Bio: Aegeus, the childless king lamented upon his lake of an heir and sought the aid of the Oracle of Delphi. She responded with a cryptic words "Do not loosen the bulging mouth of the wineskin until you have reached the height of Athens, lest you die of grief.” The king knew not what these words meant, however his host and friend Pittheus understood quiet well what the words meant. That night, Pittheus made Aegeus drunk and sent his daughter Aethra to his bed where they made love, and thus was conceived Theseus.
Soon sleep overtook Aethra, and within her dreams Athena instructed her to the shore, where upon his chariot Poseidon arose from the see, and possessed Aethra. His divine will permeated the child, and thus he was made child of both the king Aegeus, and the god Poseidon. Aegeus knowing now that Aethra bore his child, buried his sandals and sword beneath a large rock and told her that once his son grew, he was to take these with him to Athens and claim his birth right. He sit out to Athens, leaving Theseus to be born and raised in his mother’s land.
When the time came for Theseus to go forth to Athens, he was given the option to travel safely by sea, or bravely by land. Brave and confident, he chose the more dangerous route, traveling by land and encountering six chthonic bandits, each of whom he defeated before arriving in Athens. Upon his arrival to the city, he came upon Aegeus whom did not recognize Theseus, his wife on the other hand did.
She viewed Theseus as a threat to her own sons rise to the throne, and thus this witch and priest told Theseus of the Marathonian Bull. Wishing to gain favor among the people set out to Marathon to capture it, but along the way he was hindered by a great storm and sought shelter within the hut of an old woman, Hecale. They became fast friends with one another in that short time they spent together, and as he left Hecale made a promise, swearing to give sacrifice to Zeus should Theseus succeed in capturing the Bull.
Theseus had succeeded in capturing the bull, but by then Hecale had died, and so to honor her he created a Deme in her honor upon returning to Athens. The bull was then sacrificed to the gods, and in a celebration Aegeus’ wife attempted to poison Theseus, however before she could succeed Aegeus saw his sandals and sword and ceased this attempt upon his child’s life leaving the traitorous woman to flee to Asia.
Soon after the celebration Theseus had heard news that ships from Crete were upon the horizon and noticed as gloom spread across the city. He soon learned of the horrible tradition the king of Crete had forced upon the Athenians as retribution for his son’s death. He swore to his father and his people to slay the Minotaur, making himself one of the 14 sacrifices. Aegeus protested and so to set his father at ease he showed him the black sails of his ship, and promised upon his return they shall fly white, a sign of his victory.
After arriving to Crete he encountered its princess Ariadne whom fell in love with the hero and agreed to help him should he promise to marry her as reward. The promise was made, and she left to find the architect of the labyrinth, soon learning how he came to exit the massive maze. Soon after she returned to Theseus and he set out into the labyrinth thread to guide his way and sword in hand to slay his foe. It was not long before he came to the center of the maze and its monster the minotaur sleeping within.
Taking this opportunity to strike he set forth to take the beasts head, only for it to awake before the sword could cut off its head. A fierce battle ensued, as Theseus matched the monster blow for blow. Finding an opening he sliced at the monster’s head, and the minotaur barely dodging in time, his mask was cleaved in two exposing his face. Much to Theseus’ surprise it was almost entirely human, but this did not stop him from acting as he maneuvered to the back of the creature and grabbed a hold of it head.
Fumbling to get his sword, Theseus saw fear and sorrow in its eyes, as tears began to well up, it is then that he realized it was not a monster he fought but a frightened boy. Grabbing his sword, and with tears of his own he said, “I want to save you” and plunged the blade into the Minotaur.
He exited the maze he encountered Ariadne again whom cheered and fawned over Theseus, however the hero found no reason to be cheerful. “Why are you so glum my love, you have defeated the horrid Minotaur?” She asked Theseus said nothing as the boarded the ship. The journey back long they stayed a night upon the island Naxos where Ariadne wishing to cheer up her future husband began to rake her brain for a solution and found one.
She clung to his arm and said, “Want to hear a joke, my mother actually name that horrid beast, it was called Asterios. Isn’t that hilarious?” And laughed. This brought nothing but rage to Theseus, as he pushed her away and with barely constrained rage told her “I shall never marry a woman who so callously laughs at another’s death.” He left her upon the island, where eventually she was wed to Dionysus, but remained better all her days.
Setting sail again, Theseus remained alone in his cabin, still distraught from his battle with Asterios, Theseus forgot his promise this his father and thus his ship bore black sails. His father Aegeus saw this and feel into despair, believing his son to be dead. In this despair he flung himself from the cliff and perished upon the rocks below adding to Theseus’ sorrow once he had learned of this.
For days he grieved both his father and Asterios, but as time worn on his wounds healed, and Theseus ascended to king of Athens, ruling with compassion and love. Not long after this Hercules came to Athens, asking of Theseus a ship to carry him to the Amazons, so he may complete his ninth task. Theseus saw in Hercules a sorrow and pain not unlike his own, and so not only provided the ship, but himself as companion.
