When was theseus king of athens

Boardman, John "Herakles. Gehrke, Hans-Joachim. New York: Oxford University Press, Harrison, Evelyn B. Hornblower, Simon, and Antony Spawforth, eds. The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Neils, Jenifer. VII, 1, pp. Servadei, Cristina. La figura di Theseus nella ceramica attica: Iconografia e iconologia del mito nell'Atene arcaica e classica.

Bologna: Ante Quem, Shapiro, H. Washington, D. Art and Cult under the Tyrants in Athens. Mainz am Rhein: Philipp von Zabern, Visiting The Met? Terracotta amphora jar Signed by Taleides as potter.

Terracotta kylix: eye-cup drinking cup. Terracotta lekythos oil flask Attributed to the Diosphos Painter. Terracotta kylix drinking cup Attributed to the Briseis Painter.

Terracotta calyx-krater bowl for mixing wine and water Attributed to a painter of the Group of Polygnotos. Terracotta Nolan neck-amphora jar Attributed to the Dwarf Painter. Terracotta lekythos oil flask Attributed to the Eretria Painter. Marble sarcophagus with garlands and the myth of Theseus and Ariadne.

Citation Greene, Andrew. Camp, John McK. The Archaeology of Athens. When they reached Athens, Theseus made her his queen and Antigone bore her husband a son, Hippolytus. The outraged Amazons did not waste their time and launched their attack towards Athens. Their attack was so strong that they managed to penetrate deep into the Athenian territory. Theseus soon organized his forces and unleashed a vicious counterattack that forced the Amazon warriors to ask for peace.

The unfortunate queen Antigone, however, who had courageously fought alongside Theseus against her own people, died in the battlefield and was deeply mourned by her husband. The next great episode in the life of Theseus was his celebrated friendship with Prithious, prince of the Lapiths, a legendary people from Mt Pelion, Thessaly. Prithious had heard lots of stories about the brave deeds and awesome adventures of Theseus and he wanted to test the renowned hero.

So he made an incursion into Attica with a band of followers and decamped with Theseus' herds of cattle. When our hero, along with his armed men, encountered Prithious, both of them were suddenly struck by an inexplicable admiration for each other. They swore eternal friendship and became inseparable friends. According to legend, the new friends were said to have taken part together in the famed hunt for the Calydonian Boar as well as the battle against the Centaurs, creatures who were part-human, part-horse.

The latter event occurred when one among the Centaurs invited to Prithious' wedding feast got drunk and tried to rape the bride Hippodamia, joined by the other Centaurs, all of whom also tried to rape any woman that was in the celebration. Prithious and his Lapiths, with the help of Theseus, attacked the Centaurs and recovered the honour of their women. Later on, the two friends decided to assist each other to abduct a daughter of Zeus each.

The choice of Theseus was Helen, who was later to become famous as Helen of Troy. The fact that Helen was only nine years old at that timed didn't deter our hero, as he wanted to abduct her and keep her safe until her time to get married would come.

The duo kidnapped Helen first and Theseus left her in the safe custody of his mother, Aethra, at Troizen for a few years. However, the brothers of Helen, Castor and Pollux, rescued the girl and took their sister back to Sparta, their homeland.

After the death of his Amazonian wife Antigone, Theseus had married Phaedra, the sister of Ariadne, the woman he had once betrayed. Phaedra, a young woman that was to have a tragic fate, gave her husband two sons, Demophone and Acamas. Meanwhile Theseus' son by Antigone, Hippolytus, had grown into a handsome youth.

When he turned twenty, he chose to become a devotee of Artemis, the goddess of hunting, hills and forests, and not of goddess Aphrodite, as his father had done. The incensed Aphrodite decided to take her revenge, for this caused Phaedra to fall madly and deeply in love with her handsome stepson.

When Hippolytus scornfully rejected the advances of his mother-in-law, she committed suicide from her despair. However, she had before written a suicide note saying that Hippolytus had raped and dishonored her, which is why she decided to kill herself.

The enraged Theseus prayed to the sea-god Poseidon, one of his fathers, to punish Hippolytus. Indeed, Poseidon sent a monster that frightened the horses drawing the chariot of Hippolytus. The horses went mad overturning the chariot dragging along the youth who had been trapped in the reins.

Theseus, in the meanwhile, had learned the truth from an old servant of Phaedra. He rushed to save his son's life, only to find him almost dead. The poor Hippolytus expired in the arms of his grief-stricken father. This great tradedy has inspired many authors and artists along centuries, starting from Hippolytus , the ancient tragedy of Euripides, till the numerous movies and plays that have been written based on this story.

