ajias was the king of the city of Athens the Monarch had several wives but none gave him a male child as an heir this made him feel sad and worried the king decided to visit the Oracle of Delphi the place where the Greeks found answers to the most diverse questions he asked the pythoness a priestess of Apollo capable of predicting the future what he needed to do to have a male child as usual the pythoness's answer to ajeus was very obscure and cryptic the king could not decipher the meaning of what was said by the oracle the king of Athens returned home disappointed not to find the answer he was looking for [Music] on his way home ajia stayed at the palace of the wise king pitius of trozen an old friend of the Athenian King ajias told him the pythonesses Revelation and the clever pythius understood the prophecy immediately he realized that ajeus would have a child with the first woman he met on his way home with this information the king of Trojan intoxicated his guest and offered his daughter to sleep with ajeus Intoxicated by alcohol and lust at the site of such a beautiful young woman the Athenian could not resist his desires and gave himself over to his Passions that same night princess athra was visited by the goddess Athena Spector the goddess said that aethra should go to the beach and make an offering to the gods thus the son she was expecting would be blessed by them princess stepped into the sea Waters and made her offering to the Gods beside him the god of the seas emerged this surprise to the princess who was amazed by the Magnificent deity Poseidon placed his hand on her belly and said that her child would achieve glories as great as those of Zeus's offspring the god joined himself to the princess the child born from ethera's womb would be the son of ajias and Poseidon the next day athera told ajias about her meeting with the gods and that they had blessed the child that would be born from the Union obviously she preferred not to reveal all the details ajias was very pleased with the news but he feared for the child's safety the king had many enemies If the child was a boy she should not tell anyone who the father was ajeus lifted a large Stone and placed his sandals and sword under it when his son had the strength to lift the stone the queen was to send him to Athens to be the prince of Attica a beautiful strong boy named Theseus was born he was raised by his wise grandfather who prepared him to be a hero when Theseus was still a child Hercules visited his grandfather's Palace when they heard that Hercules had arrived little Theseus and his friends ran to meet him [Music] Hercules had left his lion skin cloak on an armchair when they ran into the Hall the children were terrified because they thought it was a real lion but young Theseus seemed to have no fear he took the dagger from the palace guard and attacked the lion Hercules had a great laugh as he watched the boy stab the Lion's hide he stated that with such a heart pythius's grandson would be destined to have his name written in the stars Hercules and Theseus would be great friends in the future and together they would face many challenges when he was 16 years old Theseus decided to try to lift the stone where ajeus had hid in his sandals and sword with his immense strength he lifted the stone with ease finding his father's belongings he put on the king's sandals and told his mother that he would leave for Athens his grandfather gave him a ship to head for the port of pyreus but Theseus refused saying that there would be no honor and arriving at his father's house without dust on his sandals and blood on the blade of his sword he dismissed his grandfather's courtesy and hit the road toward his destination after picking up his father's sandals and sword Theseus headed on foot to Athens the road was long and fraught with danger the roads were full of Bandits and there were wild beasts on the loose in the fields and forests but Theseus was not afraid he set out alone on his way to meet the father he did not know on the way the young man met several Bandits among them was parafitis famous for his iron Club Theseus was attacked by the villain but managed to dodge the strikes after a powerful counter-attack punch Theseus disarmed and killed paraphides with his own club soon after he encountered cerseon who was challenging all the travelers to a melee without the use of weapons cerseon killed all that he defeated the young hero bravely faced his Challenger they measured forces and cerseon proved to be very strong Theseus used unprecedented fighting techniques to defeat sorceron to this day he is considered the inventor of Greco-Roman wrestling eating other Bandits Theseus was attacked by a large boar but not even Mother Nature's creatures could stop the stubborn boy after wiping out the animal the hero met procrustis the most feared figure in the region [Music] he offered the hero a bed to rest in procrustis had two beds one large and one small when a tall visitor appeared he offered the small bed since the man could not fit into the bed he would cut off his legs to fit the bed perfectly if the visitor was small he offered the large bed and for the visitor to fill the bed he would pull the victim's legs and arms with ropes but this Bandit was no match for the hero Theseus threw him into the small bed and made him taste his own poison after this long journey Theseus arrived in Athens but even without having sent any message his arrival did not surprise the Old King agias who was already waiting for him he had been warned days before by the Sorceress Medea who had