PART VI

WHAT WAS THE END OF THE HEROES

And now I wish that I could end my story pleasantly; but it is no fault

of mine that I cannot. The old songs end it sadly, and I believe that

they are right and wise; for though the heroes were purified at Malea,

yet sacrifices cannot make bad hearts good, and Jason had taken a wicked

wife, and he had to bear his burden to the last.

And first she laid a cunning plot to punish that poor old Pelias, instead

of letting him die in peace.

For she told his daughters, ‘I can make old things young again; I will

show you how easy it is to do.’ So she took an old ram and killed him,

and put him in a cauldron with magic herbs; and whispered her spells over

him, and he leapt out again a young lamb. So that ‘Medeia’s cauldron’ is

a proverb still, by which we mean times of war and change, when the world

has become old and feeble, and grows young again through bitter pains.

Then she said to Pelias’ daughters, ‘Do to your father as I did to this

ram, and he will grow young and strong again.’ But she only told them

half the spell; so they failed, while Medeia mocked them; and poor old

Pelias died, and his daughters came to misery. But the songs say she

cured Æson, Jason’s father, and he became young, and strong again.

But Jason could not love her, after all her cruel deeds. So he was

ungrateful to her, and wronged her; and she revenged herself on him. And

a terrible revenge she took—too terrible to speak of here. But you will

hear of it yourselves when you grow up, for it has been sung in noble

poetry and music; and whether it be true or not, it stands for ever as a

warning to us not to seek for help from evil persons, or to gain good

ends by evil means. For if we use an adder even against our enemies, it

will turn again and sting us.

But of all the other heroes there is many a brave tale left, which I have

no space to tell you, so you must read them for yourselves;—of the

hunting of the boar in Calydon, which Meleager killed; and of Heracles’

twelve famous labours; and of the seven who fought at Thebes; and of the

noble love of Castor and Polydeuces, the twin Dioscouroi—how when one

died the other would not live without him, so they shared their

immortality between them; and Zeus changed them into the two twin stars

which never rise both at once.

And what became of Cheiron, the good immortal beast? That, too, is a sad

story; for the heroes never saw him more. He was wounded by a poisoned

arrow, at Pholoe among the hills, when Heracles opened the fatal

wine-jar, which Cheiron had warned him not to touch. And the Centaurs

smelt the wine, and flocked to it, and fought for it with Heracles; but

he killed them all with his poisoned arrows, and Cheiron was left alone.

Then Cheiron took up one of the arrows, and dropped it by chance upon his

foot; and the poison ran like fire along his veins, and he lay down and

longed to die; and cried, ‘Through wine I perish, the bane of all my

race. Why should I live for ever in this agony? Who will take my

immortality, that I may die?’

Then Prometheus answered, the good Titan, whom Heracles had set free from

Caucasus, ‘I will take your immortality and live for ever, that I may

help poor mortal men.’ So Cheiron gave him his immortality, and died,

and had rest from pain. And Heracles and Prometheus wept over him, and

went to bury him on Pelion; but Zeus took him up among the stars, to live

for ever, grand and mild, low down in the far southern sky.

And in time the heroes died, all but Nestor, the silver-tongued old man;

and left behind them valiant sons, but not so great as they had been.

Yet their fame, too, lives till this day, for they fought at the ten

years’ siege of Troy: and their story is in the book which we call Homer,

in two of the noblest songs on earth—the ‘Iliad,’ which tells us of the

siege of Troy, and Achilles’ quarrel with the kings; and the ‘Odyssey,’

which tells the wanderings of Odysseus, through many lands for many

years, and how Alcinous sent him home at last, safe to Ithaca his beloved

island, and to Penelope his faithful wife, and Telemachus his son, and

Euphorbus the noble swineherd, and the old dog who licked his hand and

died. We will read that sweet story, children, by the fire some winter

night. And now I will end my tale, and begin another and a more cheerful

one, of a hero who became a worthy king, and won his people’s love.

STORY III.—THESEUS

PART I

HOW THESEUS LIFTED THE STONE

Once upon a time there was a princess in Trœzene, Aithra, the daughter of

Pittheus the king. She had one fair son, named Theseus, the bravest lad

in all the land; and Aithra never smiled but when she looked at him, for

her husband had forgotten her, and lived far away. And she used to go up

to the mountain above Troezene, to the temple of Poseidon and sit there

all day looking out across the bay, over Methana, to the purple peaks of

Ægina and the Attic shore beyond. And when Theseus was full fifteen

years old she took him up with her to the temple, and into the thickets

of the grove which grew in the temple-yard. And she led him to a tall

plane-tree, beneath whose shade grew arbutus, and lentisk, and purple

heather-bushes. And there she sighed, and said, ‘Theseus, my son, go

into that thicket and you will find at the plane-tree foot a great flat

stone; lift it, and bring me what lies underneath.’

Then Theseus pushed his way in through the thick bushes, and saw that

they had not been moved for many a year. And searching among their roots

he found a great flat stone, all overgrown with ivy, and acanthus, and

moss. He tried to lift it, but he could not. And he tried till the

sweat ran down his brow from heat, and the tears from his eyes for shame;

but all was of no avail. And at last he came back to his mother, and

said, ‘I have found the stone, but I cannot lift it; nor do I think that

any man could in all Troezene.’

Then she sighed, and said, ‘The Gods wait long; but they are just at

last. Let it be for another year. The day may come when you will be a

stronger man than lives in all Troezene.’

Then she took him by the hand, and went into the temple and prayed, and

came down again with Theseus to her home.

And when a full year was past she led Theseus up again to the temple, and

bade him lift the stone; but he could not.

Then she sighed, and said the same words again, and went down, and came

again the next year; but Theseus could not lift the stone then, nor the

year after; and he longed to ask his mother the meaning of that stone,

and what might lie underneath it; but her face was so sad that he had not

the heart to ask.

So he said to himself, ‘The day shall surely come when I will lift that

stone, though no man in Troezene can.’ And in order to grow strong he

spent all his days in wrestling, and boxing, and hurling, and taming

horses, and hunting the boar and the bull, and coursing goats and deer

among the rocks; till upon all the mountains there was no hunter so swift

as Theseus; and he killed Phaia the wild sow of Crommyon, which wasted

all the land; till all the people said, ‘Surely the Gods are with the

lad.’

And when his eighteenth year was past, Aithra led him up again to the

temple, and said, ‘Theseus, lift the stone this day, or never know who

you are.’ And Theseus went into the thicket, and stood over the stone,

and tugged at it; and it moved. Then his spirit swelled within him, and

he said, ‘If I break my heart in my body, it shall up.’ And he tugged at

it once more, and lifted it, and rolled it over with a shout.

And when he looked beneath it, on the ground lay a sword of bronze, with

a hilt of glittering gold, and by it a pair of golden sandals; and he

caught them up, and burst through the bushes like a wild boar, and leapt

to his mother, holding them high above his head.

