Theseus; Fiction or History?
The Minoan civilization was discovered in the island of Crete in 1905 when excavations lead by Sir Arthur Evans took place at Knossos. Evans observed the use of carved seal stones by the Native Cretians as pendants, that dated back nearly four thousand years. This lead to the thought an ancient Civilization may have resided on Crete. Evans named the civilization for the King Minos, who was characterised in the myth of Theseus. Today, the myth of Theseus is seen as just that, a myth, a work of fiction, but in the ancient Greek civilization, myths were believed to be accurate historical accounts. Through the Minoan culture, the Labyrinth found at Knossos and the human habit of exaggeration, it is highly probable similar events to the myth of Theseus could have unfolded in Minoan society.
The myth of Theseus states a Minotaur lived in a Labyrinth near to the Minos’s kingdom and demanded sacrifices
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Often, if an event is not recorded in print, but only spread by word of mouth, the event can become highly exaggerated and inaccurate. Robert Ruark 's Stories Grow Taller in Fresh Air, explains the fact that exaggerating events is unavoidable. It is cause for people to find interest in the story and the need to know how it ends, "It is a sin to call it lying. It isn 't, really. It’s taking nice, honest cloth and embroidering a pretty design on it. You can 't do the embroidery without you got the cloth first.” (Ruark 75) Every time a story is passed on from one to another, the narrator takes the original story and adds something of their own. The smallest details could change, but each time the truth becomes a little more blurred, and further from actual events. In the case if the Minoans, the myth of Theseus could have once been a reality; the telling of true events could have gone through this same process of
Theseus, The Great Athenian hero, was the son of Dianae and King Aegeus. Theseus had something that not many children at his age didn’t have, “he grew up strong far beyond others” (210). When he was young his father, King Aegeus, set a hollow sword and a pair of shoes and placed a great
His mother placed a pair of shoes and a sword so that when he was old enough and strong he would be sent to Athens. Once he started to grow up and go through maturity he could push the rock to aside, grabbed the sword and put on the shoes and began his long journey to Athens. Later when Minos beats the Athens they had a punishment that every nine years they had to send seven boys and girls into the labyrinth with the Minotaur. Theseus offers himself and if he lives he will change his black sail to a white one so on his return to Aegeus so they will know if he is alive.
It can be tempting to look at myth and think of it in historical terms. There’s an amount of intuitive plausibility to their myths where it could be argued that it’s capturing an element of history and transmitting it through oral narratives. This could be seen in a great number of myths, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and the myth of Theseus included. But there is too much “other” going on in these myths to make them strictly historical. With the myth of Theseus, this “other” is too politically motivated for propaganda not to be part of its function. By analyzing the myth itself and how myth can be used as propaganda and applying that to this myth, it’s clear that the myth of Theseus is more than just an entertaining story, or a snapshot of history.
It is an universal acknowledge that Theseus is a Greek hero, mentioned in myths by people. Which he volunteered to be a tribute and sacrifice to the Minotaur, in order to kill the Minotaur . At the end he successfully slew it with Ariadne's help who fell in love with him and promised to marry him.
Theseus first displays his heroic nature when he was seven years old. Hercules came home and took of his lion’s skin. Convincing as it looks, Theseus friends ran away. “Theseus quickly grabbed an axe and fiercely attacked it” (244). Theseus was ready to risk his life at the age of seven. Theseus friends were terrified but Theseus showed them that he was fearless. Many thrive to obtain the characteristic of fearless and are willing to do anything to achieve the title. Perseus announces that he has no family wealth for the king but Perseus can offer his service. “I would even kill the terrible Gorgon Medusa”(200). Perseus behead the mortal Gorgon with one slice of his sharp sickle. Perseus risked his life just to prove his loyalty and courage. Theseus is a number of heroic things such as strong, selfless etc. Most importantly he is fearless and continuously is able to display it through his actions. Theseus courageously and fearlessly volunteered himself to kill the Minotaur just like how he killed Marathon. This shows that he’s not afraid to kill anyone. He was admired by many, including the Athenians due to his courage and honour. Theseus was known to defeat extremely difficult
The title of Wroth’s poem alludes to the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Theseus was an Athenian prince who promised to slay the Minotaur, which was located in the Labyrinth designed by Daedalus in Crete. The Minotaur was a half-man, half-bull hybrid monster that was fed fourteen human tributes from Athens every year. King Minos, ...
