But this perfectly natural feeling of Medea’s led to a very evil act. As she had a son whom she wished to place on the throne after King Aegeus was gone, perhaps it was natural that she should be sorry to have Theseus come to Athens. At this time Medea, a beautiful woman and a famous sorceress, was living in the king’s palace. In fact, only one man in all Athens knew nothing of his coming, and that man was his own father, Aegeus, the king. Medea handing the cup to King Aegeus, by William Russell Flint, 1911, $\ccpd$īy the time that Theseus reached Athens, he was well known in that city for the people all along the way had been eager to spread the news of what he had done. ![]() Afterward, other robbers and giants met the same fate. If they were too tall for his bed, he would cut off their heads or their feet if they were too short for it, he would stretch them to fit it. Not far away lived another robber, Procrustes, who used to pretend to entertain strangers at his hotel of sorts. ![]() One giant named Sinis would bend down the tops of two pine trees, tie travelers to the trees, and then let them spring back again, splitting the traveler in two, catapulting them across the land. He had not gone far among the wild rocks near Troezen before he was attacked by robbers and giants, but none of them could defeat Theseus and his father’s sword. Aethra’s father, who was getting old and weak, thought that Theseus had better go by sea, but Theseus said, ” No! Do I not hold my father’s good sword? I will go by land, and if I meet with any adventures, so much the better.” So Theseus said goodbye to his mother and his grandfather and began his journey by land. Then taking the sword and the sandals from under it, he secured the sword at his side, put the sandals on his feet, and was soon ready to set out for Athens.Īt that time the country between Troezen and Athens was wild and rocky, and behind many of the rocks lurked giants and robbers, ready to jump out and attack lonely travelers but by sea, the way was much safer. This was the last that Aethra had ever seen of Aegeus, but she knew that he was the king of Attica and sat on the throne in the beautiful city of Athens.Īt last the time came when Theseus had reached a man’s full strength and could lift the great rock. Then rolling the rock back into its place, he told Aethra that when Theseus was strong enough to lift this rock, she might let him take the sword and sandals and go to his father in Athens. There he lifted a huge rock and buried underneath it his sword and sandals. One day, long before the earliest time that Theseus could remember, Aegeus, the father of Theseus, took Aethra out in the forest near the mountain side. Theseus and his mother Aethra lived at the bottom of a great mountain, at a place called Troezen. ![]() Theseus Finds His Father’s Sword, by Nicolas Poussin, 1638, $\ccpd$
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