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For the Sparta
Sparta

Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the Eurotas River in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From circa 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars....
n hero Aegeus, see Aegeus (hero)
Aegeus (hero)

In Greek mythology, Aegeus is the eponymic hero of the phyle called the Aegeidae at Sparta. He was a son of Oeolycus, and grandson of Theras, the founder of the colony in Thera....
.
In Greek mythology
Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
, Aegeus (???e??), also Aigeus, Aegeas or Aigeas, was an archaic figure in the founding myth
Founding myth

A national myth is an inspiring narrative or anecdote about a nation's past. Such myths often serve as an important national symbol and affirm a set of national values....
 of Athens
Athens

Athens , the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the List of cities by time of continuous habitation, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
. The "goat-man" who gave his name to the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea

The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkans and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey respectively....
 was, next to Poseidon
Poseidon

In Greek mythology, Poseidon was the god of the sea and, as "Earth-Shaker," of earthquakes. The name of the god Nethuns in Etruscan mythology was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon....
, the father of Theseus
Theseus

For other uses, see Theseus Theseus was a legendary king of Athens, son of Aethra , and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, with whom Aethra lay in one night....
, the founder of Athenian institutions and one of the kings of Athens.

the death of the king his father, Pandion II
Pandion II

In Greek mythology, Pandion II was son and heir of Cecrops II, King of Athens. and his wife Metiadusa. He was exiled from Athens, Greece by the sons of his uncle Metion who sought to put Metion on the throne....
, Aegeus and his three brothers, Pallas
Pallas (son of Pandion)

In Greek mythology Pallas was one of the four sons of Pandion II and Pylia. Upon the death of Pandion, Pallas and his brothers took control of Athens from Metion, who had seized the throne from Pandion....
, Nisos
Nisos

In Greek mythology, Nisos was the King of Megara, and one of the four sons of Pandion II, King of Athens.He was married to Abrota, and when she died, Nisos commanded that the Megarian women wear clothes like she had....
, and Lykos
Lycus

Lycus or Lykos...
, took control of Athens from Metion
Metion

In Greek mythology, Metion was a son of King Erechtheus of Athens or of Eupalamus, son of King Erechtheus. His sons later drove King Pandion II out of Athens into exile....
, who had seized the throne from Pandion.






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For the Sparta
Sparta

Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the Eurotas River in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From circa 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars....
n hero Aegeus, see Aegeus (hero)
Aegeus (hero)

In Greek mythology, Aegeus is the eponymic hero of the phyle called the Aegeidae at Sparta. He was a son of Oeolycus, and grandson of Theras, the founder of the colony in Thera....
.
In Greek mythology
Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
, Aegeus (???e??), also Aigeus, Aegeas or Aigeas, was an archaic figure in the founding myth
Founding myth

A national myth is an inspiring narrative or anecdote about a nation's past. Such myths often serve as an important national symbol and affirm a set of national values....
 of Athens
Athens

Athens , the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the List of cities by time of continuous habitation, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
. The "goat-man" who gave his name to the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea

The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkans and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey respectively....
 was, next to Poseidon
Poseidon

In Greek mythology, Poseidon was the god of the sea and, as "Earth-Shaker," of earthquakes. The name of the god Nethuns in Etruscan mythology was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon....
, the father of Theseus
Theseus

For other uses, see Theseus Theseus was a legendary king of Athens, son of Aethra , and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, with whom Aethra lay in one night....
, the founder of Athenian institutions and one of the kings of Athens.

The myth


Early reign and subjugation to Crete

Upon the death of the king his father, Pandion II
Pandion II

In Greek mythology, Pandion II was son and heir of Cecrops II, King of Athens. and his wife Metiadusa. He was exiled from Athens, Greece by the sons of his uncle Metion who sought to put Metion on the throne....
, Aegeus and his three brothers, Pallas
Pallas (son of Pandion)

In Greek mythology Pallas was one of the four sons of Pandion II and Pylia. Upon the death of Pandion, Pallas and his brothers took control of Athens from Metion, who had seized the throne from Pandion....
, Nisos
Nisos

In Greek mythology, Nisos was the King of Megara, and one of the four sons of Pandion II, King of Athens.He was married to Abrota, and when she died, Nisos commanded that the Megarian women wear clothes like she had....
, and Lykos
Lycus

Lycus or Lykos...
, took control of Athens from Metion
Metion

In Greek mythology, Metion was a son of King Erechtheus of Athens or of Eupalamus, son of King Erechtheus. His sons later drove King Pandion II out of Athens into exile....
, who had seized the throne from Pandion. They divided the government in four but Aegeas became king.

