Theseus, King of
Athens
Theseus, King of
Athens
Name: Theseus, King of Athens
Appearance: In the same line as his more famous cousin Heracles, Theseus is a similarly strong entity with bronzed skin and a head of flowing black hair. He possesses a simple, rouges charm and a brooding charisma. Having an adventurer's heart Theseus has little vanity but is clean and well kept when his office requires it. Uniquely too is his eclectic style, a vast wardrobe collected from his adventurous exploits in many counties.
Personality: Never has Athens had a greater hero. While having all the qualities of a traditional hero, such as strength and courage, he is also intelligent and wise. His most famous exploit was in breaking the curse of the labyrinth and saving Athens from the Minotar. Theseus also has the reputation as a just king who helps the poor and oppressed when ever the opportunity arises. He is a dangerously charming man who embraces fear and the wrath of the gods. He is feared throughout the world and cherished by those close to him. His presence always lives up to his reputation.
Powers: A son of Poseidon, Theseus has been blessed with a few unique qualities. He is unmatched and uncommonly powerful in swordsmanship while his abilities in equestrianism have never been matched by another mortal. Being a king who commands a formidable army and an equally destructive fleet, he has honed the skills of persuasion. It generally works on those who admire him for his good looks rather than those that do not. This quality has allowed him to be a successful diplomat and influential ruler.
Heroic Motivation: Boredom. Theseus has restless feet and a questing mind. He seeks out challenges other mortals run from, and in doing so he has become a hero known to the gods and anyone with an ear for a tale. Of late he has been consumed with his desire for adventure and seeks to free up some time by relinquishing Athenian control to a democratic senate.
Background: Theseus is the most famous of the legendary kings of Athens and the counterpart of the Dorian hero Heracles. He is the supposed son of Aegeus and Aethra but the actually spawn of Poseidon himself.
Aegeus, his father and once great king of Athens consulted the oracle of Delphi because he was unable to have children. As a result one of the wives, Aethra, was led by a dream sent her by Athena to a nearby island to offer herself as a sacrifice to Poseidon. And there, she was raped by the god. Before departing, Aegeus hid under a heavy rock, unknown to everybody except Aethra , a sword and a pair of sandals that his son should take with him back to Athens when grown up. If he were able to lift the rock he would make himself recognized.
When he was sixteen, Theseus was already so strong that his mother told him the secret. He lifted the rock, took the stuff and decided to go to Athens. Rather than going by sea, as recommended by his mother, Theseus decided to take the land road through the Isthmus of Corinth, which was by then infested by monsters of all kinds unchecked because Heracles was in captivity in Lydia.
Theseus was credited with many wondrous deeds on his way to Athens such as the slaying of Sciron, and after reaching it he was recognized as Aegeus' son. One exploit having already reached Athens was his victory over the Minotaur, which freed the city from the obligation to send Minos in Crete a tribute of seven youths and seven maidens every nine years as a condition for peace following a war waged earlier against this king. On his way back to Athens, having successfully dealt with the Minotaur and the Labyrinth, Theseus forgot to change the black sails of his ship for white sails that were supposed to let Athens know of his victory. So, when his father Aegeus saw the black sail on the horizon, he thought his son was dead and jumped into the sea to his death. The sea took his name thereafter, being called the Aegean Sea.
After he had become king of Athens, Theseus repudiated his former wife, an Amazon named Antiope, and this led to a war between Athens and the Amazons, which Theseus won. Heracles accompanied him on the quest which soon became one of the Dorians twelve labours. Following the war Theseus and his friend Peirithous vowed to offer one another daughters of Zeus for wives. As a result, they both took part in the abduction of Helen in Sparta when she was not yet of marriageable age. Theseus brought Helen back in Attica and entrusted her to his mother, hiding them both in a secret place in Attica. Then, he embarked with his friend Peirithous for Hades, in the hope of capturing Persephone, another of Zeus' daughters, for Peirithous. They reached the place but couldn't leave it. Theseus was eventually set free by Heracles, but not Peirithous, who still remains.
While Theseus was away, Helen's brothers, Castor and Pollux, invaded Attica with an army of Lacedaemonians, to get their sister back. At first, they simply asked for her, but when the Athenians answered they didn't know where she was, they set for war. Yet, an Athenian by the name of Academus, who somehow knew of Theseus' secret, told Helen's brothers where she hid. Castor and Pollux then freed their sister and took Theseus' mother prisoner to Sparta. Theseus has since returned home from Hades and is hell bound on a war with Sparta.
Home City: Athens, hater of Sparta.