The pupils wrote different scenes from the theseus and the minotaur myth and we complied these into a complete script. Despair set in and theseus wondered if this was where his life would end, down in the dark, all alone, next to the stinking body. Theseus finds the letter and banishes his innocent son. According to myth, theseus is the son of aegeus, king of athens, and aethra, princess of troizen, a city in southern.
The eldest of these, androgeus, set sail for athens to take part in the panathenian games, which were held there every four years. This is one of the popular greek myths about theseus and the minotaur. There, boys and girls are devoured by the maneating minotaur, a monster with the head of. I love seeing how different artists portray it, and love imagining victims lost within its passages. Theseus and the minotaur by warwick hutton goodreads.
The authors purpose is to share a mythological story. The king knew that, if he were to feed the monster with his own. He was kept in a maze of tunnels, a twisting labyrinth underneath the kings palace. The minotaur teachers notes about the story this famous myth unfolds thousands of years ago in ancient greece. It is worth considering the story since the similarities and differences can prove illuminating. Nov 05, 2010 i was disappointed that the labyrinth gets such short shrift. The third year, theseus, son of aegeus decided to be one of the seven young men that would go to crete, in order to kill the minotaur and end the. Theseus then freed athens from being a tribute state to king minos by slaying the minotaur, a monster with the body of a man and the head of a bull, and conquering the great labyrinth it was.
The story of theseus is one of the most famous tales of greek mythology. We shift the focus away from the hero of the story, theseus, instead focusing on the origins of the minotaur. Sep 21, 2017 the minotaur and the labyrinth is a story that many of us may know but how well do you really know the story of theseus and his battle with the minotaur. Every nine years, the people of athens had to make a dreadful payment in tribute to minos, king of crete, because one of his sons had been killed in athens. His role in history has been called a major cultural transition, like the making of the new olympia by hercules.
So, when theseus defeats the minotaur and outsmarts king minos, its a classic case of the underdog coming out on top. His version of theseuss journey across the water and through the cretan labyrinth, and home. Because of a past wrong, athens is forced to ship off young people to crete every few years. Since he was childless from his marriage with europa, minos one of europa s children with zeus and a stepson of asterius assumed the right to the throne, declaring to his rivals that this was the supposed will of the gods. Supplement your lesson with one or more of these options and challenge students to compare and contrast the texts. The ancient greeks also believed in powerful gods who watched over earth and intervened when they saw fit. Aegeus has left a sword and pair of shoes under a giant rock and says that when theseus gets strong enough to move the rock, he is to be sent to athens. Commonlit theseus and the minotaur paired texts free.
The history of one of greek mythologys most famous legends kindle edition by charles river editors, scott, andrew. This is a retelling of the greek myth of the hero theseus and his battles with the monster that is known as the minotaur. As related by edith hamilton in her classic volume mythology, the story is one of a hero rescuing an oppressed society from brutal strictures. Theseus persuades his father to allow him to go to crete, with the aim of killing the minotaur. King minos was embarrassed, but did not want to kill the minotaur, so he hid the monster in the labyrinth constructed by daedalus at the minoan palace of knossos according to the myth, minos was imprisoning his enemies in the labyrinth so that the. The minotaur is a monster, the offspring of pasiphae and the cretan bull, that had the head of a bull on the body of a man. Queen pasiphae slept with a bull sent by zeus, and gave birth to minotaur, a creature half man half bull. As theseus approaches athens, hes so full of himself that he forgets to change the sail of is ship to white. One of the most celebrated of the adventures of theseus is his. The story is about a king in crete thats wants a fabulous palace. He told the children to stay by the door and to make sure the string stayed tied so the prince could find his way back again. Play this story or choose another from the list of myths and legends. In crete, minos molests one of the maidens and theseus becomes angry and challenges him, boasting of his parentage by poseidon. Ovid recounts his conflict with medea and the minotaur in the seventh and the eighth book of his metamorphoses.
The story of the minotaur begins with the death of asterius or asterion, the sacred king of crete. Commonlit has identified one or more texts from our collection to pair with theseus and the minotaur, based on similar themes, literary devices, topic, or writing style. Everyone knows the mythological story, but while this book quickly summarizes the legend itself, the main focus is how and why the greeks told. Theseus felt all over the floor in the pitch darkness and kept thinking he had found it, only to realise that he all he had was a long wiry hair from the minotaur. Being strong and skillful, he did very well, winning some events outright. The minotaur was a hallbull and halfhuman creature. In order to get her, zeus transformed himself into a magnificent bull and with it persuaded europa to climb on his back. Just like we found the way the myth is told varies too. Maria is taken by the orcs and broken in their dungeon. The first biography narrated in plutarchs influential parallel lives is that of theseus. Story books theseus and the minotaur primary resources.