An ancient subjugation of Athens to Crete is explained by the myth that while visiting in Athens, King Minos
Minos

In Greek mythology, Minos was a mythical king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa . After his death, Minos became a judge of the dead in Greek Underworld....
' son, Androgeus
Androgeus

In Greek mythology, Androgeus was the father of Sthenelus and a son of Minos and Pasipha?. Aegeus, King of Athens, killed Androgeus because he won every prize during a feast....
 "breeder of men", managed to defeat Aegeus in every contest during the Panathenaic Games
Panathenaic Games

The Panathenaic Games were a set of games held every four years in Athens in Ancient Greece.The games were actually part of a much larger religious festival, the Panathenaia, which was held every year....
. Out of jealousy, Aegeus sent him to conquer the Marathonian Bull, which killed him. Minos was angry and declared war on Athens. He offered the Athenians peace, however, under the condition that Athens would send seven young men and seven young women every nine years to Crete
Crete

Crete is the largest of the Greek islands and the List of islands in the Mediterranean largest island in the Mediterranean Sea at 8,336 km? ....
 to be fed to the Minotaur
Minotaur

In Greek mythology, the Minotaur was a creature that was part man and part Bull . It dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction built for King Minos of Crete and designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus who were ordered to build it to hold the Minotaur....
, a vicious monster. This continued until Theseus killed the Minotaur with the help of Ariadne
Ariadne

Ariadne, in Greek mythology , was daughter of Monarch Minos of Crete and his queen, Pasipha?, daughter of Helios, the Sun-titan. She aided Theseus in overcoming the Minotaur and later became the bride of the god Dionysus....
, Minos' daughter.

Aegeus and women

Aegeus' first wife was Meta
Meta

Meta , is a prefix used in English language in order to indicate a concept which is an abstraction from another concept, used to complete or add to the latter....
 and the second was Chalciope
Chalciope

Chalciope was a princess in Greek mythology, daughter of King Aeetes of Colchis, sister of Medea and wife of Phrixus. Phrixus, son of Athamus and Nephele, along with his twin Helle , were hated by their stepmother, Ino....
. Still without a male heir, Aegeus asked the Oracle
Pythia

The Pythia was the priestess presiding over the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi, located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus. The Pythia was widely credited with giving prophecy inspired by Apollo, giving her a prominence unusual for a woman in male-dominated ancient Greece....
 at Delphi
Delphi

Delphi is an archaeology site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis. Delphi was the site of the Pythia, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, when it was a major site for the worship of the god Apollo after he slew the Python , a deity who lived there and protecte...
 for advice. Her cryptic words were "Do not loosen the bulging mouth of the wineskin until you have reached the height of Athens, lest you die of grief." Aegeus did not understand the prophecy and was disappointed.

Aegeus went to Troezen
Troezen

Troezen , modern: Troizina or Trizina is a small town in the northeastern Peloponnese, located southwest of Athens and a few miles south of Methana....
 where he was the guest of Troezen's king Pittheus
Pittheus

In Greek mythology, Pittheus was a son of Pelops and father of Aethra. He was the King of Troezen. He was a wise man and understood the words of Aegeus' prophesy when no one else did....
. Pittheus understood the prophecy and introduced Aegeas to his daughter, Aithra, when he was drunk. They slept with each other and then, in some versions, Aethra waded out to the sea to the island of Sphairia, and bedded also with Poseidon
Poseidon

