¶ … Myth
It has been stated that there are only seven real story lines, upon which all literature is based. Whether or not this is true, modern literature often echoes myths or legends of long ago. Sometimes, the recycling of a tale is blatant, and other times it is subtle. William Shakespeare regularly made use of Greek myths, and folklore. In the play, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Shakespeare's premise is that Theseus, the Duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, a warrior he has captured, are to be married. Shakespeare has successfully created a plotline based, if only loosely, on the greek myths of Theseus and Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons.
The myth of Theseus is one of the most popular of the Greek myths. There are many different stories that involve Theseus, but perhaps the most famous is the story of how Theseus killed the Minotaur. The greeks understood the myth in this way:
Theseus was a prince, the son of King Aegeus of Athens. There were a group of people known as the Minoans who lived on the Isle of Crete, and they had a very strong Navy. The Minoan king, King Minos, would regularly send his navy out to attack Greek cities, including Athens, and everyone feared him. King Aegeus had an agreement with King Minos that if Minos left Athens alone, Aegeus would send seven Athenian boys and seven Athenian girls to Crete every nine years to be eaten by the Minotaur, a monster that lived on Crete. Minos agreed,...
One year, when it was time to send the Athenians to be eaten by the Minotaur, Theseus decided that it was time to go and kill the Minotaur to protect his people. King Aegeus was frightened, and begged him not to go, but Theseus was determined. The boat he would take had a black sail. He promised to change it to a white sail if he lived to come home and to announce that he had won. When Theseus and the others arrived in Crete, the king and his daughter Ariadne greeted them. Minos was set on throwing them in to the Minotaur, but there was a snag. Ariadne had fallen in love with Theseus. That night she gave Theseus a sword and a ball of string. She told him to tie one end at the door of the Labyrinth and unroll it behind him as he went in order to find his way back after he killed the Minotaur. The next day when the Athenians arrived at the Labyrinth, Theseus was ready, while the others were all very afraid. He found the Minotaur and killed it with the sword, then led the others out of the Labyrinth. Ariadne began back with Theseus but along the way she fell asleep on an island and he left her there. As he arrived back in Athens, he was so excited that he forgot to change the sail, and his father was so stricken with grief that he threw himself off a cliff.
Another myth involving Theseus features Theseus meeting up with the Amazons, a tribe of ruthless women who capture men and hold…
