By Crawford Wittmann
The Odyssey 9.1
τὸν γὰρ Θησέα φησὶν ὑπὸ χειμῶνος εἰς Κύπρον ἐξενεχθέντα καὶ τὴνἈριάδνην ἔγκυον ἔχοντα, φαύλως δὲ διακειμένην ὑπὸ τοῦ σάλου καὶδυσφοροῦσαν, ἐκβιβάσαι μόνην, αὐτὸν δὲ τῷ πλοίῳ βοηθοῦντα πάλιν εἰς τὸπέλαγος ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς φέρεσθαι. τὰς οὖν ἐγχωρίους γυναῖκας τὴν Ἀριάδνηνἀναλαβεῖν καὶ περιέπειν ἀθυμοῦσαν ἐπὶ τῇ μονώσει, καὶ γράμματα πλαστὰπροσφέρειν, ὡς τοῦ Θησέως γράφοντος αὐτῇ, καὶ περὶ τὴν ὠδῖνα συμπονεῖνκαὶ βοηθεῖν: ἀποθανοῦσαν δὲ θάψαι μὴ τεκοῦσαν. ἐπελθόντα δὲ τὸν Θησέα καὶ περίλυπον γενόμενον τοῖς μὲν ἐγχωρίοιςἀπολιπεῖν χρήματα, συντάξαντα θύειν τῇ Ἀριάδνῃ, δύο δὲ μικροὺςἀνδριαντίσκους ἱδρύσασθαι, τὸν μὲν ἀργυροῦν, τὸν δὲ χαλκοῦν
Translation
" Regret set in and Theseus wondered if he was going to die here, down in the darkness, by himself, next to the rotten body of the minotaur. Suddenly, his hand brushed a piece of string and, with a whoop of delight, he knew he had found the thread which would lead him back out. As he came closer to the entrance of the labyrinth, the darkness began to fade away and he recognized Ariadne, waiting for his return. “You must take me back to Athens with you!” she cried, “My father will kill me when he finds out that I have helped you.” Of course you must come with us,” said Theseus, “it would be cruel to leave you here." Being quiet, they unravelled the mighty black sails of their ship and headed towards home. “I can’t believe how much my life has changed,” said Ariadne, as they sailed across the peaceful ocean towards Athens. “To think that I am free from my cruel father and I will soon marry a mighty prince.” “Married?” said Theseus, “Oh, yes, that will be wonderful.” However, Theseus did not find her very pretty. Then, once the ship arrived at an island on their way home, Theseus sent Ariadne off to search for bread and fruit. The moment she was gone, he set sail and left her stranded on the island. "
Summary
In this myth, Theseus returns to Athens only to meet his ruthless father, Aegus, the current king of Athens. Aegus had sent Minos, the ruler of Crete, son to slay the minotaur although he failed and he was killed. This sparked tension between the two sides. Every year Athens would be forced to sacrifice seven men and women. Eventually, Theseus comes forward as one of the victims. He is the song of Aegus and swears to him that he will slay the Minotuar. As the story goes on one of his companions that is introduced is Ariadne, who seemed to have feelings for Aegus. This relationship ends abruptly after Theseus leaves her abandoned on an island. This is the main part of the story I focussed on because it was a pivotal point and displayed the portrayal of Greek culture. The reader is made to think that Theseus simply did not love her back and wanted nothing to do with her. However, dumping her on an island to die because he didn’t love her is beyond cruel. I think that one reason could be that Theseus wanted all of the credit and fame for slaying the Minotaur for himself and wanted nothing more than to impress his father. If Ariadne had returned with him she, having helped him, would have also been responsible. This is an example of how toxic masculinity and power plays a role in ancient Greek culture. It’s interesting to see what powerful men might do for fame and recognition from their superiors. This is one example of it.
Primary Source Analysis:
This is a terracotta bowl that depicts Theseus slaying the minotaur. You can also see Ariadne behind him. This is one of the earlier representations of Theseus that can be found in Florence Italy. In a scholarly article written by Andrew Greene, department of Greek and Roman Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, he states “This famous black-figure krater shows Theseus during the Cretan episode, and is one of a small number of representations of Theseus dated before 540 B.C. Between 540 and 525 B.C. There was a large increase in the production of images of Theseus, though they were limited almost entirely to painted pottery and mainly showed Theseus as the heroic slayer of the Minotaur. Around 525 B.C., the iconography of Theseus became more diverse and focused on the cycle of deeds involving the brigands and the abduction of Antiope.” From this article, we can understand the true meaning behind Theseus from another person living today. He goes on to talk about how the image of Theseus as strong and muscular makes him seem above everyone else in the painting. He also has straight posture and stands over the Minotaur who looks defeated. Throughout this myth, it became clear that Theseus made himself more important than everyone else and his big ego made him seem above others.
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