words together. Then Medea took a silver bowl, filled it with water,
and, drawing her dark silken mantle over her head, she sat gazing into
the bowl. When she had gazed silently for a long time she said: 'Some of
them are going towards Sphettus, where their father dwells, to summon
his men in arms, and some are going to Gargettus on the other side of
the city, to lie in ambush, and cut us off when they of Sphettus assail
us. They will attack the palace just before the dawn. Now I will go
through the town, and secretly call the trusty men to arm and come to
defend the palace, telling them that the son of Aegeus, the man who
cleared the ways, is with us. And do you take your chariot, and drive
speedily to the sons of Phytalus, and bring all their spears, chariot
men and foot men, and place them in ambush around the village of
Gargettus, where one band of the Pallantidae will lie to-night till dawn.
The rest you know.'
Theseus nodded and smiled. He drove at full speed to Aphidnae, where the
sons of Phytalus armed their men, and by midnight they lay hidden in the
woods round the village of Gargettus. When the stars had gone onward,
and the second of the three watches of the night was nearly past, they
set bands of men to guard every way from the little town, and Theseus
with another band rushed in, and slew the men of the sons of Pallas
around their fires, some of them awake, but most of them asleep. Those
who escaped were taken by the bands who watched the ways, and when the
sky was now clear at the earliest dawn, Theseus led his companions to
the palace of Aegeus, where they fell furiously upon the rear of the men
from Sphettus, who were besieging the palace of Aegeus.
The Sphettus company had broken in the gate of the court, and were
trying to burn the house, while arrows flew thick from the bows of the
trusty men of Athens on the palace roof. The Pallantids had set no
sentinels, for they thought to take Theseus in the palace, and there to
burn him, and win the kingdom for themselves. Then silently and suddenly
the friends of Theseus stole into the courtyard, and, leaving some to
guard the gate, they drew up in line, and charged the confused crowd of
the Pallantids. Their spears flew thick among the enemy, and then they
charged with the sword, while the crowd, in terror, ran this way and
that way, being cut down at the gate, and dragged from the walls, when
they tried to climb them. The daylight found the Pallantidae and their
men lying dead in the courtyard, all the sort of them.
Then Theseus with the sons of Phytalus and their company marched through
the town, proclaiming that the rightful prince was come, and that the
robbers and oppressors were fallen, and all honest men rejoiced. They
burned the dead, and buried their ashes and bones, and for the rest of
that day they feasted in the hall of Aegeus. Next day Theseus led his
friends back to Aphidnae, and on the next day they attacked and stormed
the castle of Procrustes, and slew the pirates, and Theseus divided all
the rich plunder among the sons of Phytalus and their company, but the
evil bed they burned to ashes.
V
HERALDS COME FOR TRIBUTE
The days and weeks went by, and Theseus reigned with his father in
peace. The chief men came to Athens from the little towns in the
country, and begged Theseus to be their lord, and they would be his men,
and he would lead their people if any enemy came up against them. They
would even pay tribute to be used for buying better arms, and making
strong walls, and providing ships, for then the people of Athens had no
navy. Theseus received them courteously, and promised all that they
asked, for he did not know that soon he himself would be sent away as
part of the tribute which the Athenians paid every nine years to King
Minos of Crete.
Though everything seemed to be peaceful and happy through the winter,
yet Theseus felt that all was not well. When he went into the houses of
the town's people, where all had been merry and proud of his visits, he
saw melancholy, silent mothers, and he missed the young people, lads and
maidens. Many of them were said to have gone to visit friends in
far-away parts of Greece. The elder folk, and the young people who were
left, used to stand watching the sea all day, as if they expected
something strange to come upon them from the sea, and Aegeus sat
sorrowful over the fire, speaking little, and he seemed to be in fear.
Theseus was disturbed in his mind, and he did not choose to put
questions to Aegeus or to the townsfolk. He and Medea were great friends,
and one day when they were alone in her chamber, where a fragrant fire
of cedar wood burned, he told her what he had noticed. Medea sighed, and
said: 'The curse of the sons of Pallas is coming upon the people of
Athens--such a curse and so terrible that not even you, Prince Theseus,
can deal with it. The enemy is not one man or one monster only, but the
greatest and most powerful king in the world.'
'Tell me all,' said Theseus, 'for though I am but one man, yet the
ever-living gods protect and help me.'
