Editing Theseus (section)

{{Short description|Legendary king of Athens who slayed the Minotaur}}
{{other uses|Theseus (disambiguation)}}
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{{Use British English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox deity
| type        = Greek
| name        = Theseus
| image       = Wall painting - Theseus victorious over the Minotaur - Pompeii (VII 2 16) - Napoli MAN 9043 - 01.jpg
| caption     = Theseus after having slain the Minotaur, freeing captive Athenian boys; Cretans approaching to marvel the scene, Antique [[fresco]] from [[Pompeii]]
| god_of      = Founder and Patron of [[Athens]]<br />Slayer of the [[Minotaur]]
| consorts    = [[Phaedra (mythology)|Phaedra]], [[Ariadne]], [[Hippolyta]]
| father      = [[Aegeus]] or [[Poseidon]]
| mother      = [[Aethra (mother of Theseus)|Aethra]]
| abode       = [[Elysium]]
| birth_place = [[Troezen]]
| death_place = [[Skyros]]
| festivals   = [[Theseia]]
| symbols     = [[Sword]], [[Corinthian helmet]] (occasionally)
| offspring   = [[Demophon of Athens|Demophon]], [[Acamas (son of Theseus)|Acamas]], [[Hippolytus of Athens|Hippolytus]]
}}
{{Greek mythology sidebar}}
'''Theseus''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|ˈ|θ|iː|sj|uː|s}}, {{IPAc-en|US|ˈ|θ|iː|s|i|ə|s|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Theseus.wav}}; {{langx|grc|Θησεύς}} {{IPA|grc|tʰɛːsěu̯s|}}) was a divine hero in [[Greek mythology]], famous for slaying the [[Minotaur]]. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages.

Theseus is sometimes described as the son of [[Aegeus]], king of Athens,<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.9.16&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Theseus 1.9.16]; [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#14.2 14], [https://topostext.org/work/206#48 48], [https://topostext.org/work/206#173 173], [https://topostext.org/work/206#241 241], [https://topostext.org/work/206#244 244], [https://topostext.org/work/206#251 251], [https://topostext.org/work/206#257 257] & [https://topostext.org/work/206#270 270]</ref> and sometimes as the son of the god [[Poseidon]]. He is raised by his mother, [[Aethra (mother of Theseus)|Aethra]], and upon discovering his connection to Aegeus, travels overland to Athens, having many adventures on the way. When he reaches Athens, he finds that Aegeus is married to [[Medea]] (formerly wife of [[Jason]]), who plots against him.

The most famous legend about Theseus is his slaying of the Minotaur, half man and half bull. He then goes on to unite [[Attica]] under Athenian rule: the ''[[synoikismos]]'' ('dwelling together'). As the unifying king, he is credited with building a palace on the fortress of the [[Acropolis]]. [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] reports that after ''synoikismos'', Theseus established a cult of [[Aphrodite]] ('Aphrodite of all the People') on the southern slope of the Acropolis.

[[Plutarch]]'s ''Life of Theseus'' makes use of varying accounts of the death of the Minotaur, Theseus's escape, and his romantic involvement with and betrayal of [[Ariadne]], daughter of [[King Minos]].<ref group="lower-roman">"May I therefore succeed in purifying Fable, making her submit to reason and take on the semblance of History. But where she obstinately disdains to make herself credible, and refuses to admit any element of probability, I shall pray for kindly readers, and such as receive with indulgence the tales of antiquity." (Plutarch, ''Life of Theseus'', translated by Bernadotte Perrin).</ref>

Plutarch's avowed purpose is to construct a [[Parallel Lives|life that parallels]] the ''Life of [[Romulus]]'', the [[founding myth]] of Rome. Plutarch's sources, not all of whose texts have survived independently, include [[Pherecydes of Athens|Pherecydes]] (mid-fifth&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC), Demon (c. 400&nbsp;BC), [[Philochorus]], and [[Cleidemus]] (both fourth&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC).<ref>Cueva, Edmund P. (1996). "Plutarch's Ariadne in Chariton's Chaereas and Callirhoe." ''[[American Journal of Philology]]'', '''117'''(3):473–84.</ref> As the subject of myth, the existence of Theseus as a real person has not been proven, but scholars believe that he may have been alive during the Late Bronze Age,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/thes/hd_thes.htm|title=Theseus, Hero of Athens|last=Greene|first=Andrew|date=August 2009 |access-date=25 November 2018}}</ref> or possibly as a king in the 8th or 9th century BC.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199997329/student/materials/chapter23/commentary/|title=Classical Mythology Tenth Edition|last1=Morford|first1=Mark|last2=Lenardon|first2=Robert J.|website=Oxford University Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110071244/https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199997329/student/materials/chapter23/commentary/|archive-date=10 November 2014|url-status=live|access-date=31 October 2016|last3=Sham|first3=Michael}}</ref>