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Theseus

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490 BCE Battle of Marathon. Battles of Thermopylae & Salamis. Battle of Plataea Athens triumphant ... Euripides' Suppliant Women. Plutarch's Life of Theseus ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Theseus


1
Chapter 23
  • Theseus the Legends of Attica

2
A little background
  • 5th c. BCE Athens golden age
  • 490 BCE Battle of Marathon
  • Battles of Thermopylae Salamis
  • Battle of Plataea Athens triumphant
  • 431-404 BCE Peloponnesian War
  • Athenian ideals in question
  • Melian Dialog from Thucydides History

3
What about those snaky guys?
  • Cecrops (1st king) and Erichthonius ½
    serpentine
  • Serpent autochthonous
  • Erichthonius upbringing Athena takes up job
    after unfortunate incident with Cecrops
    daughters
  • Can Athens really be autochthonous? Why does it
    matter?

4
Erechtheus 3rd king
  • Erechtheum on Acropolis contained
  • wooden statue of Athena
  • Olive tree from Athena
  • Salt spring from Poseidon
  • Tomb of Erechtheus
  • See p. 596 for plan of Erechtheum

5
Legends of Theseus
  • Athens city on the rise needs a hero
  • Cimon discovers and transports Theseus bones to
    Athens, c. 475 BCE
  • Theseus gets build-up from authors a Hercules
    like figure just for Attica.

6
Labors of Theseus
  • Periphetes Corynetes (Club)
  • Sinis Pityocamptes (Pine-bender)
  • Sow of Crommyon
  • Sciron
  • Cercyon
  • Procrustes (Stretcher)
  • See p. 602 for illustration, and addition of
    Bull of Marathon

7
Theseus recognized
  • Always pays to have your own eating utensils
  • Medea as evil stepmother.

8
The Cretan Incident
  • Historical background
  • Athens as client state to Crete
  • Cretan worship of bull
  • The labyrinth
  • Mythological background
  • Pasiphae Minotaur
  • Death of Androgeos

9
The Cretan Incident (contd)
  • Theseus volunteers as 1/14
  • Contest on Board Ship
  • Minos Theseus have connexions
  • See Bacchylides, Dithyramb 17, p. 604
  • Ariadnes help
  • Goddess or mortal?
  • Wreath or string?

10
Return to Athens
  • Ariadne on Naxos
  • What about those black sails?
  • Aegean sea

11
Theseus Reputation
  • Was there an historical Theseus?
  • The idealized king
  • Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus
  • Euripides Heracles
  • Euripides Suppliant Women
  • Plutarchs Life of Theseus
  • Athenian proverbial tag not without Theseus.
  • But
  • Euripides Hippolytus

12
Theseus closet
  • Kidnapping Helen
  • Attempted kidnapping of Persephone
  • Abandoning of Ariadne
  • Death in exile

13
More on Minoan Crete
  • Daedalus marital aids
  • Building the Labyrinth
  • Taking flight quite literally
  • Fall of Icarus
  • Daedalus as Athenian

14
Other stories
  • Cephalus Procris
  • Problem of jealousy
  • Procne, Philomela Tereus
  • swallow and nightengale
  • Used as device in Shakespeares Titus Andronicus
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