Greece - Theseus and Athens - Birth Flashcards
Where had Aegeus been and why?
To Delphi, where he had been asking how to get an heir
Where did Aegeus go on his way home and why?
To King Pittheus of Trozen, a small city south of Athens to ask if he could interpret some oracles riddling response.
What did Pittheus realise and what did he do?
The next time Aegeus had sex he would conceive a son, so he got Aegeus drunk and induced him to sleep with his daughter Aethra
What happened the same night Aethra conceived Theseus?
She received a message from Athena in a dream that she should wade to the island of Sphairia that lay close to the Teoezen shore
What happened when she arrived there and what did this mean for Theseus?
Poseidon emerged from the sea and coupled with Aethra and so the child she carried contained both human and godly characteristics
What did Aegeus think would happen after the child was born and what did he do about it?
Aeugeus was worried that Theseus’ cousins in Athens would be jealous and kill Theseus, so left Aethra in Troezen
What did Aegeus do before he left?
Placed his sandals and sword under a rock and told Aethra that if her son was worthy to be his heir he would lift the rock and bring the sandals and sword back to him
What happened when Theseus came of age?
Aethra led him to the rock and told him of his true parentage
Did Theseus get the sandals and sword?
Yes, easily
There were two routes to Athens. Which one did Aethra and Pittheus beg Theseus to take?
The easiest way - by boat, not the land of peril, contain monsters and villains
Which route did Theseus take and why?
The perilous land, as he had long looked up to his cousin Heracles’ labours, and long to equal his achievements