But when she saw them she wept long in silence, hiding her fair face in

her shawl; and Theseus stood by her wondering, and wept also, he knew not

why. And when she was tired of weeping, she lifted up her head, and laid

her finger on her lips, and said, ‘Hide them in your bosom, Theseus my

son, and come with me where we can look down upon the sea.’

Then they went outside the sacred wall, and looked down over the bright

blue sea; and Aithra said—

‘Do you see this land at our feet?’

And he said, ‘Yes; this is Troezene, where I was born and bred.’

And she said, ‘It is but a little land, barren and rocky, and looks

towards the bleak north-east. Do you see that land beyond?’

‘Yes; that is Attica, where the Athenian people dwell.’

[Picture: Theseus and Aithra]

‘That is a fair land and large, Theseus my son; and it looks toward the

sunny south; a land of olive-oil and honey, the joy of Gods and men. For

the Gods have girdled it with mountains, whose veins are of pure silver,

and their bones of marble white as snow; and there the hills are sweet

with thyme and basil, and the meadows with violet and asphodel, and the

nightingales sing all day in the thickets, by the side of ever-flowing

streams. There are twelve towns well peopled, the homes of an ancient

race, the children of Kekrops the serpent king, the son of Mother Earth,

who wear gold cicalas among the tresses of their golden hair; for like

the cicalas they sprang from the earth, and like the cicalas they sing

all day, rejoicing in the genial sun. What would you do, son Theseus, if

you were king of such a land?’

Then Theseus stood astonished, as he looked across the broad bright sea,

and saw the fair Attic shore, from Sunium to Hymettus and Pentelicus, and

all the mountain peaks which girdle Athens round. But Athens itself he

could not see, for purple Ægina stood before it, midway across the sea.

Then his heart grew great within him, and he said, ‘If I were king of

such a land I would rule it wisely and well in wisdom and in might, that

when I died all men might weep over my tomb, and cry, “Alas for the

shepherd of his people!”’

And Aithra smiled, and said, ‘Take, then, the sword and the sandals, and

go to Ægeus, king of Athens, who lives on Pallas’ hill; and say to him,

“The stone is lifted, but whose is the pledge beneath it?” Then show him

the sword and the sandals, and take what the Gods shall send.’

But Theseus wept, ‘Shall I leave you, O my mother?’

But she answered, ‘Weep not for me. That which is fated must be; and

grief is easy to those who do nought but grieve. Full of sorrow was my

youth, and full of sorrow my womanhood. Full of sorrow was my youth for

Bellerophon, the slayer of the Chimæra, whom my father drove away by

treason; and full of sorrow my womanhood, for thy treacherous father and

for thee; and full of sorrow my old age will be (for I see my fate in

dreams), when the sons of the Swan shall carry me captive to the hollow

vale of Eurotas, till I sail across the seas a slave, the handmaid of the

pest of Greece. Yet shall I be avenged, when the golden-haired heroes

sail against Troy, and sack the palaces of Ilium; then my son shall set

me free from thraldom, and I shall hear the tale of Theseus’ fame. Yet

beyond that I see new sorrows; but I can bear them as I have borne the

past.’

Then she kissed Theseus, and wept over him; and went into the temple, and

Theseus saw her no more.

PART II

HOW THESEUS SLEW THE DEVOURERS OF MEN

So Theseus stood there alone, with his mind full of many hopes. And

first he thought of going down to the harbour and hiring a swift ship,

and sailing across the bay to Athens; but even that seemed too slow for

him, and he longed for wings to fly across the sea, and find his father.

But after a while his heart began to fail him; and he sighed, and said

within himself—

‘What if my father have other sons about him whom he loves? What if he

will not receive me? And what have I done that he should receive me? He

has forgotten me ever since I was born: why should he welcome me now?’

Then he thought a long while sadly; and at the last he cried aloud, ‘Yes!

I will make him love me; for I will prove myself worthy of his love. I

will win honour and renown, and do such deeds that Ægeus shall be proud

of me, though he had fifty other sons! Did not Heracles win himself

honour, though he was opprest, and the slave of Eurystheus? Did he not

kill all robbers and evil beasts, and drain great lakes and marshes,

breaking the hills through with his club? Therefore it was that all men

honoured him, because he rid them of their miseries, and made life

pleasant to them and their children after them. Where can I go, to do as

Heracles has done? Where can I find strange adventures, robbers, and

monsters, and the children of hell, the enemies of men? I will go by

land, and into the mountains, and round by the way of the Isthmus.

Perhaps there I may hear of brave adventures, and do something which

shall win my father’s love.’

So he went by land, and away into the mountains, with his father’s sword

upon his thigh, till he came to the Spider mountains, which hang over

Epidaurus and the sea, where the glens run downward from one peak in the

midst, as the rays spread in the spider’s web.

And he went up into the gloomy glens, between the furrowed marble walls,

till the lowland grew blue beneath his feet and the clouds drove damp

about his head.

But he went up and up for ever, through the spider’s web of glens, till

he could see the narrow gulfs spread below him, north and south, and east

and west; black cracks half-choked with mists, and above all a dreary

down.

But over that down he must go, for there was no road right or left; so he

toiled on through bog and brake, till he came to a pile of stones.

And on the stones a man was sitting, wrapt in a bearskin cloak. The head

of the bear served him for a cap, and its teeth grinned white around his

brows; and the feet were tied about his throat, and their claws shone

white upon his chest. And when he saw Theseus he rose, and laughed till

the glens rattled.

‘And who art thou, fair fly, who hast walked into the spider’s web?’ But

Theseus walked on steadily, and made no answer; but he thought, ‘Is this

some robber? and has an adventure come already to me?’ But the strange

man laughed louder than ever, and said—

‘Bold fly, know you not that these glens are the web from which no fly

ever finds his way out again, and this down the spider’s house, and I the

spider who sucks the flies? Come hither, and let me feast upon you; for

it is of no use to run away, so cunning a web has my father Hephaistos

spread for me when he made these clefts in the mountains, through which

no man finds his way home.’

But Theseus came on steadily, and asked—

‘And what is your name among men, bold spider? and where are your

spider’s fangs?’

Then the strange man laughed again—

‘My name is Periphetes, the son of Hephaistos and Anticleia the mountain

nymph. But men call me Corynetes the club-bearer; and here is my

spider’s fang.’

And he lifted from off the stones at his side a mighty club of bronze.

‘This my father gave me, and forged it himself in the roots of the

mountain; and with it I pound all proud flies till they give out their

fatness and their sweetness. So give me up that gay sword of yours, and

your mantle, and your golden sandals, lest I pound you, and by ill-luck

you die.’

But Theseus wrapt his mantle round his left arm quickly, in hard folds,

from his shoulder to his hand, and drew his sword, and rushed upon the

club-bearer, and the club-bearer rushed on him.

Thrice he struck at Theseus, and made him bend under the blows like a

sapling; but Theseus guarded his head with his left arm, and the mantle

which was wrapt around it.

And thrice Theseus sprang upright after the blow, like a sapling when the

storm is past; and he stabbed at the club-bearer with his sword, but the

loose folds of the bearskin saved him.