As the sailed onwards, Theseus remained at Hercules side, and soon learned the tragedy of his life, and the purpose of his labors. Soon they were at the amazon’s shores, and upon setting foot were attacked by Hippolyta and Melanippe. The two amazons fought the heroes atop horseback but soon Melanippe was torn from her horse capturing her. An agreement was struck between Hippolyta and the heroes, Melanippe was set free and they were brought to Themyscira to receive their prize.
Attracted to Hercules strength, Hippolyta made love to him for an entire day, and in that time, Hera spread among the amazons. Hippolyta’s sisters gathered their forces, and each set themselves a task, Melanippe went to raid and destroy their ships, Antiope guarded Theseus while Penthesilea went to fight Hercules. In the ensuing conflict Hercules killed Hippolyta, enraged by what he perceived to be betrayal, Theseus captured Antiope as a hostage, and Melanippe succeed in her goal, though only partially.
Planning for such an event Theseus ensured he brought multiple ships. Moreover Melanippe having no experience at sea set herself a drift in the first ship she raided, leaving two more for the heroes to board. Making their way to the ships, the two heroes set sail for Athens, Antiope still in tow.
While aboard the ship Antiope made many attempts upon Hercules, only for Theseus to stop her by one means or another. More than that he was kind and respectful to the amazon, teaching her to sail, cheering her on as she competed against his men, and playing game with her. When the confused amazon asked why he was so kind to someone seeking revenge against his friend, Theseus told her the tale of Hercules the hero, and Hercules the broken man. With this she stopped her attempts on his life concluding that “If guilt is so heavy a burden, then surely to live his whole life with it shall be more than adequate vengeance.”
After arriving at Athens, Theseus began to prepare another ship to send Antiope back home, only for her to ask to stay so she may “properly enjoy her revenge.” Theseus made room for her in his palace, and with each passing day their love for each other grew until finally they were wed. Not long after she bore his son Hippolytus named in honor of Antiope’s sister.
Time passed and the new king of Crete, wishing to repair relations with Athens, offered his sister Phaedra to be Theseus’ wife. While some legends claim he left Antiope for Phaedra, the truth is that both he and his wife married the princess, their love to great to separate them. Soon enough that love spread to Phaedra as well, and the lived happily, until one day the amazons in an attempt to save Antiope attacked Athens beginning the Atic War.
Theseus and Antiope entered the battle, fighting atop Aerophagus, reluctantly taking the lives of many amazons. One amazon took aim at Theseus, letting loose her arrow to end the hero however Antiope stepped taking the arrow for her husband, and dying to it. Enraged Theseus charged forth and claimed the life of the amazon that took his wife from him.
Distraught at yet another lost, much like last time the wounds upon his heart heal and he would find new family as they did. He became fast friends with Pirithos, proving his worth to him by driving a stampede of cattle away from Marathon, and helping the king fight against fierce centaurs. With these adventures helping to hasten the healing, his heart had recovered enough to face yet another tragedy.
His son Hippolytus had dedicated himself to the goddess Artemis, angering Aphrodite whom believed the boy to be hers, having been born of deep love. To punish the boy for what she believed to be a transgression, she made his step mother Phaedra fall in love with him. He rejected her advances, and in vengeance she told Theseus that Hippolytus had rapped her. Angered at this Theseus implored Poseidon to take vengeance upon Hippolytus for him.
Unfortunately the sea god did so by scaring the boy’s horses as he rode in his chariot, soon bringing him to death. Upon hearing this Phaedra took her own life, Artemis informing Theseus of the truth soon after. He promise to take vengeance upon one of Aphrodite’s followers did nothing to console him.
Ariadne still better of her earlier rejection and blaming Theseus for her sister’s death begged her husband to punish Theseus, to make him lose all he had left. Dionysus answered his wife’s prayers, returning to Theseus the brashness and stupidity of his youth, making it easy for Pirithos to convince Theseus to find a new bride, one descended from Zeus. Thus he came to abduct the young Helen and soon after leaving the girl with his mother set forth with Pirithos to the Underworld to “rescue” Persephone.
Much to their surprise Hades greeted them kindly presenting to the two comfortable chairs to set upon as they waited for Persephone. To foolish to see the trap they sat down snakes coiling around them before turning to stone trapping them to these chairs for all eternity. Months passed, the two kept alive by Hades, when finally Hercules arrived to complete his final labor.
The hero set free Theseus, but as he went for Pirithos the ground shook and Hades voice boomed “HE STAYS!!!” Reluctantly Theseus left his friend there, and as he left the underworld Hades lifted his curse, not out of kindness, but so Theseus could fully experience the guilt and despair which lay ahead of him.
In the time he spent in the underworld the Dioscuri Castor and Pollux had attacked Athens, so as to rescue their young sister Helen. This tragedy wrought by Theseus’ foolishness caused him to lose the favor of his people, and so he fled to Skyros, intending to spend the rest of his day with a friend of his father Lycomedes. Unfortunately Lycomedes jealous of Theseus’ fame and fearing he may take his throne pushed Theseus off a cliff brining an end to the hero. Theseus live a life filled with many joys and sorrows, his legend being recorded into the Throne of Heroes.
Originally Posted by Wyvern
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