'The story of the curse is long,' said Medea. 'When your father Aegeus
was young, after he returned to Athens from Troezene, he decreed that
games should be held every five years, contests in running, boxing,
wrestling, foot races, and chariot races. Not only the people of Athens,
but strangers were allowed to take part in the games, and among the
strangers came Androgeos, the eldest son of great Minos, King of
Cnossos, in the isle of Crete of the Hundred Cities, far away in the
southern sea. Minos is the wisest of men, and the most high god, even
Zeus, is his counsellor, and speaks to him face to face. He is the
richest of men, and his ships are without number, so that he rules all
the islands, and makes war, when he will, even against the King of
Egypt. The son of Minos it was who came to the sports with three fair
ships, and he was the strongest and swiftest of men. He won the foot
race, and the prizes for boxing and wrestling, and for shooting with the
bow, and throwing the spear, and hurling the heavy weight, and he easily
overcame the strongest of the sons of Pallas.
'Then, being unjust men and dishonourable, they slew him at a feast in
the hall of Aegeus, their own guest in the king's house they slew, a
thing hateful to the gods above all other evil deeds. His ships fled in
the night, bearing the news to King Minos, and, a year after that day,
the sea was black with his countless ships. His men landed, and they
were so many, all glittering in armour of bronze, that none dared to
meet them in battle. King Aegeus and all the elder men of the city went
humbly to meet Minos, clad in mourning, and bearing in their hands
boughs of trees, wreathed with wool, to show that they came praying for
mercy. "Mercy ye shall have when ye have given up to me the men who slew
my son," said Minos. But Aegeus could not give up the sons of Pallas, for
long ago they had fled in disguise, and were lurking here and there, in
all the uttermost parts of Greece, in the huts of peasants. Such mercy,
then, the Athenians got as Minos was pleased to give. He did not burn
the city, and slay the men, and carry the women captives. But he made
Aegeus and the chief men swear that every nine years they would choose by
lot seven of the strongest youths, and seven of the fairest maidens, and
give them to his men, to carry away to Crete. Every nine years he sends
a ship with dark sails, to bear away the captives, and this is the ninth
year, and the day of the coming of the ship is at hand. Can you resist
King Minos?'
'His ship we could burn, and his men we could slay,' said Theseus; and
his hand closed on the hilt of his sword.
'That may well be,' said Medea, 'but in a year Minos would come with his
fleet and his army, and burn the city; and the other cities of Greece,
fearing him and not loving us, would give us no aid.'
'Then,' said Theseus, 'we must even pay the tribute for this last time;
but in nine years, if I live, and the gods help me, I shall have a
fleet, and Minos must fight for his tribute. For in nine years Athens
will be queen of all the cities round about, and strong in men and
ships. Yet, tell me, how does Minos treat the captives from Athens,
kindly or unkindly?'
'None has ever come back to tell the tale,' said Medea, 'but the sailors
of Minos say that he places the captives in a strange prison called the
Labyrinth. It is full of dark winding ways, cut in the solid rock, and
therein the captives are lost and perish of hunger, or live till they
meet a Thing called the Minotaur. This monster has the body of a strong
man, and a man's legs and arms, but his head is the head of a bull, and
his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and no man may deal with him. Those
whom he meets he tosses, and gores, and devours. Whence this evil beast
came I know, but the truth of it may not be spoken. It is not lawful for
King Minos to slay the Horror, which to him is great shame and grief;
neither may he help any man to slay it. Therefore, in his anger against
the Athenians he swore that, once in every nine years, he would give
fourteen of the Athenian men and maidens to the Thing, and that none of
them should bear sword or spear, dagger or axe, or any other weapon.
Yet, if one of the men, or all of them together, could slay the monster,
Minos made oath that Athens should be free of him and his tribute.'
Theseus laughed and stood up. 'Soon,' he said, 'shall King Minos be free
from the Horror, and Athens shall be free from the tribute, if, indeed,
the gods be with me. For me need no lot be cast; gladly I will go to
Crete of my free will.'
'I needed not to be a prophetess to know that you would speak thus,'
said Medea. 'But one thing even I can do. Take this phial, and bear it
in your breast, and, when you face the Minotaur, do as I shall tell
you.' Then she whispered some words to Theseus, and he marked them
carefully.