Then Theseus grew mad, and closed with him, and caught him by the throat,

and they fell and rolled over together; but when Theseus rose up from the

ground the club-bearer lay still at his feet.

Then Theseus took his club and his bearskin, and left him to the kites

and crows, and went upon his journey down the glens on the farther slope,

till he came to a broad green valley, and saw flocks and herds sleeping

beneath the trees.

And by the side of a pleasant fountain, under the shade of rocks and

trees, were nymphs and shepherds dancing; but no one piped to them while

they danced.

And when they saw Theseus they shrieked; and the shepherds ran off, and

drove away their flocks, while the nymphs dived into the fountain like

coots, and vanished.

Theseus wondered and laughed: ‘What strange fancies have folks here who

run away from strangers, and have no music when they dance!’ But he was

tired, and dusty, and thirsty; so he thought no more of them, but drank

and bathed in the clear pool, and then lay down in the shade under a

plane-tree, while the water sang him to sleep, as it tinkled down from

stone to stone.

And when he woke he heard a whispering, and saw the nymphs peeping at him

across the fountain from the dark mouth of a cave, where they sat on

green cushions of moss. And one said, ‘Surely he is not Periphetes;’ and

another, ‘He looks like no robber, but a fair and gentle youth.’

Then Theseus smiled, and called them, ‘Fair nymphs, I am not Periphetes.

He sleeps among the kites and crows; but I have brought away his bearskin

and his club.’

Then they leapt across the pool, and came to him, and called the

shepherds back. And he told them how he had slain the club-bearer: and

the shepherds kissed his feet and sang, ‘Now we shall feed our flocks in

peace, and not be afraid to have music when we dance; for the cruel

club-bearer has met his match, and he will listen for our pipes no more.’

Then they brought him kid’s flesh and wine, and the nymphs brought him

honey from the rocks, and he ate, and drank, and slept again, while the

nymphs and shepherds danced and sang. And when he woke, they begged him

to stay; but he would not. ‘I have a great work to do,’ he said; ‘I must

be away toward the Isthmus, that I may go to Athens.’

But the shepherds said, ‘Will you go alone toward Athens? None travel

that way now, except in armed troops.’

‘As for arms, I have enough, as you see. And as for troops, an honest

man is good enough company for himself. Why should I not go alone toward

Athens?’

‘If you do, you must look warily about you on the Isthmus, lest you meet

Sinis the robber, whom men call Pituocamptes the pine-bender; for he

bends down two pine-trees, and binds all travellers hand and foot between

them, and when he lets the trees go again their bodies are torn in

sunder.’

‘And after that,’ said another, ‘you must go inland, and not dare to pass

over the cliffs of Sciron; for on the left hand are the mountains, and on

the right the sea, so that you have no escape, but must needs meet Sciron

the robber, who will make you wash his feet; and while you are washing

them he will kick you over the cliff, to the tortoise who lives below,

and feeds upon the bodies of the dead.’

And before Theseus could answer, another cried, ‘And after that is a

worse danger still, unless you go inland always, and leave Eleusis far on

your right. For in Eleusis rules Kerkuon the cruel king, the terror of

all mortals, who killed his own daughter Alope in prison. But she was

changed into a fair fountain; and her child he cast out upon the

mountains, but the wild mares gave it milk. And now he challenges all

comers to wrestle with him, for he is the best wrestler in all Attica,

and overthrows all who come; and those whom he overthrows he murders

miserably, and his palace-court is full of their bones.’

Then Theseus frowned, and said, ‘This seems indeed an ill-ruled land, and

adventures enough in it to be tried. But if I am the heir of it, I will

rule it and right it, and here is my royal sceptre.’

And he shook his club of bronze, while the nymphs and shepherds clung

round him, and entreated him not to go.

But on he went nevertheless, till he could see both the seas and the

citadel of Corinth towering high above all the land. And he past swiftly

along the Isthmus, for his heart burned to meet that cruel Sinis; and in

a pine-wood at last he met him, where the Isthmus was narrowest and the

road ran between high rocks. There he sat upon a stone by the wayside,

with a young fir-tree for a club across his knees, and a cord laid ready

by his side; and over his head, upon the fir-tops, hung the bones of

murdered men.

Then Theseus shouted to him, ‘Holla, thou valiant pine-bender, hast thou

two fir-trees left for me?’

And Sinis leapt to his feet, and answered, pointing to the bones above

his head, ‘My larder has grown empty lately, so I have two fir-trees

ready for thee.’ And he rushed on Theseus, lifting his club, and Theseus

rushed upon him.

Then they hammered together till the greenwoods rang; but the metal was

tougher than the pine, and Sinis’ club broke right across, as the bronze

came down upon it. Then Theseus heaved up another mighty stroke, and

smote Sinis down upon his face; and knelt upon his back, and bound him

with his own cord, and said, ‘As thou hast done to others, so shall it be

done to thee.’ Then he bent down two young fir-trees, and bound Sinis

between them for all his struggling and his prayers; and let them go, and

ended Sinis, and went on, leaving him to the hawks and crows.

Then he went over the hills toward Megara, keeping close along the

Saronic Sea, till he came to the cliffs of Sciron, and the narrow path

between the mountain and the sea.

And there he saw Sciron sitting by a fountain, at the edge of the cliff.

On his knees was a mighty club; and he had barred the path with stones,

so that every one must stop who came up.

Then Theseus shouted to him, and said, ‘Holla, thou tortoise-feeder, do

thy feet need washing to-day?’

And Sciron leapt to his feet, and answered—‘My tortoise is empty and

hungry, and my feet need washing to-day.’ And he stood before his

barrier, and lifted up his club in both hands.

Then Theseus rushed upon him; and sore was the battle upon the cliff, for

when Sciron felt the weight of the bronze club, he dropt his own, and

closed with Theseus, and tried to hurl him by main force over the cliff.

But Theseus was a wary wrestler, and dropt his own club, and caught him

by the throat and by the knee, and forced him back against the wall of

stones, and crushed him up against them, till his breath was almost gone.

And Sciron cried panting, ‘Loose me, and I will let thee pass.’ But

Theseus answered, ‘I must not pass till I have made the rough way

smooth;’ and he forced him back against the wall till it fell, and Sciron

rolled head over heels.

Then Theseus lifted him up all bruised, and said, ‘Come hither and wash

my feet.’ And he drew his sword, and sat down by the well, and said,

‘Wash my feet, or I cut you piecemeal.’

And Sciron washed his feet trembling; and when it was done, Theseus rose,

and cried, ‘As thou hast done to others, so shall it be done to thee. Go

feed thy tortoise thyself;’ and he kicked him over the cliff into the

sea.

And whether the tortoise ate him, I know not; for some say that earth and

sea both disdained to take his body, so foul it was with sin. So the sea

cast it out upon the shore, and the shore cast it back into the sea, and

at last the waves hurled it high into the air in anger; and it hung there

long without a grave, till it was changed into a desolate rock, which

stands there in the surge until this day.

