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When he arrived in Athens, Aegeus was convinced by his wife [[Medea]] that Theseus was dangerous and he sent him against the Marathonian bull which Theseus killed. Medea then tried to offer him poison but Aegeus recognized Theseus as his son because of his sword and banished Medea. The Athenians had been compelled by King [[Minos]] of [[Crete]] to give him seven young men and seven young women every nine years to be put into the labyrinth of Crete and fed to the Minotaur. Theseus volunteered to be one of the seven youths and was taken to Crete. Ariadne, the daughter of Minos fell in love with Theseus and promised to help him if he agreed to marry her. She asked Daedalus for help and he gave Theseus a ball of thread which he fastened to the door of the labyrinth, then killed the Minotaur which he found in the last part of the labyrinth and followed the thread to find his way out. He then released the other prisoners and escaped from Crete with them and Ariadne. They stopped near the island of Naxos where [[Dionysus]] fell in love with Ariadne and carried her with him. Before leaving, Theseus had told Aegeus that if he came back alive, he would raise white sails on his ship as he returned, but he forgot and instead kept the ship's usual black sails, causing Aegeus to think he was dead. In his grief, the King threw himself into the sea which was named the [[Aegean Sea]] after him.
When he arrived in Athens, Aegeus was convinced by his wife [[Medea]] that Theseus was dangerous and he sent him against the Marathonian bull which Theseus killed. Medea then tried to offer him poison but Aegeus recognized Theseus as his son because of his sword and banished Medea. The Athenians had been compelled by King [[Minos]] of [[Crete]] to give him seven young men and seven young women every nine years to be put into the labyrinth of Crete and fed to the Minotaur. Theseus volunteered to be one of the seven youths and was taken to Crete. Ariadne, the daughter of Minos fell in love with Theseus and promised to help him if he agreed to marry her. She asked Daedalus for help and he gave Theseus a ball of thread which he fastened to the door of the labyrinth, then killed the Minotaur which he found in the last part of the labyrinth and followed the thread to find his way out. He then released the other prisoners and escaped from Crete with them and Ariadne. They stopped near the island of Naxos where [[Dionysus]] fell in love with Ariadne and carried her with him. Before leaving, Theseus had told Aegeus that if he came back alive, he would raise white sails on his ship as he returned, but he forgot and instead kept the ship's usual black sails, causing Aegeus to think he was dead. In his grief, the King threw himself into the sea which was named the [[Aegean Sea]] after him.
Theseus then became king of Athens. He followed Heracles in expedition against Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazons and took her sister Antiope with him when he returned. She gave birth to a son who was named Hippolytus after her sister.
The Amazons then attacked Athens and were defeated by Theseus but Antiope fell during the battle. Following the death of Minos, his son Deucalion had become the king of Crete. He made an alliance with Athens and gave his sister Phaedra in marriage to Theseus and she gave birth to two sons named Acamas and Demophon. However, she fell in love with Hippolytus and asked him to lie with her but he refused because he hated all women. Phaedra then lied to Theseus that Hippolytus had attempted to rape her. Hippolytus then escaped from Athens and Theseus asked Poseidon to take revenge on him. When Hippolytus was driving his chariot near the sea Poseidon sent a bull which frightened the horses and Hippolytus was dragged to death. Following this, Phaedra hanged herself.
Later, Theseus made a compact with his ally Pirithous, the king of the Lapithae that they would both marry a daughter of Zeus. Theseus decided to marry Helen who was only twelve years old and carried her away from Sparta. Pirithous decided to marry Persephone and went to Hades with Theseus. Hades tricked them to sit in the Chair of Forgetfulness and they were both bound to it forever but Heracles managed to free Theseus when he visited Hades. While he was gone, Castor and Polydeuces, the brothers of Helen had conquered Athens with the Spartans and the Arcadians and installed Menestheus as the new king. Theseus went to exile in Scyros and asked its king Lycomedes to help him regain his kingship. However, Lycomedes led him near some cliffs under pretence of showing him his lands but instead threw him down from the cliffs and killed him.
== References ==
== References ==
*Apollodorus. The Library.
*Apollodorus. The Library.
*Diodorus Siculus. The Library of History.
*Diodorus Siculus. The Library of History.
*Plutarch. Life of Theseus.
==External Sources==
==External Sources==