Chapter 13, Theseus Summary and Analysis

There are four myths dedicated to Theseus. Theseus's birth is attributed to his mother and to Poseidon, but Aegeus is recognized as the mortal she slept with the night she conceived the child. The woman Aethra dreamed of a sojourn to an island where she was overwhelmed by Poseidon and the shape of an actual island was changed. The god agreed to give the mortal man credit for siring the baby. However, when this 'love-child' was raised, the guardian somehow knew of this connection to Poseidon, and Graves informs readers that the guardian is known to have spread the rumor, or knowledge, that the boy's true father was the god Poseidon. Early indications of his courageous nature are given in an anecdote. Little Theseus found a weapon and made to prepare to fight a lion - the lion was...