This at least is true, which Pausanias tells, that in the royal porch at

Athens he saw the figure of Theseus modelled in clay, and by him Sciron

the robber falling headlong into the sea.

Then he went a long day’s journey, past Megara, into the Attic land, and

high before him rose the snow-peaks of Cithæron, all cold above the black

pine-woods, where haunt the Furies, and the raving Bacchæ, and the Nymphs

who drive men wild, far aloft upon the dreary mountains, where the storms

howl all day long. And on his right hand was the sea always, and

Salamis, with its island cliffs, and the sacred strait of the sea-fight,

where afterwards the Persians fled before the Greeks. So he went all day

until the evening, till he saw the Thriasian plain, and the sacred city

of Eleusis, where the Earth-mother’s temple stands. For there she met

Triptolemus, when all the land lay waste, Demeter the kind Earth-mother,

and in her hands a sheaf of corn. And she taught him to plough the

fallows, and to yoke the lazy kine; and she taught him to sow the

seed-fields, and to reap the golden grain; and sent him forth to teach

all nations, and give corn to labouring men. So at Eleusis all men

honour her, whosoever tills the land; her and Triptolemus her beloved,

who gave corn to labouring men.

And he went along the plain into Eleusis, and stood in the market-place,

and cried—

‘Where is Kerkuon, the king of the city? I must wrestle a fall with him

to-day.’

Then all the people crowded round him, and cried, ‘Fair youth, why will

you die? Hasten out of the city, before the cruel king hears that a

stranger is here.’

But Theseus went up through the town, while the people wept and prayed,

and through the gates of the palace-yard, and through the piles of bones

and skulls, till he came to the door of Kerkuon’s hall, the terror of all

mortal men.

And there he saw Kerkuon sitting at the table in the hall alone; and

before him was a whole sheep roasted, and beside him a whole jar of wine.

And Theseus stood and called him, ‘Holla, thou valiant wrestler, wilt

thou wrestle a fall to-day?’

And Kerkuon looked up and laughed, and answered, ‘I will wrestle a fall

to-day; but come in, for I am lonely and thou weary, and eat and drink

before thou die.’

Then Theseus went up boldly, and sat down before Kerkuon at the board;

and he ate his fill of the sheep’s flesh, and drank his fill of the wine;

and Theseus ate enough for three men, but Kerkuon ate enough for seven.

But neither spoke a word to the other, though they looked across the

table by stealth; and each said in his heart, ‘He has broad shoulders;

but I trust mine are as broad as his.’

At last, when the sheep was eaten and the jar of wine drained dry, King

Kerkuon rose, and cried, ‘Let us wrestle a fall before we sleep.’

So they tossed off all their garments, and went forth in the palace-yard;

and Kerkuon bade strew fresh sand in an open space between the bones.

And there the heroes stood face to face, while their eyes glared like

wild bulls’; and all the people crowded at the gates to see what would

befall.

And there they stood and wrestled, till the stars shone out above their

heads; up and down and round, till the sand was stamped hard beneath

their feet. And their eyes flashed like stars in the darkness, and their

breath went up like smoke in the night air; but neither took nor gave a

footstep, and the people watched silent at the gates.

But at last Kerkuon grew angry, and caught Theseus round the neck, and

shook him as a mastiff shakes a rat; but he could not shake him off his

feet.

But Theseus was quick and wary, and clasped Kerkuon round the waist, and

slipped his loin quickly underneath him, while he caught him by the

wrist; and then he hove a mighty heave, a heave which would have stirred

an oak, and lifted Kerkuon, and pitched him right over his shoulder on

the ground.

Then he leapt on him, and called, ‘Yield, or I kill thee!’ but Kerkuon

said no word; for his heart was burst within him with the fall, and the

meat, and the wine.

Then Theseus opened the gates, and called in all the people; and they

cried, ‘You have slain our evil king; be you now our king, and rule us

well.’

‘I will be your king in Eleusis, and I will rule you right and well; for

this cause I have slain all evil-doers—Sinis, and Sciron, and this man

last of all.’

Then an aged man stepped forth, and said, ‘Young hero, hast thou slain

Sinis? Beware then of Ægeus, king of Athens, to whom thou goest, for he

is near of kin to Sinis.’

‘Then I have slain my own kinsman,’ said Theseus, ‘though well he

deserved to die. Who will purge me from his death, for rightfully I slew

him, unrighteous and accursed as he was?’

And the old man answered—

‘That will the heroes do, the sons of Phytalus, who dwell beneath the

elm-tree in Aphidnai, by the bank of silver Cephisus; for they know the

mysteries of the Gods. Thither you shall go and be purified, and after

you shall be our king.’

So he took an oath of the people of Eleusis, that they would serve him as

their king, and went away next morning across the Thriasian plain, and

over the hills toward Aphidnai, that he might find the sons of Phytalus.

And as he was skirting the Vale of Cephisus, along the foot of lofty

Parnes, a very tall and strong man came down to meet him, dressed in rich

garments. On his arms were golden bracelets, and round his neck a collar

of jewels; and he came forward, bowing courteously, and held out both his

hands, and spoke—

‘Welcome, fair youth, to these mountains; happy am I to have met you!

For what greater pleasure to a good man, than to entertain strangers?

But I see that you are weary. Come up to my castle, and rest yourself

awhile.’

‘I give you thanks,’ said Theseus: ‘but I am in haste to go up the

valley, and to reach Aphidnai in the Vale of Cephisus.’

‘Alas! you have wandered far from the right way, and you cannot reach

Aphidnai to-night, for there are many miles of mountain between you and

it, and steep passes, and cliffs dangerous after nightfall. It is well

for you that I met you, for my whole joy is to find strangers, and to

feast them at my castle, and hear tales from them of foreign lands. Come

up with me, and eat the best of venison, and drink the rich red wine, and

sleep upon my famous bed, of which all travellers say that they never saw

the like. For whatsoever the stature of my guest, however tall or short,

that bed fits him to a hair, and he sleeps on it as he never slept

before.’ And he laid hold on Theseus’ hands, and would not let him go.

Theseus wished to go forwards: but he was ashamed to seem churlish to so

hospitable a man; and he was curious to see that wondrous bed; and

beside, he was hungry and weary: yet he shrank from the man, he knew not

why; for, though his voice was gentle and fawning, it was dry and husky

like a toad’s; and though his eyes were gentle, they were dull and cold

like stones. But he consented, and went with the man up a glen which led

from the road toward the peaks of Parnes, under the dark shadow of the

cliffs.

And as they went up, the glen grew narrower, and the cliffs higher and

darker, and beneath them a torrent roared, half seen between bare

limestone crags. And around there was neither tree nor bush, while from

the white peaks of Parnes the snow-blasts swept down the glen, cutting

and chilling till a horror fell on Theseus as he looked round at that

doleful place. And he asked at last, ‘Your castle stands, it seems, in a

dreary region.’

‘Yes; but once within it, hospitality makes all things cheerful. But who

are these?’ and he looked back, and Theseus also; and far below, along

the road which they had left, came a string of laden asses, and merchants

walking by them, watching their ware.