In Greek mythology, Poseidon was the god of the sea and, as "Earth-Shaker," of earthquakes. The name of the god Nethuns in Etruscan mythology was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon....
. When she fell pregnant, Aegeus decided to go back to Athens. Before leaving, he covered his sandals, shield and sword under a huge rock and told her that when their son grew up, he should move the rock and bring the weapons back, by which sign his father would acknowledge him. Upon his return to Athens, Aegeus married Medea
Medea

Medea is a woman in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of Aeetes of Colchis, niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason, with whom she had two children: Mermeros and Pheres....
 who had fled from Corinth
Corinth

Corinth, or Korinth Corinth is now the capital of the Prefectures of Greece of Corinthia. The city is surrounded by the coastal townlets of Lechaio, Isthmia, Kechries, and the inland townlets of Examilia and the archaeological site....
 and the wrath of Jason
Jason

Jason was a late ancient Greece Greek mythology figure, famous as the leader of the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcus....
. Aegeus and Medea had one son together named Medus
Medus

In Greek mythology, Medus was the son of Medea. His father is generally agreed to be Aegeas, although Hesiod states that Jason fathered him and Cheiron raised him....
.

Theseus and Minotaur

In Troezen, Theseus grew up and became a brave young man. He managed to move the rock and took his father's arms. His mother then told him the identity of his father and that he should take the weapons back to him at Athens and be acknowledged. Theseus decided to go to Athens and had the choice of going by sea, which was the safe way, or by land, following a dangerous path with thieves and bandits all the way. Young, brave and ambitious, Theseus decided to go to Athens by land.

When Theseus arrived, he did not reveal his true identity. He was welcomed by Aegeas, who was suspicious about the stranger who came to Athens. Medea tried to have Theseus killed by encouraging Aegeas to ask him to capture the Marathonian Bull, but Theseus succeeded. She tried to poison him, but at the last second, Aegeas recognized his sword and knocked the poisoned cup out of Theseus' hand. Father and son were thus reunited, and Medea was sent away to Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
.

Aegeus had told Theseus, before he left, to put up the white sails when he left Crete, if he had been successful in killing the Minotaur. Theseus forgot, and Aegeus jumped into the sea when he saw the black sails coming into Athens, in the mistaken belief that his son had been slain, thus fulfilling the prophecy. Henceforth, this sea was known as the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea

The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkans and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey respectively....
.

Sophocles
Sophocles

Sophocles was the second of the three classical Greece tragedy whose work has survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus and earlier than those of Euripides....
' tragedy Aegeus has been lost, but Aegeus features in Euripedes' Medea
Medea (play)

Medea is an Ancient Greece tragedy play written by Euripides, based upon the myth of Jason and Medea and first produced in 431 BC. The Plot largely centers on the protagonist in her struggle with the world, and the revenge she brings about against her husband Jason who has betrayed her for another woman, the princess Glauce....
.

Legacy

At Athens, the traveller Pausanias
Pausanias (geographer)

Pausanias was a Roman Greece traveller and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius....
 was informed in the second-century CE that the cult of Aphrodite Urania
Aphrodite Urania

Urania was an epithet of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, signifying "heavenly" or "spiritual", to distinguish her from her more earthly aspect of "Aphrodite Pandemos", "Aphrodite for all the people"....
 above the Kerameikos was so ancient that it had been established by Aegeas, whose sisters were barren, and he still childless himself.

See also

  • Apollodorus
    Apollodorus

    Apollodorus of Athens son of Asclepiades, was a Greeks scholar and grammarian. He was a pupil of Diogenes of Babylon, Panaetius, and the grammarian Aristarchus of Samothrace....
    , Bibliotheke.
  • Catullus
    Catullus

    Gaius Valerius Catullus was a Roman poet of the 1st century BC. His work remains widely studied, and continues to influence poetry and other forms of art....
    , LXIV.
  • Plutarch
    Plutarch

    Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. AD 46 ? 120 ? commonly known in English as Plutarch ? was a Ancient Rome historian , biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonism....
    , Theseus
    Theseus

    For other uses, see Theseus Theseus was a legendary king of Athens, son of Aethra , and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, with whom Aethra lay in one night....
    .


External links