He went forth from Medea's bower; he walked to the crest of the hill
upon which Athens is built, and there he saw all the people gathered,
weeping, and looking towards the sea. Swiftly a ship with black sails
was being rowed towards the shore, and her sides shone with the bronze
shields of her crew, that were hung on the bulwarks.
'My friends,' cried Theseus, 'I know that ship, and wherefore she comes,
and with her I shall sail to Crete and slay the Minotaur. Did I not slay
Sinis and Sciron, Cercyon and Procrustes, and Periphetes? Let there be
no drawing of lots. Where are seven men and seven maidens who will come
with me, and meet these Cretans when they land, and sail back with them,
and see this famous Crete, for the love of Theseus?'
Then there stepped forth seven young men of the best of Athens, tall,
and strong, and fair, the ancestors of them who smote, a thousand years
afterwards, the Persians at Marathon and in the strait of Salamis. 'We
will live or die with you, Prince Theseus,' they said.
Next, one by one, came out of the throng, blushing, but with heads erect
and firm steps, the seven maidens whom the seven young men loved. They,
too, were tall, and beautiful, and stately, like the stone maidens
called Caryatides who bear up the roofs of temples.
'We will live and die with you, Prince Theseus, and with our lovers,'
they cried; and all the people gave such a cheer that King Aegeus heard
it, and came from his palace, leaning on his staff, and Medea walked
beside him.
'Why do you raise a glad cry, my children?' said Aegeus. 'Is not that the
Ship of Death, and must we not cast lots for the tribute to King Minos?'
'Sir,' said Theseus, 'we rejoice because we go as free folk, of our own
will, these men and maidens and I, to take such fortune as the gods may
give us, and to do as well as we may. Nay, delay us not, for from this
hour shall Athens be free, without master or lord among Cretan men.'
'But, my son, who shall defend me, who shall guide me, when I have lost
thee, the light of mine eyes, and the strength of my arm?' whimpered
Aegeus.
'Is the king weeping alone, while the fathers and mothers of my
companions have dry eyes?' said Theseus. 'The gods will be your helpers,
and the lady who is my friend, and who devised the slaying of the sons
of Pallas. Hers was the mind, if the hand was my own, that wrought their
ruin. Let her be your counsellor, for no other is so wise. But that ship
is near the shore, and we must go.'
Then Theseus embraced Aegeus, and Medea kissed him, and the young men
and maidens kissed their fathers and mothers, and said farewell. With
Theseus at their head they marched down the hill, two by two; but Medea
sent after them chariots laden with changes of raiment, and food, and
skins of wine, and all things of which they had need. They were to sail
in their own hired ship, for such was the custom, and the ship was ready
with her oarsmen. But Theseus and the Seven, by the law of Minos, might
carry no swords or other weapons of war. The ship had a black sail, but
Aegeus gave to the captain a sail dyed scarlet with the juice of the
scarlet oak, and bade him hoist it if he was bringing back Theseus
safe, but, if not, to return under the black sail.
The captain, and the outlook man, and the crew, and the ship came all
from the isle of Salamis, for as yet the Athenians had no vessels fit
for long voyages--only fishing-boats. As Theseus and his company marched
along they met the herald of King Minos, bearing a sacred staff, for
heralds were holy, and to slay a herald was a deadly sin. He stopped
when he met Theseus, and wondered at his beauty and strength. 'My lord,'
said he, 'wherefore come you with the Fourteen? Know you to what end
they are sailing?'
'That I know not, nor you, nor any man, but they and I are going to one
end, such as the gods may give us,' answered Theseus. 'Speak with me no
more, I pray you, and go no nearer Athens, for there men's hearts are
high to-day, and they carry swords.'
The voice and the eyes of Theseus daunted the herald, and he with his
men turned and followed behind, humbly, as if they were captives and
Theseus were conqueror.
VI
THESEUS IN CRETE
After many days' sailing, now through the straits under the beautiful
peaks of the mountains that crowned the islands, and now across the wide
sea far from sight of land, they beheld the crest of Mount Ida of Crete,
and ran into the harbour, where a hundred ships lay at anchor, and a
great crowd was gathered. Theseus marvelled at the ships, so many and so
strong, and at the harbour with its huge walls, while he and his
company landed. A hundred of the guardsmen of Minos, with large shields,
and breastplates made of ribs of bronze, and helmets of bronze with
horns on them, were drawn up on the pier. They surrounded the little
company of Athenians, and they all marched to the town of Cnossos, and
the palace of the king.