‘Ah, poor souls!’ said the stranger. ‘Well for them that I looked back

and saw them! And well for me too, for I shall have the more guests at

my feast. Wait awhile till I go down and call them, and we will eat and

drink together the livelong night. Happy am I, to whom Heaven sends so

many guests at once!’

And he ran back down the hill, waving his hand and shouting, to the

merchants, while Theseus went slowly up the steep pass.

But as he went up he met an aged man, who had been gathering drift-wood

in the torrent-bed. He had laid down his faggot in the road, and was

trying to lift it again to his shoulder. And when he saw Theseus, he

called to him, and said—

‘O fair youth, help me up with my burden, for my limbs are stiff and weak

with years.’

Then Theseus lifted the burden on his back. And the old man blest him,

and then looked earnestly upon him, and said—

‘Who are you, fair youth, and wherefore travel you this doleful road?’

‘Who I am my parents know; but I travel this doleful road because I have

been invited by a hospitable man, who promises to feast me, and to make

me sleep upon I know not what wondrous bed.’

Then the old man clapped his hands together and cried—

‘O house of Hades, man-devouring! will thy maw never be full? Know, fair

youth, that you are going to torment and to death, for he who met you (I

will requite your kindness by another) is a robber and a murderer of men.

Whatsoever stranger he meets he entices him hither to death; and as for

this bed of which he speaks, truly it fits all comers, yet none ever rose

alive off it save me.’

‘Why?’ asked Theseus, astonished.

‘Because, if a man be too tall for it, he lops his limbs till they be

short enough, and if he be too short, he stretches his limbs till they be

long enough: but me only he spared, seven weary years agone; for I alone

of all fitted his bed exactly, so he spared me, and made me his slave.

And once I was a wealthy merchant, and dwelt in brazen-gated Thebes; but

now I hew wood and draw water for him, the torment of all mortal men.’

Then Theseus said nothing; but he ground his teeth together.

‘Escape, then,’ said the old man, ‘for he will have no pity on thy youth.

But yesterday he brought up hither a young man and a maiden, and fitted

them upon his bed; and the young man’s hands and feet he cut off, but the

maiden’s limbs he stretched until she died, and so both perished

miserably—but I am tired of weeping over the slain. And therefore he is

called Procrustes the stretcher, though his father called him Damastes.

Flee from him: yet whither will you flee? The cliffs are steep, and who

can climb them? and there is no other road.’

But Theseus laid his hand upon the old man’s month, and said, ‘There is

no need to flee;’ and he turned to go down the pass.

‘Do not tell him that I have warned you, or he will kill me by some evil

death;’ and the old man screamed after him down the glen; but Theseus

strode on in his wrath.

And he said to himself, ‘This is an ill-ruled land; when shall I have

done ridding it of monsters?’ And as he spoke, Procrustes came up the

hill, and all the merchants with him, smiling and talking gaily. And

when he saw Theseus, he cried, ‘Ah, fair young guest, have I kept you too

long waiting?’

But Theseus answered, ‘The man who stretches his guests upon a bed and

hews off their hands and feet, what shall be done to him, when right is

done throughout the land?’

Then Procrustes’ countenance changed, and his cheeks grew as green as a

lizard, and he felt for his sword in haste; but Theseus leapt on him, and

cried—

‘Is this true, my host, or is it false?’ and he clasped Procrustes round

waist and elbow, so that he could not draw his sword.

‘Is this true, my host, or is it false?’ But Procrustes answered never a

word.

Then Theseus flung him from him, and lifted up his dreadful club; and

before Procrustes could strike him he had struck, and felled him to the

ground.

And once again he struck him; and his evil soul fled forth, and went down

to Hades squeaking, like a bat into the darkness of a cave.

Then Theseus stript him of his gold ornaments, and went up to his house,

and found there great wealth and treasure, which he had stolen from the

passers-by. And he called the people of the country, whom Procrustes had

spoiled a long time, and parted the spoil among them, and went down the

mountains, and away.

And he went down the glens of Parnes, through mist, and cloud, and rain,

down the slopes of oak, and lentisk, and arbutus, and fragrant bay, till

he came to the Vale of Cephisus, and the pleasant town of Aphidnai, and

the home of the Phytalid heroes, where they dwelt beneath a mighty elm.

And there they built an altar, and bade him bathe in Cephisus, and offer

a yearling ram, and purified him from the blood of Sinis, and sent him

away in peace.

And he went down the valley by Acharnai, and by the silver-swirling

stream, while all the people blessed him, for the fame of his prowess had

spread wide, till he saw the plain of Athens, and the hill where Athené

dwells.

So Theseus went up through Athens, and all the people ran out to see him;

for his fame had gone before him and every one knew of his mighty deeds.

And all cried, ‘Here comes the hero who slew Sinis, and Phaia the wild

sow of Crommyon, and conquered Kerkuon in wrestling, and slew Procrustes

the pitiless.’ But Theseus went on sadly and steadfastly, for his heart

yearned after his father; and he said, ‘How shall I deliver him from

these leeches who suck his blood?’

So he went up the holy stairs, and into the Acropolis, where Ægeus’

palace stood; and he went straight into Ægeus’ hall, and stood upon the

threshold, and looked round.

And there he saw his cousins sitting about the table at the wine: many a

son of Pallas, but no Ægeus among them. There they sat and feasted, and

laughed, and passed the wine-cup round; while harpers harped, and

slave-girls sang, and the tumblers showed their tricks.

Loud laughed the sons of Pallas, and fast went the wine-cup round; but

Theseus frowned, and said under his breath, ‘No wonder that the land is

full of robbers, while such as these bear rule.’

Then the Pallantids saw him, and called to him, half-drunk with wine,

‘Holla, tall stranger at the door, what is your will to-day?’

‘I come hither to ask for hospitality.’

‘Then take it, and welcome. You look like a hero and a bold warrior; and

we like such to drink with us.’

‘I ask no hospitality of you; I ask it of Ægeus the king, the master of

this house.’

At that some growled, and some laughed, and shouted, ‘Heyday! we are all

masters here.’

‘Then I am master as much as the rest of you,’ said Theseus, and he

strode past the table up the hall, and looked around for Ægeus; but he

was nowhere to be seen.

The Pallantids looked at him, and then at each other, and each whispered

to the man next him, ‘This is a forward fellow; he ought to be thrust out

at the door.’ But each man’s neighbour whispered in return, ‘His

shoulders are broad; will you rise and put him out?’ So they all sat

still where they were.

Then Theseus called to the servants, and said, ‘Go tell King Ægeus, your

master, that Theseus of Troezene is here, and asks to be his guest

awhile.’

A servant ran and told Ægeus, where he sat in his chamber within, by

Medeia the dark witch-woman, watching her eye and hand. And when Ægeus

heard of Troezene he turned pale and red again, and rose from his seat

trembling, while Medeia watched him like a snake.

‘What is Troezene to you?’ she asked. But he said hastily, ‘Do you not

know who this Theseus is? The hero who has cleared the country from all

monsters; but that he came from Troezene, I never heard before. I must

go out and welcome him.’