In time, all stories are changed or diluted. How the legend is told becomes slightly biased by the person telling it, or fragments are lost to memory. One of the best examples is the cultural view regarding the Greek God of Death and the Underworld, Hades.
Pyramus was the cute boy next door, and Thisbe the prettiest girl in the entire neighborhood. They lived right next door to each other. Their parents were in a dispute over rent money; Thisbe’s father was the manager of the apartments and Pyramus’s parents had been late on their payments for a few months now. The kids were not allowed to talk or to see each other. One thing, however, they could not forbid- their young and carefree love that pound in each others hearts. They conversed by signs and glances, and the fire burned more intensely for being covered up.
There are a lot of stories in the world floating from person to person. One short tale can can give a writer the inspiration for a whole series of novels or movies. Take “Theseus and the Minotaur” and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins for example. The ideas are similar in many ways, The Hunger Games story just modernizes them. In an interview with Suzanne Collins, she told us her inspiration for writing the film. She says, “It’s very much based on the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, which I read when I was eight years old… In her own way, Katniss is a futuristic Theseus. But I didn’t want to do a labyrinth story. So I decided to write basically an updated version of the Roman gladiator games.” The Hunger Games retells the myth of “Theseus and the Minotaur” by expressing fake love, portraying the main characters as heroic figures, and using the archetypal example of fire.
Not Knowing that Theseus was his son he had planned on poising him. Theseus then pulled his sword on the king, king Aegeus instantly recognized the sword and proclaimed to the city of Athens that Theseus is his son and heir. Years before Theseus had arrived to Athens the king of Crete Minos’ son, Androgeus was visiting the Athenian King Aegeus. Aegeus, “he had sent his guest on an expedition full of peril to kill a dangerous bull” (Hamilton 2. 211). Unfortunately Mino’s son had died on the expedition and Minos acted violently and invaded the country capturing Athens. He declared that he would destroy the city unless every nine years the people sent him a tribute of seven maidens and seven youths to the Labyrinth for the Minotaur to devour them. The year had came for the sacrifices for the Minotaur, Theseus at once came forward and offered himself to be one of the victims, in hope of killing the Minotaur in order to stop the sacrifices and save his
Knossos was centered on a palace, which was a very complex building. According to Greek mythology the palace was designed by architect Daedalus’, were anyone placed in it could never find its exit. King Minos then held the architect prisoner so that no one would ever get ahold of the palaces building plan. The palace occupies and area greater than 20,000 sq. meters and has its own sewage system. The center of the palace was its throne room, which was adorned with frescoes depicting the mythical creatures called “gr...
I am a faience figurine of a Minoan Snake Goddess from the Aegean era. I was discovered by a British archaeologist called Arthur Evans in the year 1903 in the Temple Repositories. The Temple Repositories was located on the site of the palace of Knossos on the Aegean Island of Crete.
Greek mythology is a beloved part of literature that has given humans thousands of stories to tell. From stories about deadly quests, powerful deities, to the even more famed aspect of Greek Mythology, its epic heroes. One of the many authors who took inspiration from Greek Mythology, and will serve as reference for this paper, is Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. 1988. The most well known epic heroes from Greek Mythology which Edith Hamilton writes about in her book are Hercules, Jason, Perseus, and Theseus, but the debate lies in which of these heroes is the best. To which the answer is, Theseus is the better epic hero because he possessed superior strength, intelligence, and courage, he was the most just from all other heroes,
Jameson, Michael. "Mycenaean Religion." Archaeology 13, no. 1 (1960): 33-39. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41663732 (accessed April 21, 2014).
The Minoan civilization was comprised of the inhabitants on the island of Crete, which is southeast of mainland Greece. As a whole, their history is not very well known and a lot of what is known about their culture today is still loosely based off of mythology. The Minoan language is still mostly untranslatable, so many historians rely on works of art to get an inside look at the aspects of Minoan life. According to