If Theseus marvelled at the harbour he wondered yet more at the town. It
was so great that it seemed endless, and round it went a high wall, and
at every forty yards was a square tower with small square windows high
up. These towers were exactly like those which you may see among the
hills and beside the burns in the Border country, the south of Scotland
and the north of England; towers built when England and Scotland were at
war. But when they had passed through the gateway in the chief tower,
the town seemed more wonderful than the walls, for in all things it was
quite unlike the cities of Greece. The street, paved with flat paving
stones, wound between houses like our own, with a ground floor (in this
there were no windows) and with two or three stories above, in which
there were windows, with sashes, and with so many panes to each window,
the panes were coloured red. Each window opened on a balcony, and the
balconies were crowded with ladies in gay dresses like those which are
now worn. Under their hats their hair fell in long plaits over their
shoulders: they had very fine white blouses, short jackets, embroidered
in bright coloured silk, and skirts with flounces. Laughing merrily they
looked down at the little troop of prisoners, chatting, and some saying
they were sorry for the Athenian girls. Others, seeing Theseus marching
first, a head taller than the tallest guardsman, threw flowers that
fell at his feet, and cried, 'Go on, brave Prince!' for they could not
believe that he was one of the prisoners.
The crowd in the street being great, the march was stopped under a house
taller than the rest; in the balcony one lady alone was seated, the
others stood round her as if they were her handmaidens. This lady was
most richly dressed, young, and very beautiful and stately, and was,
indeed, the king's daughter, Ariadne. She looked grave and full of pity,
and, as Theseus happened to glance upwards, their eyes met, and remained
fixed on each other. Theseus, who had never thought much about girls
before, grew pale, for he had never seen so beautiful a maiden: Ariadne
also turned pale, and then blushed and looked away, but her eyes glanced
down again at Theseus, and he saw it, and a strange feeling came into
his heart.
The guards cleared the crowd, and they all marched on till they came to
the palace walls and gate, which were more beautiful even than the walls
of the town. But the greatest wonder of all was the palace, standing in
a wide park, and itself far greater than such towns as Theseus had seen,
Troezene, or Aphidnae, or Athens. There was a multitude of roofs of
various heights, endless roofs, endless windows, terraces, and gardens:
no king's palace of our times is nearly so great and strong. There were
fountains and flowers and sweet-smelling trees in blossom, and, when the
Athenians were led within the palace, they felt lost among the winding
passages and halls.
The walls of them were painted with pictures of flying fishes, above a
clear white sea, in which fish of many kinds were swimming, with the
spray and bubbles flying from their tails, as the sea flows apart from
the rudder of a ship. There were pictures of bull fights, men and girls
teasing the bull, and throwing somersaults over him, and one bull had
just tossed a girl high in the air. Ladies were painted in balconies,
looking on, just such ladies as had watched Theseus and his company; and
young men bearing tall cool vases full of wine were painted on other
walls; and others were decorated with figures of bulls and stags, in
hard plaster, fashioned marvellously, and standing out from the walls
'in relief,' as it is called. Other walls, again, were painted with
patterns of leaves and flowers.
The rooms were full of the richest furniture, chairs inlaid with ivory,
gold, and silver, chests inlaid with painted porcelain in little
squares, each square containing a separate bright coloured picture.
There were glorious carpets, and in some passages stood rows of vases,
each of them large enough to hold a man, like the pots in the story of
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves in the Arabian Nights. There were tablets
of stone brought from Egypt, with images carved of gods and kings, and
strange Egyptian writing, and there were cups of gold and
silver--indeed, I could not tell you half the beautiful and wonderful
things in the palace of Minos. We know that this is true, for the things
themselves, all of them, or pictures of them, have been brought to
light, dug out from under ground; and, after years of digging, there is
still plenty of this wonderful palace to be explored.
The Athenians were dazzled, and felt lost and giddy with passing through
so many rooms and passages, before they were led into the great hall
named the Throne Room, where Minos was sitting in his gilded throne that
is still standing. Around him stood his chiefs and princes, gloriously
clothed in silken robes with jewels of gold; they left a lane between
their ranks, and down this lane was led Theseus at the head of his
little company. Minos, a dark-faced man, with touches of white in his
hair and long beard, sat with his elbow on his knee, and his chin in his
hand, and he fixed his eyes on the eyes of Theseus. Theseus bowed and
then stood erect, with his eyes on the eyes of Minos.