So Ægeus came out into the hall; and when Theseus saw him, his heart

leapt into his mouth, and he longed to fall on his neck and welcome him;

but he controlled himself, and said, ‘My father may not wish for me,

after all. I will try him before I discover myself;’ and he bowed low

before Ægeus, and said, ‘I have delivered the king’s realm from many

monsters; therefore I am come to ask a reward of the king.’

And old Ægeus looked on him, and loved him, as what fond heart would not

have done? But he only sighed, and said—

‘It is little that I can give you, noble lad, and nothing that is worthy

of you; for surely you are no mortal man, or at least no mortal’s son.’

‘All I ask,’ said Theseus, ‘is to eat and drink at your table.’

‘That I can give you,’ said Ægeus, ‘if at least I am master in my own

hall.’

Then he bade them put a seat for Theseus, and set before him the best of

the feast; and Theseus sat and ate so much, that all the company wondered

at him: but always he kept his club by his side.

But Medeia the dark witch-woman had been watching him all the while. She

saw how Ægeus turned red and pale when the lad said that he came from

Troezene. She saw, too, how his heart was opened toward Theseus; and how

Theseus bore himself before all the sons of Pallas, like a lion among a

pack of curs. And she said to herself, ‘This youth will be master here;

perhaps he is nearer to Ægeus already than mere fancy. At least the

Pallantilds will have no chance by the side of such as he.’

Then she went back into her chamber modestly, while Theseus ate and

drank; and all the servants whispered, ‘This, then, is the man who killed

the monsters! How noble are his looks, and how huge his size! Ah, would

that he were our master’s son!’

But presently Medeia came forth, decked in all her jewels, and her rich

Eastern robes, and looking more beautiful than the day, so that all the

guests could look at nothing else. And in her right hand she held a

golden cup, and in her left a flask of gold; and she came up to Theseus,

and spoke in a sweet, soft, winning voice—

‘Hail to the hero, the conqueror, the unconquered, the destroyer of all

evil things! Drink, hero, of my charmed cup, which gives rest after

every toil, which heals all wounds, and pours new life into the veins.

Drink of my cup, for in it sparkles the wine of the East, and Nepenthe,

the comfort of the Immortals.’

And as she spoke, she poured the flask into the cup; and the fragrance of

the wine spread through the hall, like the scent of thyme and roses.

And Theseus looked up in her fair face and into her deep dark eyes. And

as he looked, he shrank and shuddered; for they were dry like the eyes of

a snake. And he rose, and said, ‘The wine is rich and fragrant, and the

wine-bearer as fair as the Immortals; but let her pledge me first herself

in the cup, that the wine may be the sweeter from her lips.’

Then Medeia turned pale, and stammered, ‘Forgive me, fair hero; but I am

ill, and dare drink no wine.’

And Theseus looked again into her eyes, and cried, ‘Thou shalt pledge me

in that cup, or die.’ And he lifted up his brazen club, while all the

guests looked on aghast.

Medeia shrieked a fearful shriek, and dashed the cup to the ground, and

fled; and where the wine flowed over the marble pavement, the stone

bubbled, and crumbled, and hissed, under the fierce venom of the draught.

But Medeia called her dragon chariot, and sprang into it and fled aloft,

away over land and sea, and no man saw her more.

And Ægeus cried, ‘What hast thou done?’ But Theseus pointed to the

stone, ‘I have rid the land of an enchantment: now I will rid it of one

more.’

And he came close to Ægeus, and drew from his bosom the sword and the

sandals, and said the words which his mother bade him.

And Ægeus stepped back a pace, and looked at the lad till his eyes grew

dim; and then he cast himself on his neck and wept, and Theseus wept on

his neck, till they had no strength left to weep more.

Then Ægeus turned to all the people, and cried, ‘Behold my son, children

of Cecrops, a better man than his father was before him.’

Who, then, were mad but the Pallantids, though they had been mad enough

before? And one shouted, ‘Shall we make room for an upstart, a

pretender, who comes from we know not where?’ And another, ‘If he be

one, we are more than one; and the stronger can hold his own.’ And one

shouted one thing, and one another; for they were hot and wild with wine:

but all caught swords and lances off the wall, where the weapons hung

around, and sprang forward to Theseus, and Theseus sprang forward to

them.

And he cried, ‘Go in peace, if you will, my cousins; but if not, your

blood be on your own heads.’ But they rushed at him; and then stopped

short and railed him, as curs stop and bark when they rouse a lion from

his lair.

But one hurled a lance from the rear rank, which past close by Theseus’

head; and at that Theseus rushed forward, and the fight began indeed.

Twenty against one they fought, and yet Theseus beat them all; and those

who were left fled down into the town, where the people set on them, and

drove them out, till Theseus was left alone in the palace, with Ægeus his

new-found father. But before nightfall all the town came up, with

victims, and dances, and songs; and they offered sacrifices to Athené,

and rejoiced all the night long, because their king had found a noble

son, and an heir to his royal house.

So Theseus stayed with his father all the winter: and when the spring

equinox drew near, all the Athenians grew sad and silent, and Theseus saw

it, and asked the reason; but no one would answer him a word.

Then he went to his father, and asked him: but Ægeus turned away his face

and wept.

‘Do not ask, my son, beforehand, about evils which must happen: it is

enough to have to face them when they come.’

And when the spring equinox came, a herald came to Athens, and stood in

the market, and cried, ‘O people and King of Athens, where is your yearly

tribute?’ Then a great lamentation arose throughout the city. But

Theseus stood up to the herald, and cried—

‘And who are you, dog-faced, who dare demand tribute here? If I did not

reverence your herald’s staff, I would brain you with this club.’

And the herald answered proudly, for he was a grave and ancient man—

‘Fair youth, I am not dog-faced or shameless; but I do my master’s

bidding, Minos, the King of hundred-citied Crete, the wisest of all kings

on earth. And you must be surely a stranger here, or you would know why

I come, and that I come by right.’

‘I am a stranger here. Tell me, then, why you come.’

‘To fetch the tribute which King Ægeus promised to Minos, and confirmed

his promise with an oath. For Minos conquered all this land, and Megara

which lies to the east, when he came hither with a great fleet of ships,

enraged about the murder of his son. For his son Androgeos came hither

to the Panathenaic games, and overcame all the Greeks in the sports, so

that the people honoured him as a hero. But when Ægeus saw his valour,

he envied him, and feared lest he should join the sons of Pallas, and

take away the sceptre from him. So he plotted against his life, and slew

him basely, no man knows how or where. Some say that he waylaid him by

Oinoe, on the road which goes to Thebes; and some that he sent him

against the bull of Marathon, that the beast might kill him. But Ægeus

says that the young men killed him from envy, because he had conquered

them in the games. So Minos came hither and avenged him, and would not

depart till this land had promised him tribute—seven youths and seven

maidens every year, who go with me in a black-sailed ship, till they come

to hundred-citied Crete.’

