theseus and the minotaur in the labyrinth
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Theseus' mother had laid with his father on their wedding night, but that same night, she walked the beach and came across Poseidon, who seduced her, and so she was pregnant with both mortal and godly seeds.
So, Theseus was born part mortal and part divine. His father Aegeus, the King of prehistoric Athens needed no wife, he just needed an heir. He left the boy with his mother and told her to send him to Athens when he was all grown up. Before he left, he hid sandals and and his sword beneath a rock, and said that his son should come to Athens with them as proof that he was his son.
Theseus grew up with his mother and his grandfather, and when the time was right, his mother lead him to the rock where beneath it lay the sword and sandals of his father, he easily rolled it off and put on the sandals and picked up the sword.
After a series of adventures that we won't get into because I'm writing about the main attraction only, Theseus arrived at Athens. Theseus decided to wait until he met his father, and so he researched, and found out that his father, the king, was under control of the evil sorceress Medea. So, when he first met his father, he kept the sword and sandals hidden.
Medea knew who he was though, and she was not happy, because she wanted her son Medus to take the throne. So, she poisoned the king's mind against Theseus, and suggested that he be sent to capture the Marathonian Bull, so that she could br rid of him without having to murder him herself.
And so Theseus set off to kill the bull. Theseus came back to Athens with the dead body of the bull, and Aegeus was coaxed by Medea to be suspicious of him, so he allowed the sorceress to poison Theseus in the celebratory feast.
But, just as Theseus was about to drink the poisoned wine, Aegeus saw the sword and sandals that Theseus wore, and he recognised his son, knocked the cup from his hand and embraced the boy happily. Medea was banished.
But, their troubles hadn't ended yet, Theseus found out that his father had been paying tribute to King Minos after he had been defeated in the war launched by the people of Crete to avenge the murder of their prince, who had been killed by the people of Athens.
The tribute was seven boys and seven girls from the families to athens to be sent every nine years to Crete to be devoured by the Minotaur, the half-man half-beast son of Minos, who lived in the labyrinth. A clever construction with crossed paths that no man could escape.
Despite his father objecting to it, Theseus embarked on the mission as one of the boys, and promised his father that should he return victorious, the sails of their ships would not be black anymore, they would be white.
Theseus made sure to prepare, so he consulted an oracle, and learned that he had to make Aphrodite his patroness, and after all the sacrificed he made to her, he got on the boat to Crete to confront the Minotaur.
Theseus and the others were given an audience with King Minos, where his daughter Ariadne fell in love with Theseus (with a little help from Aphrodite). Ariadne met the boy alone, and they swore eternal love to each other. She gave him a sword to slay the beast and some string, so he could find his way out of the labyrinth.
And so, armed, Theseus entered the labyrinth with his fellow Athenians. Following Ariadne's advice, Theseus tied the string to the entrance and unwinded the rest as he walked through, looking for the beast. He found the Minotaur and killed him with the sword Ariadne provided after a long battle.
Following the thread, Theseus and his companions emerged from the Labyrinth, where they all left, along with Ariadne and docked at Naxos.
There are two versions; one being that Theseus left Ariadne on the island, to be found by Dionysus later, and the other that Theseus had a dream where Dionysus told the hero that Ariadne was destined for him and that he needed to leave her. So, the two lovers said goodbye, and Theseus and his companions left to Athens.
But, they had forgotten to change the sails of the ship, and when Aegeus saw the black sails, he thought Theseus was dead, and so he threw himself into the sea and drowned. Athenians named that sea the Aegean Sea in memory of their king.