced the Amazon warriors to ask for peace. The unfortunate queen Antigone, however, who had courageously fought alongside Theseus against her own people, died in the battlefield and was deeply mourned by her husband.

The next great episode in the life of Theseus was his celebrated friendship with Prithious, prince of the Lapiths, a legendary people from Mt Pelion, Thessaly.

Prithious had heard lots of stories about the brave deeds and awesome adventures of Theseus and he wanted to test the renowned hero.

So he made an incursion into Attica with a band of followers and decamped with Theseus' herds of cattle. When our hero, along with his armed men, encountered Prithious, both of them were suddenly struck by an inexplicable admiration for each other. They swore eternal friendship and became inseparable friends. According to legend, the new friends were said to have taken part together in the famed hunt for the Calydonian Boar as well as the battle against the Centaurs, creatures who were part-human, part-horse.

The latter event occurred when one among the Centaurs invited to Prithious' wedding feast got drunk and tried to rape the bride Hippodamia, joined by the other Centaurs, all of whom also tried to rape any woman that was in the celebration.

Prithious and his Lapiths, with the help of Theseus, attacked the Centaurs and recovered the honour of their women. Later on, the two friends decided to assist each other to abduct a daughter of Zeus each. The choice of Theseus was Helen, who was later to become famous as Helen of Troy. The fact that Helen was only nine years old at that timed didn't deter our hero, as he wanted to abduct her and keep her safe until her time to get married would come.

The duo kidnapped Helen first and Theseus left her in the safe custody of his mother, Aethra, at Troizen for a few years. However, the brothers of Helen, Castor and Pollux, rescued the girl and took their sister back to Sparta, their homeland.

After the death of his Amazonian wife Antigone, Theseus had married Phaedra, the sister of Ariadne, the woman he had once betrayed. Phaedra, a young woman that was to have a tragic fate, gave her husband two sons, Demophone and Acamas.

Meanwhile Theseus' son by Antigone, Hippolytus, had grown into a handsome youth. When he turned twenty, he chose to become a devotee of Artemis, the goddess of hunting, hills and forests, and not of goddess Aphrodite, as his father had done. The incensed Aphrodite decided to take her revenge, for this caused Phaedra to fall madly and deeply in love with her handsome stepson. When Hippolytus scornfully rejected the advances of his mother-in-law, she committed suicide from her despair.

However, she had before written a suicide note saying that Hippolytus had raped and dishonored her, which is why she decided to kill herself.

The enraged Theseus prayed to the sea-god Poseidon, one of his fathers, to punish Hippolytus. Indeed, Poseidon sent a monster that frightened the horses drawing the chariot of Hippolytus.

The horses went mad overturning the chariot dragging along the youth who had been trapped in the reins. Theseus, in the meanwhile, had learned the truth from an old servant of Phaedra.

He rushed to save his son's life, only to find him almost dead. The poor Hippolytus expired in the arms of his grief-stricken father. This great tradedy has inspired many authors and artists along centuries, starting from Hippolytus , the ancient tragedy of Euripides, till the numerous movies and plays that have been written based on this story. This incident was the beginning of end for Theseus, who was gradually losing his popularity among the Athenians.

His former heroic deeds and services to the state were forgotten and rebellions began to surface all around against his rule. Theseus finally abdicated his throne and took refuge on the island of Skyros.

There Lycomedes, the king of the island, thought that Theseus would eventually want to become king of Skyros. Thus, in the guise of friendship, he took Theseus at the top of a cliff and murdered him, pushing him off the cliff into the sea.

This was the tragic end of the life of one of the greatest Greek heroes and the noblest among the Athenians. Contact us Contact us. Sign In. Discover the myth of Theseus, the legendary king Having two fathers Aegeus, one of the prehistoric kings of Athens, although twice married, had no heir to the throne.

Adventures on the way to Athens It wasn't long before Theseus had his first adventure. The Marathonian Bull Theseus finally arrived at his destination, Athens, without encountering any further challenge. Set sail to kill the Minotaur However, the adventures of Theseus did not end at this point. The love affair with Ariadne: truth or trick? Becoming the king of Athens As the eligible heir, Theseus became King of Athens in the place of his father.

The Amazon Antigone, his first wife The next adventure of the restless Theseus got him into a lot of trouble and imperiled the safety of his kingdom. The abduction of Helen Later on, the two friends decided to assist each other to abduct a daughter of Zeus each.

Phaedra, his second wife After the death of his Amazonian wife Antigone, Theseus had married Phaedra, the sister of Ariadne, the woman he had once betrayed. An end unsuitable for a hero This incident was the beginning of end for Theseus, who was gradually losing his popularity among the Athenians.

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