predicted the arrival of the king's heir but he did not learn the whole truth the Sorceress had gained much influence in a Jesus court and knew that her clout would be lost with theseus's arrival she warned the king that the arrival of the man would be responsible for the Monarch's death she told the king to welcome the visitor with all Hospitality offering him a glass of wine in this way all his problems were solved King offered the poison cup of wine to his guest Theseus raised the cup and toasted the king's health when he raised his arm the king's sword became visible and ajias recognized it immediately Theseus was about to drink the wine but the king knocked the Goblet over then he embraced his son who had finally come to stand beside his father ajeus expelled the Sorceress Medea from his kingdom for conspiring against his son's life the king introduced Theseus to the people of Athens and recognized him as the prince of Attica and heir to the Athens throne after returning to Athens and becoming heir to the Attica Kingdom Theseus encountered a revolting situation emissaries from King Minos of Crete had arrived in Athens for tributes owed to the monarch Athens had been subdued by Crete after the war between the cities prompted by the murder of minos's son while he was visiting the kingdom of ajias as a clause of the peace treaty Athens was to send 14 youths to Crete annually to serve his tribute seven men and seven women upon arrival in Crete these young men and women were taken to the infamous Labyrinth of Minos where they were used as a sacrifice to the Dreadful Minotaur a creature half man half bull the Athenians could no longer bear to see their sons delivered as sacrificial Lambs but there was nothing they could do about it however on learning of the situation Theseus decided to put a stop to it he volunteered to be one of the young men delivered to Crete saying that the time for humiliation had come to an end he would leave with the other young men and they would all return alive after Exterminating the Beast that fed on the blood of the Athenian children king agias tried to convince him to abandon this idea but to no avail Theseus seeing his son leave blessed him and told him that the ship that would take him to Crete would by tradition leave with Black Sails as a sign of mourning for the live sacrificed but if Theseus returned safely he was to set white sails that way on seeing the boat on the horizon the king's heart would immediately be put at ease distressed ajias watched the ship carrying his son disappear over the horizon not knowing if he would return upon reaching the island of Crete the 14 young children were taken to the place of Minos to be presented to the king while King Minos was examining the young men and women delivered as tribute the beautiful princess ariadne was also in the throne room she on seeing the handsome young man Theseus fell in love immediately during the night ariadne secretly visited this cell where the object of her passion was Theseus was waiting for the moment when he would be taken to the Labyrinth she told him that Eros had struck her heart as soon as she saw Theseus and she would not allow him to be killed by the infamous creature she gave BCS a sword and a ball of yarn he thought the sword would allow him to put an end to the Sinister creature that was taking the lives of his countrymen but he did not understand the yarn balls purpose ariadne told him that the sword would allow him to exterminate the monster and the ball of yarn would show him the way out of the labyrinth the next day ariadne and Theseus parted as the hero set off in search of his Destiny she held the end of the yarn ball Theseus entered the Labyrinth with the other youngsters as he walked a yarn Trail formed behind him the Labyrinth was dark and scary the tension was high sometimes they could hear the snorts of the lurking creature blood stains stained the labyrinth's ground and walls but the Reckless Theseus believed his blood would not paint the soil red the Minotaur emerged and with a surprise attack tried to kill the hero however the agile Theseus dodged the beasts several blows but the hero's counter-attack was devastating with just one sharp blow Theseus rid the world of the nefarious creature the young hero saved the lives of most of his fellow Travelers and following the trail of the thread they left the Labyrinth ariadne greeted Theseus with Eyes Full of Tears Theseus and ariadne kissed each other passionately and they left together for the port where the ship to escape from Crete awaited them during the journey the couple's love increased during the night Theseus received a visit from the god Dionysus who demanded an end to the romance between the couple ariadne was destined to the god of wine out of respect for the gods Theseus landed with arianny on the island of naxos and he abandoned her there the desperate and poor princess saw her lover leave but she would not be helpless for she was destined for the god of ecstasy the young man headed for Athens with a broken heart out of sadness brought on by the separation Theseus forgot to Hoist the white sails as his father had requested King agias who was eagerly awaiting the return of his beloved Son felt his heart tremble at the sight of the boat returning with the Black Sails ajeus jumped from the top of the cliffs into the waters and a great sadness fell over Attica the king's tomb sea was renamed the Aegean Sea what should have been a triumphant return turned out to be a Melancholy affair but Attica praised Theseus the young man killed the terrible Minotaur