Jun 09, 2008 the theme of the story is when theseus killed the minotaur which i think was a weird way cuz he didnt really do anything exept let him run into a wall then stabbed him while he was down. There is some confusion about theseus parentage, some say he is the son of aegeus and aethra, and others the son of poseidon and aethra. Theseus and the minotaur myths and legends book 12. Mar 30, 2009 theseus was a king of athens famous for many exploits, and appearing in works by many authors and on countless vases. In several interviews, suzanne collins cites the greek myth of theseus and the minotaur as a significant influence on the world of panem. Theseus and the minotaur ancient greek mythology stories. The story of theseus and the minotaur the story of the minotaur started off when the god zeus became interested with a princess named europa. Theseus and the minotaur 1 minos, king of crete, had a monstrous son with the body of a man and the head of a bull. Ariadne gave theseus a ball of thread to help him through the maze. When he reached crete, ariadne, the beautiful daughter of minos fell in love will him and helped him kill the minotaur by giving him a sword which he killed the minotaur with and a ball of thread to help him find his way out of the labyrinth in which the minotaur lived. Theseus and the minotaur myths and legends from e2bn.
When theseus first arrives at crete and is tested by king minos, he immediately captivates ariadne, who deeply falls in love with theseus. Although leonard everett fishers theseus and the minotaur holiday, 1988 tells more of theseus story, both text and illustrations lack the poetry and imaginative verve of huttons version. The orc dominion series concludes in this final chapter. British comedian tony robinson wrote a version of the theseus story entitled theseus. Theseus hadnt even noticed the bull was still distracted. Even to the old guys who first wrote down theseuss story. They became prey of the minotaur in the labyrinth, and athens escaped further sanctions through their obedience. Mentioned in both the iliad and the odyssey, theseus is an important character in euripides play hippolytus.
Theseus and the minotaur play scripts dore primary school. Level 2 illustrated edition by laura north, ross collins isbn. The story of theseus and the minotaur essay 876 words. This childrens short story is expertly written and follows the story i remember of theseus and the. Can i have a short summary about theseus, the greek myth. Indeed, theseus is one of the best examples of a greek hero. In this animated video we look at the famous story of the minotaur.
He soon became a crowd favorite, much to the resentment of the. On approaching the coast of attica, theseus, intent on ariadne, forgot the signal appointed by his father, and neglected to raise the white sails, and the old king, thinking his son had perished, put an end to his own life. The hunger games the story of theseus and the minotaur. Author suzanne collins was inspired by theseus to write the hunger games trilogy 20082010. What is the demeter and persephone story summarized. The minotaur was a scary pet, so king minos hid him in a maze called a labyrinth. Artemis appears to theseus and reveals the truth, but it is too late because the boy has already been killed at sea. This lovely ebook is great for increasing and assessing familiarity with the main events in the story of theseus and the minotaur.
The story of theseus, ariadne and the minotaur universal. The minotaur and the labyrinth is a story that many of us may know but how well do you really know the story of theseus and his battle with the minotaur. Huttons text here is longer than in his biblical adaptations, and the narrative less noble. The short story and myth of theseus and the minotaur the myth about theseus and the minotaur is featured in the book entitled greek gods, heroes and men by caroline h. King minos had everything a king could possibly want. The minotaur was a terrible monster with the body of a man, and the head of a. Theseus and the minotaur 2 of 2 bigcloset topshelf. When aegeus sees the blacksailed ship approaching, he assumes that theseus. With europa on his back, zeus sped off to the island of crete.
The next morning, the athenian children, including prince theseus, were shoved into the maze. Instead, we spend most of the story watching theseus journey across the seas and falling in love with the lovely ariadne. I was disappointed that the labyrinth gets such short shrift. He promised that they would be together, but he didnt keep his promise when he. Theseus reaches maturity, rolls the rock aside, takes the sword and shoes, and sets out on the. The sun shone brightly on the fields, the scent of olives heavy on the breeze. The short story the house of asterion by the argentine writer jorge luis borges gives the minotaur s story from the monsters perspective. Sent as sacrificial tribute to knossos, theseus outwits minoss plans and slays the dreaded minotaur. A sudden flood of relief swept over him, and he started laughing uncontrollably at the dead minotaur, whose still hard erection stood higher than the sword in his stomach.