And Theseus ground his teeth together, and said, ‘Wert thou not a herald

I would kill thee for saying such things of my father; but I will go to

him, and know the truth.’ So he went to his father, and asked him; but

he turned away his head and wept, and said, ‘Blood was shed in the land

unjustly, and by blood it is avenged. Break not my heart by questions;

it is enough to endure in silence.’

Then Theseus groaned inwardly, and said, ‘I will go myself with these

youths and maidens, and kill Minos upon his royal throne.’

And Ægeus shrieked, and cried, ‘You shall not go, my son, the light of my

old age, to whom alone I look to rule this people after I am dead and

gone. You shall not go, to die horribly, as those youths and maidens

die; for Minos thrusts them into a labyrinth, which Daidalos made for him

among the rocks,—Daidalos the renegade, the accursed, the pest of this

his native land. From that labyrinth no one can escape, entangled in its

winding ways, before they meet the Minotaur, the monster who feeds upon

the flesh of men. There he devours them horribly, and they never see

this land again.’

Then Theseus grew red, and his ears tingled, and his heart beat loud in

his bosom. And he stood awhile like a tall stone pillar on the cliffs

above some hero’s grave; and at last he spoke—

‘Therefore all the more I will go with them, and slay the accursed beast.

Have I not slain all evil-doers and monsters, that I might free this

land? Where are Periphetes, and Sinis, and Kerkuon, and Phaia the wild

sow? Where are the fifty sons of Pallas? And this Minotaur shall go the

road which they have gone, and Minos himself, if he dare stay me.’

‘But how will you slay him, my son? For you must leave your club and

your armour behind, and be cast to the monster, defenceless and naked

like the rest.’

And Theseus said, ‘Are there no stones in that labyrinth; and have I not

fists and teeth? Did I need my club to kill Kerkuon, the terror of all

mortal men?’

Then Ægeus clung to his knees; but he would not hear; and at last he let

him go, weeping bitterly, and said only this one word—

‘Promise me but this, if you return in peace, though that may hardly be:

take down the black sail of the ship (for I shall watch for it all day

upon the cliffs), and hoist instead a white sail, that I may know afar

off that you are safe.’

And Theseus promised, and went out, and to the market-place where the

herald stood, while they drew lots for the youths and maidens, who were

to sail in that doleful crew. And the people stood wailing and weeping,

as the lot fell on this one and on that; but Theseus strode into the

midst, and cried—‘Here is a youth who needs no lot. I myself will be one

of the seven.’

And the herald asked in wonder, ‘Fair youth, know you whither you are

going?’

And Theseus said, ‘I know. Let us go down to the black-sailed ship.’

So they went down to the black-sailed ship, seven maidens, and seven

youths, and Theseus before them all, and the people following them

lamenting. But Theseus whispered to his companions, ‘Have hope, for the

monster is not immortal. Where are Periphetes, and Sinis, and Sciron,

and all whom I have slain?’ Then their hearts were comforted a little;

but they wept as they went on board, and the cliffs of Sunium rang, and

all the isles of the Ægean Sea, with the voice of their lamentation, as

they sailed on toward their deaths in Crete.

PART III

HOW THESEUS SLEW THE MINOTAUR

And at last they came to Crete, and to Cnossus, beneath the peaks of Ida,

and to the palace of Minos the great king, to whom Zeus himself taught

laws. So he was the wisest of all mortal kings, and conquered all the

Ægean isles; and his ships were as many as the sea-gulls, and his palace

like a marble hill. And he sat among the pillars of the hall, upon his

throne of beaten gold, and around him stood the speaking statues which

Daidalos had made by his skill. For Daidalos was the most cunning of all

Athenians, and he first invented the plumb-line, and the auger, and glue,

and many a tool with which wood is wrought. And he first set up masts in

ships, and yards, and his son made sails for them: but Perdix his nephew

excelled him; for he first invented the saw and its teeth, copying it

from the back-bone of a fish; and invented, too, the chisel, and the

compasses, and the potter’s wheel which moulds the clay. Therefore

Daidalos envied him, and hurled him headlong from the temple of Athené;

but the Goddess pitied him (for she loves the wise), and changed him into

a partridge, which flits for ever about the hills. And Daidalos fled to

Crete, to Minos, and worked for him many a year, till he did a shameful

deed, at which the sun hid his face on high.

Then he fled from the anger of Minos, he and Icaros his son having made

themselves wings of feathers, and fixed the feathers with wax. So they

flew over the sea toward Sicily; but Icaros flew too near the sun; and

the wax of his wings was melted, and he fell into the Icarian Sea. But

Daidalos came safe to Sicily, and there wrought many a wondrous work; for

he made for King Cocalos a reservoir, from which a great river watered

all the land, and a castle and a treasury on a mountain, which the giants

themselves could not have stormed; and in Selinos he took the steam which

comes up from the fires of Ætna, and made of it a warm bath of vapour, to

cure the pains of mortal men; and he made a honeycomb of gold, in which

the bees came and stored their honey, and in Egypt he made the forecourt

of the temple of Hephaistos in Memphis, and a statue of himself within

it, and many another wondrous work. And for Minos he made statues which

spoke and moved, and the temple of Britomartis, and the dancing-hall of

Ariadne, which he carved of fair white stone. And in Sardinia he worked

for Iölaos, and in many a land beside, wandering up and down for ever

with his cunning, unlovely and accursed by men.

But Theseus stood before Minos, and they looked each other in the face.

And Minos bade take them to prison, and cast them to the monster one by

one, that the death of Androgeos might be avenged. Then Theseus cried—

‘A boon, O Minos! Let me be thrown first to the beast. For I came

hither for that very purpose, of my own will, and not by lot.’

‘Who art thou, then, brave youth?’

‘I am the son of him whom of all men thou hatest most, Ægeus the king of

Athens, and I am come here to end this matter.’

And Minos pondered awhile, looking steadfastly at him, and he thought,

‘The lad means to atone by his own death for his father’s sin;’ and he

answered at last mildly—

‘Go back in peace, my son. It is a pity that one so brave should die.’

But Theseus said, ‘I have sworn that I will not go back till I have seen

the monster face to face.’

And at that Minos frowned, and said, ‘Then thou shalt see him; take the

madman away.’

And they led Theseus away into the prison, with the other youths and

maids.

But Ariadne, Minos’ daughter, saw him, as she came out of her white stone

hall; and she loved him for his courage and his majesty, and said, ‘Shame

that such a youth should die!’ And by night she went down to the prison,

and told him all her heart; and said—

‘Flee down to your ship at once, for I have bribed the guards before the

door. Flee, you and all your friends, and go back in peace to Greece;

and take me, take me with you! for I dare not stay after you are gone;

for my father will kill me miserably, if he knows what I have done.’

And Theseus stood silent awhile; for he was astonished and confounded by

her beauty: but at last he said, ‘I cannot go home in peace, till I have

seen and slain this Minotaur, and avenged the deaths of the youths and

maidens, and put an end to the terrors of my land.’

‘And will you kill the Minotaur? How, then?’

