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Critical Survey of Mythology & Folklore: Legendary Creatures

Theseus

by Mark Joy

Also known as: Thiseas

Flourished: Early 2000s BCE

Related civilizations: Greece

Major role/position: One of the early legendary kings of Athens, and unifier of Attica

LIFE

The stories of the life of Theseus state that his father was Aegeus, one of the ancient kings of Athens, but also give the sea god Poseidon as his father. Aegeus went to see the Oracle of Delphi to ask if he would ever have a son; the Oracle’s reply was not clear. On his way home, Pittheus, the King of Troezen in Argolis, allowed him to sleep with his daughter Aethra so that he might have a son. But later that same night, the sea god Poseidon slept with Aethra—thus like many legendary Greek heroes, Theseus might be thought to have both a mortal father and an immortal one. When Theseus became an adult, his mother sent him to Athens. Along the way he had many legendary encounters with beings of supernatural strength, and triumphed over them all, adding to his reputation as a man of valor and strength. These battles were known as “The Six Labors.”

Theseus, having slain the Minotaur, frees one of the Athenian boys; Cretans approaching to marvel at the scene. Antique fresco in Pompeii.

CSMFCreatures_p0477_0001.jpg

INFLUENCE

The legendary figure Theseus is thought to be responsible for uniting the people of the Attic region into one political entity, known as Attica. The peninsula in southern Greece, stretching into the Aegean Sea, is the region of Attica. Later serving as king of Athens, Theseus was thought to have led Athens to the position of pre-eminence in Attica. In Athens, his life and exploits were celebrated in a festival called Theseia, held on the eighth day of the month corresponding to October in modern calendars. The Greek writer Plutarch (45 to 127 ce), who lived during the time of Rome’s occupation of Greece, included a life of Theseus in his Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans. The themes of the story of Theseus have been incorporated into many works of drama and fiction from the time of Chaucer and Shakespeare to more recent times.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Joy, Mark. "Theseus." Critical Survey of Mythology & Folklore: Legendary Creatures, edited by Laura Nicosia & James F. Nicosia, Salem Press, 2025. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=CSMFCreatures_0218.
APA 7th
Joy, M. (2025). Theseus. In L. Nicosia & J. F. Nicosia (Eds.), Critical Survey of Mythology & Folklore: Legendary Creatures. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Joy, Mark. "Theseus." Edited by Laura Nicosia & James F. Nicosia. Critical Survey of Mythology & Folklore: Legendary Creatures. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2025. Accessed December 07, 2025. online.salempress.com.