Curtis Richard - Theseus: the King Who Killed the Minotaur

Aegeus grasped Theseus by the shoulders and looked deep into his eyes as he explained the horror. Theseus had never seen his father look frightened before.

Somewhere below the Palace of King Minos lives a monster called the Minotaur. It is half a giant man, and half a giant bull, with dark green scaly skin and broken teeth stained red with human blood. Every year, Minos sacrifices fourteen young Greeks to it. He sends them into his maze, which is so brilliantly designed God knows by whose sick mind so full of twists and turns that its impossible for anyone to find their way out. But the Minotaur knows every inch of it. The young men and women who enter it never come out the monster eats them alive.

And this year, its Athens turn to provide a meal for the Minotaur, is it? asked Theseus.

Thats right, replied Aegeus. Tonight, in the temple, the young people will draw lots to decide who should go.

Well, Ill go for one, said Theseus, and try and sort this thing out.

From Tony to Kate and Huw Illingworth, and in memory of Dave.

From Richard to the Bad Girl in Black.

It was night, a pitch black night. The sky was blacker than the blackest thing youve ever seen and then a little blacker than that. The streets were full of deep, dark shadows. Everything was still. Then one shadow moved: it was a woman, dodging from doorway to doorway in the dark, with a small bundle in her arms. She was very old, bent double from fear and exhaustion, and she was crying. Suddenly, at the end of the street, three men appeared. Their swords were out. They were looking for her and ready for the kill. The woman flattened herself against a door and held her breath, terrified that she would be found. And then found dead the next morning. The mens echoing footsteps grew louder and louder. Had they seen her?

Im sure she went this way, snapped the tall one.

No, weve missed her, growled the short one angrily.

Lets try by the harbour, added the one who was a pretty normal size, but had very bad teeth.

They moved off and the old woman took her chance. She staggered round the corner and before her saw the looming outline of the Palace of the King of Athens. Holding tight to her bundle, she climbed the huge, high steps and prayed that when she reached the massive door at the top, someone would hear her knocking.

And they did. The great brass doors opened and she found herself in an enormous dark room. Ghostly shadows seemed to move in its corners, like animals moving in a forest at night. But fear made the old woman bold, and she shouted into the darkness:

The King, the King! I must talk to the King! Bring me to King Aegeus!!!

In an instant the room was filled with the light of a hundred flickering lanterns. The shadows turned into people, and all their eyes were on the old woman whose shoulder was cut and dripped blood onto the stone floor.

Another second passed, then the giant doors at the other end of the room crashed open, and there stood the King: he was short and stocky and the bronze crown on his head shone in the firelight.

Who wants me? he called.

The old woman stepped forward. Her voice choked as she spoke.

My Lord my King! Your summer palace has been attacked by soldiers. The Queen is dead. Everyone is dead!

The Kings face showed not a flicker of emotion. Everyone? he asked quietly.

Everyone except The old lady reached forward to show him what she held in her arms. It was a baby boy. Everyone except your son, Theseus.

King Aegeus gently placed his hand on the old womans shoulder and whispered, My brother Laius has done this.

Then he wiped the blood from his hand, took his son in his arms and walked back through the towering doors. The whole palace waited to hear the sound of his rage and fury but there was silence absolute silence. It was only later, just before morning, that the guard outside the Kings room heard him crying.

When his wife was buried, Aegeus proclaimed that his son, baby Theseus, was to be taken to the town of Troezen.

He will be safe there from my brother until he has grown to be a man. And when he is a man, then he will return home and together we will avenge his mothers death.

But no road in the world is as dangerous as the road to Troezen, cried the old nurse. Its full of bandits and ogres and man-eating monsters so disgusting it makes your hair turn white just thinking about them.

Aegeus gave a flicker of a smile. I wont be taking any risks with the life of the next King of Athens, he replied. My son and I will go by sea.

So they sailed safely to Troezen: but when they arrived, the King didnt go straight into the city. Instead, he took his six strongest soldiers to a nearby hill on the top of which sat an enormous stone.

No man has ever lifted this stone, he said. The soldiers werent surprised. It was massive. Then King Aegeus added, You lot will be the first.

And so the poor soldiers took off their helmets, rolled up their sleeves and got down to work. They heaved, they strained, they made funny little groaning noises. Their veins stood out on their foreheads like big blue worms and their muscles bulged like coconuts. And finally, fffffiiiiinally, the stone moved. But it didnt go shooting up above their heads in fact, it didnt even reach their knees. No all these tough guys could manage was a gap the size of a thimble between the stone and the earth. Immediately Aegeus slipped a sword and a pair of sandals beneath it before DOOOMMMPH!!, the rock crashed down again and the men collapsed in an exhausted sweaty heap.

When Theseus lifts that rock on his own and retrieves that sword and those sandals, thats when he will be ready to return to Athens, Aegeus announced. Then he placed his son in the trust of two specially chosen old friends and returned to Athens. By sea.

The old friends just happened to be the two greatest teachers in Greece. If anyone could bring up a boy worthy to be King of Athens, it was them. One was called Daedalus: he was tall, thin, clever, shortsighted and the greatest inventor in the world. The other was Hercules: he was also tall, but strong, the strongest man in the world. And the fastest runner. And the best fighter. Daedalus was going to teach Theseus to be clever. Hercules would teach him to be a Hero.

For the next ten years, the pattern was the same. Every day Hercules raced Theseus up the hill and round the big stone, and every day Theseus ran a little faster.

And in the evening, Daedalus taught him maths.

Every day Hercules challenged Theseus to tear up trees and wrestle with snakes, and every day Theseus got a little stronger.

And in the evening, Daedalus taught him geometry.

Every day Hercules and Theseus banged their heads against the city walls, threw javelins at eagles, and fooled around with lions, and every day Theseus grew a little wilder.

And in the evening, Daedalus made Theseus work out difficult problems like: How do you calculate the amount of water in a bath?