and was now the leader of Athens Theseus became one of the most famous Heroes of Greek mythology his long Reign is full of Adventures and misfortunes his achievements are inscribed in the Stars thank you after defeating the Minotaur and the tragic death of King Aegean Theseus the Crown Prince of Athens became Atticus ruler a after cementing his power the new king of Athens came to be revered because of his accomplishments as a Young Man Theseus was a just wise and magnanimous King he was not power hungry in his Reign power was handed over to the people and all citizens were seen as equals Theseus kept only his position as Supreme chief of the Athenian Army it was a prosperous period in Attica Athens was considered the happiest and freest city in the world democracy flourished the king had a kind heart when he learned that the Great Hero Hercules had gone mad and was plunged into a terrible depression Theseus set out to help him Theseus succeeded in boosting Hercules morale after their meeting the two Heroes established close bonds of friendship when Hercules left for the kingdom of the Amazons to perform another of his famous labors Theseus went with him after defeating the Amazons Theseus returned to Attica bringing with him the Amazon antiope the hero had his son hippolytus with her but the Amazons had not forgotten the Abduction of their princess antiope and prepared an expedition to invade the Attica region the warrior women terrorized the area and even invaded Athens led by Theseus the Athenian population fought against the horde of women warriors antiope fought alongside Theseus and was killed on the battlefield for her betrayal the Athenians bravely repulsed the Invaders after the athenian's heroic Victory no enemy ever dared to invade Athens while Theseus was the ruler Theseus may not have been someone thirsty for power but his love of Adventure made him take part in the hunt for the Caledonian boar he also joined the hero Jason in his quest for the Golden Fleece Theseus had reached the peak of his glory his Prestige was such that some referred to him as the Athenian Hercules unlike many other Greek Heroes Theseus did not lose his life in his youth alongside His Friend pirithus the King of the lapiths would still have Many Adventures ahead of him Theseus traveled to the thessalian region at the invitation of his friend pirithus he was about to marry the beautiful princess hippodemia the relatives of the king known as lapiths a rough but very brave people from the mountains were invited to the Royal Wedding they were the first Greeks to tame and ride horses the lapiths were the sons of the famous King ixion thrown into Tartarus by the gods to face Eternal suffering the centaurs beings that were a mixture of man and horse were also invited the creatures were also ixion's children so there was some rivalry between them and the lapiths the feast began and Theseus fraternized with the lapiths and the centaurs everything seemed going well at this exotic party but as the guests became intoxicated with too much booze the centaur's most primitive instincts began to surface uretus leader of the centaurs drunk on wine decided to kidnap pyrithus's beautiful bride the Centaur grabbed hippodamia and the bride shrieked in panic the other centaurs followed the leader's example and carried off the guests wives and the King's Maids Theseus could not bear to see such barbarity alongside pirathis he led the lapiths against the centaurs the lapis threw everything they had Within Reach at the centaurs dishes and four eye and jugs soared through the air Theseus hit the Centaur leader in the head with a bronze jug the creature fell to the ground with its head split open with his spear purethus charged at the centaurs the fight between the lapiths and the centaurs was Bloody but theseus's presence armed with a club was decisive for the lapith's victory the queen was rescued and pirathis owed a great debt of gratitude to Theseus this event further strengthened the bonds of friendship between the heroes who became Inseparable friends they would even storm the realm of the Dead together [Music] s was no longer young after the death of anteopy the Amazon and mother of his son hippolytus the hero did not remarry but the hero eventually met Phaedra sister of ariadne the great love of theseus's Youth the young woman made Theseus experience again his golden Boyhood years when he alone faced the terrible Minotaur with the consent of the king of Crete the hero married Phaedra and made her his Queen sealing an alliance between the cretan and Athenian kingdoms the age difference between Theseus and his new wife was enormous she was the same age as his son hippolytus the young man was pure and had taken a vow of Chastity in honor of the goddess Artemis the prince was extremely handsome therefore the queen began to cultivate a secret love for her stepson only her faithful servant knew of the Queen's love for hippolytus had left on a journey and Phaedra took the opportunity to give vent to all the repressed love in her heart the queen declared her love for hippolytus and proposed that they unite to Reign Over Athens together hippolytus unlike Phaedra placed loyalty to Theseus primarily and repudiated the outrageous proposal the young man left Athens leaving the distraught Queen behind desperate Phaedra decided to end her own life but due to passionate Madness she wrote a letter to Theseus before the ACT Upon returning to Athens the old hero learned of his wife's death and the servant handed him the letter written by Phaedra the contents of the letter had