This incident was the beginning of end for Theseus, who was gradually losing his popularity among the Athenians. His former heroic deeds and services to the state were forgotten and rebellions began to surface all around against his rule. Theseus finally abdicated his throne and took refuge on the island of Skyros. There Lycomedes, the king of the island, thought that Theseus would eventually want to become king of Skyros.

Thus, in the guise of friendship, he took Theseus at the top of a cliff and murdered him, pushing him off the cliff into the sea. This was the tragic end of the life of one of the greatest Greek heroes and the noblest among the Athenians. Contact us Contact us. Sign In. Discover the myth of Theseus, the legendary king Having two fathers Aegeus, one of the prehistoric kings of Athens, although twice married, had no heir to the throne.

Adventures on the way to Athens It wasn't long before Theseus had his first adventure. The Marathonian Bull Theseus finally arrived at his destination, Athens, without encountering any further challenge. Set sail to kill the Minotaur However, the adventures of Theseus did not end at this point.

The love affair with Ariadne: truth or trick? Becoming the king of Athens As the eligible heir, Theseus became King of Athens in the place of his father. The Amazon Antigone, his first wife The next adventure of the restless Theseus got him into a lot of trouble and imperiled the safety of his kingdom.

The abduction of Helen Later on, the two friends decided to assist each other to abduct a daughter of Zeus each. Phaedra, his second wife After the death of his Amazonian wife Antigone, Theseus had married Phaedra, the sister of Ariadne, the woman he had once betrayed.

An end unsuitable for a hero This incident was the beginning of end for Theseus, who was gradually losing his popularity among the Athenians. Things to see in Athens. Things to do in Athens. How to get to Athens? Beaches in Athens. Athens Photos. Where to stay? About Athens. When she awoke, she found herself alone on a desert island. Ariadne was devastated, of course; and she was sure she was going to die a horrible death.

But it just so happened that, later that same day, Dionysus was passing by in the midst of his travels to promote his worship. He saw Ariadne and was so smitten by her beauty that he immediately made her his wife and she became a goddess. So, everything turned out well for Ariadne no thanks to Theseus. And if you travel to the island of Naxos today, you will see a statue of Ariadne, looking out to shore.

Theseus, however, either because he was feeling guilty about his treatment of Ariadne and thus was preoccupied or just from sheer cockiness, forgot to change the sails on his ships. So when Aegeus, watching for the return of his ship, saw the black sails, he was overcome with grief and threw himself into the sea. And that part of the Mediterranean Sea which is just off the coast of the Athenian peninsula, the Aegean Sea, is still named after him.

When Theseus came home to Athens in triumph, he found his city in mourning for the death of the king. At some point, Theseus helped the hero Heracles fight against the Amazons and brought back with him the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyte, as his wife. The Amazons were unhappy to lose their queen and sent a force to attack Athens to regain her.

The two groups fought, and Hippolyte died in battle, but nor before bearing Theseus a son, Hippolytus. But when he brought Phaedra back to Athens, she fell in love with Hippolytus, who was now about 19 or 20 years old and much closer to Phaedra in age than Theseus was. Some say that Aphrodite had caused Phaedra to do this because Hippolytus was a devotee of the virgin goddess Artemis. Since Artemis was a virgin, Hippolytus had vowed to remain a virgin as well, and Aphrodite took this as a personal affront.

In any case, Phaedra was sick with love for the handsome young man. But despite her personal pain, she vowed never to breath a word of her feelings. Nevertheless, somehow, Hippolytus found out. And when he found out, he was both furious and disgusted. He confronted Phaedra and called her a lot of terrible names as you can imagine. As a result, Phaedra became bitterly angry at Hippolytus and vowed revenge.

She knew she had to commit suicide; she could not live with the shame of wanting to commit adultery with her own stepson. But before she killed herself, she wrote a note to Theseus, falsely claiming that his son had raped her. But by now, Theseus was in a rage. He banished Hippolytus from Athens and called upon his father, Poseidon, to kill the youth.

As Hippolytus was driving his chariot out of Athens along the seashore, a terrifying bull emerged from the water. The horses were so frightened that they all reared up and ran in different directions.

Hippolytus got tangled in the reins of his chariot and was eventually pulled apart by his horses. After this had happened, Artemis told Theseus the truth. Theseus now had to live with the terrible truth that he had killed his own son, and for no good reason.