Having no son, King Aegeus of Athens consulted the Delphic oracle, which told him in very obscure terms that he was not to lie with any woman until he reached his home, or he would die of grief. He failed to grasp the meaning, and while visiting King Pittheus at Troezen he got drunk, so Pittheus sent Aethra into him, knowing that this daughter would produce an heir to Aegeus' throne. Some claim that Poseidon also slept with Aethra on that night. In any case, Aegeus showed Aethra a rock under which he was leaving his sandals and sword, and he told her that if she gave birth to a boy and if he grew strong enough to lift the rock and recover the sword and sandals he should come to Athens to claim his inheritance.
In due time Aethra gave birth to Theseus, who grew up strong, athletic, courageous, and intelligent. On reaching manhood Theseus lifted the rock that his mother pointed out, reclaiming the sword and sandals. Now King Aegeus had left a ship by which Theseus might sail safely and easily from Troezen to Athens. But Theseus disdained the easy route, deciding to take the dangerous overland way, which was beset with robbers. Modeling himself upon his heroic cousin, Heracles, Theseus made a resolution not to attack anyone first but to mete out the punishment that fitted the offense. The bandits were rather inventive in their means of murdering travelers. One clubbed them to death with an iron cudgel. Another made them wash his feet and then kicked them off a cliff into the sea, where a man-eating turtle devoured them. And one bent two pines to the ground, tied his victims to the tops and released the trees. The most famous one, Procrustes, tied his victims to the bed, and where they were too long for the bed he cut off their limbs, but when they were too short he stretched them out. Theseus destroyed each of these killers by their own methods, clearing the way to Athens of robbers.
Upon arriving in Athens, Theseus was proclaimed as a hero. However, his father, King Aegeus, had taken in Medea after she escaped Jason, and had fathered sons by her. Medea immediately recognized Theseus as Aegeus' son, so she decided to destroy him in order that her own sons would inherit the throne. Telling Aegeus that Theseus was an evildoer sent by the king's enemies, she invited the new hero to the palace and prepared a poisoned goblet for him with Aegeus' consent. Just before Theseus drank from the cup he pulled his sword as if to cut meat. Aegeus immediately recognized the sword and knocked the goblet from his son's hand. The king rejoiced to find he had such a distinguished son, and Medea was forced to flee to Asia.
To punish Athens for the death of a son King Minos of Crete demanded a tribute of seven maidens and seven youths every nine years. These were to be given to the Minotaur to destroy, a monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man. The Minotaur lived in the Labyrinth, an incredibly complex maze from which it was almost impossible to escape.
The time had come for the tribute of youths and maidens to be paid. Theseus elected to join the party of doomed young people, hoping to destroy the monster and free Athens from King Minos' demands. Aegeus was distressed at the plan, yet he gave his son a black sail to be hoisted in case of disaster and a white one to use in case of victory. So Theseus set sail for the island of Crete.
Upon his arrival Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, fell in love with him and determined to aid him. From Daedalus, the man who constructed the Labyrinth, she obtained a thread by which Theseus could find his way out of the maze once he had entered. Armed with nothing but the thread, Theseus penetrated the Labyrinth with his fellow victims. At length he came upon the Minotaur asleep, and seizing his advantage he pounded the beast to death with his fists. By means of the thread he led his companions to freedom.
Having promised to marry Ariadne, Theseus took her as far as the island of Naxos and deserted her, either by design or by accident. One legend says he loved Phaedra now. He sailed for Athens, but forgot to take down the black sail and hoist the white one. His father, Aegeus, who was watching for the ship from a cliff, saw the black sail of defeat and hurled himself off into the sea in a fit of despair. Ever since then the sea has been called the Aegean.
Theseus then took over the government of Athens. Under his wise supervision a democracy was established, with town council meetings and a popular vote. Theseus himself held the position of commander in chief and allowed the citizens to run things as they wished in the belief that political liberty made people responsible and prosperous. On his own initiative he aided the unfortunate, forcing the city of Thebes to allow the burial of its dead enemies, befriending the blind and exiled Oedipus, and welcoming the bloodstained Heracles to Athens when no one else would have him.
Perhaps one reason Theseus set up a self-running form of government was that he found the cares of rulership oppressive, preferring to engage in heroic and risky exploits. He made an expedition to the land of the Amazons and brought their Queen Hippolyta back as his wife, begetting a son, Hippolytus, on her. The Amazons attacked Athens in turn. When their queen refused to return with them the Amazons, or warrior women, slew her. And Theseus then routed them from his country.