‘I know not, nor do I care: but he must be strong if he be too strong for

me.’

Then she loved him all the more, and said, ‘But when you have killed him,

how will you find your way out of the labyrinth?’

‘I know not, neither do I care: but it must be a strange road, if I do

not find it out before I have eaten up the monster’s carcase.’

Then she loved him all the more, and said—‘Fair youth, you are too bold;

but I can help you, weak as I am. I will give you a sword, and with that

perhaps you may slay the beast; and a clue of thread, and by that,

perhaps, you may find your way out again. Only promise me that if you

escape safe you will take me home with you to Greece; for my father will

surely kill me, if he knows what I have done.’

Then Theseus laughed, and said, ‘Am I not safe enough now?’ And he hid

the sword in his bosom, and rolled up the clue in his hand; and then he

swore to Ariadne, and fell down before her, and kissed her hands and her

feet; and she wept over him a long while, and then went away; and Theseus

lay down and slept sweetly.

And when the evening came, the guards came in and led him away to the

labyrinth.

And he went down into that doleful gulf, through winding paths among the

rocks, under caverns, and arches, and galleries, and over heaps of fallen

stone. And he turned on the left hand, and on the right hand, and went

up and down, till his head was dizzy; but all the while he held his clue.

For when he went in he had fastened it to a stone, and left it to unroll

out of his hand as he went on; and it lasted him till he met the

Minotaur, in a narrow chasm between black cliffs.

And when he saw him he stopped awhile, for he had never seen so strange a

beast. His body was a man’s: but his head was the head of a bull; and

his teeth were the teeth of a lion, and with them he tore his prey. And

when he saw Theseus he roared, and put his head down, and rushed right at

him.

But Theseus stept aside nimbly, and as he passed by, cut him in the knee;

and ere he could turn in the narrow path, he followed him, and stabbed

him again and again from behind, till the monster fled bellowing wildly;

for he never before had felt a wound. And Theseus followed him at full

speed, holding the clue of thread in his left hand.

Then on, through cavern after cavern, under dark ribs of sounding stone,

and up rough glens and torrent-beds, among the sunless roots of Ida, and

to the edge of the eternal snow, went they, the hunter and the hunted,

while the hills bellowed to the monster’s bellow.

[Picture: Theseus and Minotaur]

And at last Theseus came up with him, where he lay panting on a slab

among the snow, and caught him by the horns, and forced his head back,

and drove the keen sword through his throat.

Then he turned, and went back limping and weary, feeling his way down by

the clue of thread, till he came to the mouth of that doleful place and

saw waiting for him, whom but Ariadne!

And he whispered ‘It is done!’ and showed her the sword; and she laid her

finger on her lips, and led him to the prison, and opened the doors, and

set all the prisoners free, while the guards lay sleeping heavily; for

she had silenced them with wine.

Then they fled to their ship together, and leapt on board, and hoisted up

the sail; and the night lay dark around them, so that they passed through

Minos’ ships, and escaped all safe to Naxos; and there Ariadne became

Theseus’ wife.

PART IV

HOW THESEUS FELL BY HIS PRIDE

But that fair Ariadne never came to Athens with her husband. Some say

that Theseus left her sleeping on Naxos among the Cyclades; and that

Dionusos the wine-king found her, and took her up into the sky, as you

shall see some day in a painting of old Titian’s—one of the most glorious

pictures upon earth. And some say that Dionusos drove away Theseus, and

took Ariadne from him by force: but however that may be, in his haste or

in his grief, Theseus forgot to put up the white sail. Now Ægeus his

father sat and watched on Sunium day after day, and strained his old eyes

across the sea to see the ship afar. And when he saw the black sail, and

not the white one, he gave up Theseus for dead, and in his grief he fell

into the sea, and died; so it is called the Ægean to this day.

And now Theseus was king of Athens, and he guarded it and ruled it well.

For he killed the bull of Marathon, which had killed Androgeos, Minos’

son; and he drove back the famous Amazons, the warlike women of the East,

when they came from Asia, and conquered all Hellas, and broke into Athens

itself. But Theseus stopped them there, and conquered them, and took

Hippolute their queen to be his wife. Then he went out to fight against

the Lapithai, and Peirithoos their famous king: but when the two heroes

came face to face they loved each other, and embraced, and became noble

friends; so that the friendship of Theseus and Peirithoos is a proverb

even now. And he gathered (so the Athenians say) all the boroughs of the

land together, and knit them into one strong people, while before they

were all parted and weak: and many another wise thing he did, so that his

people honoured him after he was dead, for many a hundred years, as the

father of their freedom and their laws. And six hundred years after his

death, in the famous fight at Marathon, men said that they saw the ghost

of Theseus, with his mighty brazen club, fighting in the van of battle

against the invading Persians, for the country which he loved. And

twenty years after Marathon his bones (they say) were found in Scuros, an

isle beyond the sea; and they were bigger than the bones of mortal man.

So the Athenians brought them home in triumph; and all the people came

out to welcome them; and they built over them a noble temple, and adorned

it with sculptures and paintings in which we are told all the noble deeds

of Theseus, and the Centaurs, and the Lapithai, and the Amazons; and the

ruins of it are standing still.

But why did they find his bones in Scuros? Why did he not die in peace

at Athens, and sleep by his father’s side? Because after his triumph he

grew proud, and broke the laws of God and man. And one thing worst of

all he did, which brought him to his grave with sorrow. For he went down

(they say beneath the earth) with that bold Peirithoos his friend to help

him to carry off Persephone, the queen of the world below. But

Peirithoos was killed miserably, in the dark fire-kingdoms under ground;

and Theseus was chained to a rock in everlasting pain. And there he sat

for years, till Heracles the mighty came down to bring up the

three-headed dog who sits at Pluto’s gate. So Heracles loosed him from

his chain, and brought him up to the light once more.

But when he came back his people had forgotten him, and Castor and

Polydeuces, the sons of the wondrous Swan, had invaded his land, and

carried off his mother Aithra for a slave, in revenge for a grievous

wrong.

[Picture: Warriors fighting]

So the fair land of Athens was wasted, and another king ruled it, who

drove out Theseus shamefully, and he fled across the sea to Scuros. And

there he lived in sadness, in the house of Lucomedes the king, till

Lucomedes killed him by treachery, and there was an end of all his

labours.

So it is still, my children, and so it will be to the end. In those old

Greeks, and in us also, all strength and virtue come from God. But if

men grow proud and self-willed, and misuse God’s fair gifts, He lets them

go their own ways, and fall pitifully, that the glory may be His alone.

God help us all, and give us wisdom, and courage to do noble deeds! but

God keep pride from us when we have done them, lest we fall, and come to

shame!

* * * * *

THE END

* * * * *

_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, _Edinburgh_.

* * * * *

Footnotes

{96} In the Elgin Marbles.

{130a} The Danube.

{130b} Between the Crimæa and Circassia.

{130c} The Sea of Azov.

{131a} The Ural Mountains?

{131b} The Baltic?

{132} Britain?

{133} The Azores?