Every nine years, king minos of crete demands that king aegeus of athens send 14 young men and girls to go into a labyrinth and be devoured by a. Story books theseus and the minotaur primary resources storyboo. In fact we ended up with four versions of the play. May 18, 2018 in this animated video we look at the famous story of the minotaur. The minotaur is not too scary, but noble theseuss plight will become real to your children as they read this book. Kir bulychov s 1993 book an attempt on theseus life is about a plot to assassinate a man during a virtual reality tour in. If they were too tall for his bed, he would cut off their heads or their feet. Like perseus, cadmus, or heracles, theseus battled and overcame foes that were identified with an archaic religious and social order. A long time ago, in a dark labyrinth, lived a terrifying monster. Theseus is the son of the athenian king, aegeus, but he grows up with his mother in the south. Sep 30, 1989 the book tells the story of how theseus, the son of the king of athens, risks himself to free the people of athens of the requirement to send 7 young men and 7 young women in tribute every 9 years to minos, the king of crete, who in turn gave them.
In the story of theseus, theseus received a sword and a ball of thread from ariadne to escape from the labyrinth. Pasiphae, wife of king minos of crete, had several children before the minotaur. Theseus and the minotaur tile design theseus and the minotaur in the labyrinth, by edward burnejones, 1861, theseus and the minotaur. You could also try using them to start discussions about the different key points and story structure. Theseus is among the chosen victims and sails off to crete, promising to aegeus that his ships black flag would be replaced with a white flag if theseus is victorious.
Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived a king named minos. A little childrens story version of theseus and the minotaur there once lived a young boy named theseus. Following ariadnes directions, theseus tied one end of the string to the door. Commonlit theseus and the minotaur free reading passages. Story books, theseus and the minotaur, storybook primary resources, story sack, elmer, hungry caterpillar, gruffalo, rainbow fish, bear hunt early years. Each page features a different paragraph from the story, with a lovely hand drawn image to illustrate it. The mythical greek hero theseus is credited with founding the first democratic citystate in athens.
Know of your youth, examine well your blood, whether, if you yield not to your fathers choice, you can endure the livery of a nun, for aye to be in shady cloister mewd, to live a barren sister all your life, chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon. Minos had trapped the creature in a specially constructed labyrinth, and he would cruelly put the 14 athenian tributes into the labyrinth so that they were not only killed by the creature, but forced to attempt escape from an inevitable end, thus prolonging their agony. Even to the old guys who first wrote down theseus s story, he was a legendary hero from the distant past. The myths of theseus all take place a super long time ago. The story of theseus and the minotaur illustrates how mythology, for all its psychology and fancy, does not spring mysteriously from the imagination, but is a product of particular social and material conditions, even if the connection has become very obscure. The documentary room 237 suggests that the film the shining 1980 is a retelling of the myth of the minotaur.
Bodies clashtheseus the hero, and asterion the minotaur. And if he kills the creature he will signal his success by flying a white sail on the return journey. In this particular myth, a prince from greeces capital city of athens travels by sea to another city, crete, in order to fight a monster. Theseus stood, clutching his side perhaps faking a broken rib hadnt been as much of an act as hed thought.
Now and then, king minos sent his navy to the tiny village of athens, across the sea. Ariadne later rescues theseus from his cell and gives him his weapons and words of advice in defeating the minotaur. Theseus manages to slay the minotaur with the help of the beautiful cretan princess, ariadne, whom he ends up marooning on an island on the way back to greece. The depictions of the minotaur are not nearly as frightening as the cyclops, in our opinion. Stephen dobyns, wrote the poem theseus within the labyrinth 1986 which provides a retelling of the myth of ariadne, theseus and the minotaur, in particular the feelings of ariadne. He commissions an architect from a faraway land and builds a labyrinth that houses a minotaur. Theseus decided to go as one of the youths and try to kill the minotaur. In ancient greece, people told myths to explain the ways of the world.
Theseus lay on a soft chair outside the palace of knossos, shaded by a brightly colored pavilion. The myth of theseus and the minotaur is one of the most tragic and fascinating myths of the greek mythology theseus, a genuine greek hero of the mythology and minotaur, one of the most devastating and terrifying monsters are the main protagonists of a myth that involves gods and monsters, heroes and kings and two of the main citystates in the hellenic world. According to legend, king minos ruled athens and forced the athenians to deliver seven youths and seven maidens every nine years. As geographers, sosius, crowd into the edges of their maps parts of the world which they do not know about, adding notes in the margin to the effect, that beyond this lies nothing but the sandy deserts full of wild beasts, unapproachable bogs, scythian ice, or a frozen sea, so in this work of mine, in which i have compared the. Myths often portrayed brave heroes and vicious monsters. On this farm the milk is collected the old fashioned way. The hero and the minotaur, the adventures of theseus, written and illustrated by robert byrd, was an not what i expected, in that there were fewer scenes dealing with theseus and the minotaur than i would have thought.