'You are fifteen in number,' said Minos at last, 'my law claims
fourteen.'
'I came of my own will,' answered Theseus, 'and of their own will came
my company. No lots were cast.'
'Wherefore?' asked Minos.
'The people of Athens have a mind to be free, O king.'
'There is a way,' said Minos. 'Slay the Minotaur and you are free from
my tribute.'
'I am minded to slay him,' said Theseus, and, as he spoke, there was a
stir in the throng of chiefs, and priests, and princes, and Ariadne
glided through them, and stood a little behind her father's throne, at
one side. Theseus bowed low, and again stood erect, with his eyes on the
face of Ariadne.
'You speak like a king's son that has not known misfortune,' said Minos.
'I have known misfortune, and my name is Theseus, Aegeus' son,' said
Theseus.
'This is a new thing. When I saw King Aegeus he had no son, but he had
many nephews.'
'No son that he wotted of,' said Theseus, 'but now he has no nephews,
and one son.'
'Is it so?' asked Minos, 'then you have avenged me on the slayers of my
own son, fair sir, for it was your sword, was it not, that delivered
Aegeus from the sons of Pallas?'
'My sword and the swords of my friends, of whom seven stand before you.'
'I will learn if this be true,' said Minos.
'True!' cried Theseus, and his hand flew to the place where his
sword-hilt should have been, but he had no sword.
King Minos smiled. 'You are young,' he said, 'I will learn more of these
matters. Lead these men and maidens to their own chambers in the
palace,' he cried to his guard. 'Let each have a separate chamber, and
all things that are fitting for princes. To-morrow I will take counsel.'
Theseus was gazing at Ariadne. She stood behind her father, and she put
up her right hand as if to straighten her veil, but, as she raised her
hand, she swiftly made the motion of lifting a cup to the lips; and then
she laid on her lips the fingers of her left hand, closing them fast.
Theseus saw the token, and he bowed, as did all his company, to Minos
and to the princess, and they were led upstairs and along galleries,
each to a chamber more rich and beautiful than they had seen before in
their dreams. Then each was taken to a bath, they were washed and
clothed in new garments, and brought back to their chambers, where meat
was put before them, and wine in cups of gold. At the door of each
chamber were stationed two guards, but four guards were set at the door
of Theseus. At nightfall more food was brought, and, for Theseus, much
red wine, in a great vessel adorned with ropes and knobs of gold.
Theseus ate well, but he drank none, and, when he had finished, he
opened the door of his chamber, and carried out all the wine and the
cup. 'I am one,' he said, 'who drinks water, and loves not the smell of
wine in his chamber.'
The guards thanked him, and soon he heard them very merry over the
king's best wine, next he did not hear them at all, next--he heard them
snoring!
Theseus opened the door gently and silently: the guards lay asleep
across and beside the threshold. Something bright caught his eye, he
looked up, a lamp was moving along the dark corridor, a lamp in the hand
of a woman clad in a black robe; the light fell on her white silent
feet, and on the feet of another woman who followed her.
Theseus softly slipped back into his chamber. The light, though shaded
by the girl's hand, showed in the crevice between the door and the
door-post. Softly entered Ariadne, followed by an old woman that had
been her nurse. 'You guessed the token?' she whispered. 'In the wine was
a sleepy drug.'
Theseus, who was kneeling to her, nodded.
'I can show you the way to flee, and I bring you a sword.'
'I thank you, lady, for the sword, and I pray you to show me the way--to
the Minotaur.'
Ariadne grew pale, and her hand flew to her heart.
'I pray you make haste. Flee I will not, nor, if the king have mercy on
us, will I leave Crete till I have met the Minotaur: for he has shed the
blood of my people.'
Ariadne loved Theseus, and knew well in her heart that he loved her. But
she was brave, and she made no more ado; she beckoned to him, and
stepped across the sleeping guardsmen that lay beside the threshold.
Theseus held up his hand, and she stopped, while he took two swords from
the men of the guard. One was long, with a strong straight narrow blade
tapering to a very sharp point; the other sword was short and straight,
with keen cutting double edges. Theseus slung them round his neck by
their belts, and Ariadne walked down the corridor, Theseus following
her, and the old nurse following him. He had taken the swords from the
sleeping men lest, if Ariadne gave him one, it might be found out that
she had helped him, and she knew this in her heart, for neither of them
spoke a word.