a devastating effect the Mad Queen accused hippolytus of having tried to rape her and not to be unfaithful to her husband she wrote she had no choice but to commit suicide the enraged Theseus confronted his son presenting the letter as proof of his treachery hippolytus denied having committed that dastardly deed but Theseus did not take his son at his word the king of Athens cursed hippolytus and begged Poseidon his Divine father to put an end to the treacherous Prince's life hippolytus left in his Chariot carrying a great sorrow in his heart on the afternoon of that day Theseus received news that his son had suffered a terrible accident while driving The Chariot and was on the verge of death Theseus feigned indifference to the news but Phaedra's maid could not bear to see the suffering caused by her mistress and decided to reveal the whole truth to Theseus the Athenian Sovereign felt immense pain and ran to his son who was gasping his last breaths shedding tears over the young man's body Theseus blamed himself for not having trusted his son hippolytus using his remaining strength held his father's hand and looked into his eyes he forgave him from the bottom of his heart [Music] Theseus the great Athenian hero was no longer young although he still had physical Sparkle his gray hair signaled the onset of decline and wishing to relive his youthful Adventures he set out with his friend pirithus the king of the lapiths In Search of challenges the tortuous paths LED them to Sparta where King tendarius reigned in the temple of Artemis a festival was taking place where young girls danced gracefully one stood out from the rest her name was Helen people say that she was the Queen's daughter with Zeus and that she was the world's most beautiful woman Theseus was overcome with desire and kidnapped her with the help of his friend Helen despite her voluptuous Beauty was still noticeably young and naive Theseus and pirithus Drew lots for who would get the young maiden and fate decided favorably for Theseus the old hero promised to help his friend find a woman who was as beautiful as his and who was also Zeus's daughter but before that he left Helen under the care of athra his mother there was no woman whose Beauty could even resemble Helens pirathus realized that only the beauty of a goddess could match that of the Spartan princess so he decided to keep a goddess for himself and chose Persephone like Helen Persephone was also Zeus's daughter but she was also the wife of Hades the lord of the underworld even so Theseus and pirathus imprudently set out for Haiti's realm in search of their prey the Heroes made their way through the underworld until they reached Hades Palace however their attempt to kidnap Persephone was unsuccessful and because of a trick by Hades Theseus and pirithus were imprisoned both were chained for years in the Underworld they would have remained there forever if it were not for Hercules who went to the underworld to fulfill his 12th labor capturing Cerberus Hercules freed Theseus but as he tried to free pyrithus an earthquake proved that this was not the will of the Gods Theseus returned to the surface while pirithus did not it is said that as punishment he remains imprisoned to this day others claim that the king of the lapiths was devoured by Cerberus during the time that Theseus was imprisoned in the Underworld Helen's Brothers Castor and Pollux rescued the Spartan princess and returned her to her parents after coming back to the world of the living waning Theseus prepared for life's Melancholy Twilight [Music] a long time passed before Hercules finally released the hero from his prison in the Underworld when the hero at last saw the light of day again he was already old and his strength had been gobbled up by time but he was unaware that the kingdom in Attica had undergone great changes due to his long absence the Spartans Castor and Pollux together with their men had defeated Athens popular Government after all the Spartans wanted to rescue their sister Helen who had been kidnapped by Theseus taking advantage of the ensuing chaos the Athenian nobility took the power back for themselves the monarch of Athens was menacius a descendant of the family that had ruled the city even before theseus's father igias Rose to power Theseus was only a shadow of his former self and knew that he did not have the strength to fight for Athens he decided to secretly remove his sons from the city and send them to Crete where their grandfather would take them in due to bad weather Theseus stopped at King lycomedy's Island where he had a large estate King like amedes received the old hero cordially and presented him with his lands but Theseus didn't know that lycamedes was a close friend of meniscus the reigning king of Attica and that he also wished to Annex theseus's lands in his kingdom the king led the old Theseus along a road at the edge of a cliff and taking advantage of theseus's carelessness lycamedes pushed him off the cliff Theseus the hero whose Adventures had been sung about throughout Greece died his Reckless adventures in his old age tarnished the hero's reputation for centuries but according to Legend when King Darius of Persia decided to invade Athens the spirit of Theseus resurfaced filling the hearts of the Athenian warriors with courage this led to their victory over the Persians in the famous Battle of Marathon in honor of Theseus the Athenians made an expedition to rescue the hero's Remains the hero's bones were buried in Athens with great honors after all he was the greatest of all the Athenian Heroes foreign [Music]