Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Allusions

"His idea of dealing justice was simple, but effective: what each had done to others, Theseus did to him" (Hamilton 156). This technique of handling criminals is much like that expressed in the Hammurabi Code of Laws. These are a set of laws that basically say that if one commits a crime, they same crime is to be committed on them.

Theseus' ideals on the government was similar to the way that the United States tried to develop a people's government by developing a democracy.

Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Change (Emma)

Physical:
-"...grew strong enough to roll away the stone and get the things beneath it..." (Hamilton 155). This shows physical change because it demonstrates the way that his physical strength changed over time.

Mental:
-"Nothing without Theseus" (Hamilton 155). This is a term that grew in Athens. It is an example of mental change because it shows that he grew into an cultural icon for Athens, which means that he as a person changed, as well as the way society saw him.
-"'Go, you are banished from the land.'" "'If only I could die for you'" (Hamilton 164). This demonstrates a mental change because it shows how his love for his son was altered in this time frame.

Spiritual:
-"He resigned his royal power and organized a commonwealth, building a council hall where the citizens should gather and vote" (Hamilton 160).This is an example of the spiritual change that Theseus went through because it shows that his beliefs on society and the way that a government should be led changed.
-"But when he was victory he did not return evil to the Thebans for the evil they had done" (Hamilton 160). This also shows that Theseus changed spiritually throughout his journey because previously, he would have done to the criminals what they had done to the people. In this case, he simply wanted to teach them a lesson.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Key Points of the Story

Exposition: Theseus is living in Southern Greece, he lifts up the stone and retrieves the shoes and the sword which tells him he has the strength to go find his father.

Rising Action- The rising actions of this story are
-Theseus traveled to Athens to find his father, and along the way he killed many bandits, making him already beloved in the Athenian society.
-Madea attempted to poison Theseus because she did not want the fact that Augeus had a son to ruin his image.
-Theseus fell in love with Ariadne

Key conflict: He defeats the Minotaur, which had been a huge burden on the shoulders of the Athenian people. This took a large effort on Theseus' part, but he did it anyway for the good of the people.

Climax: He become the King of Athens once his father killed himself. Once he was king, he did many good things for the society and created a government for the people.

Falling Action:
-Theseus creates a new government of the people.
-He had a son named Hippolytus.
-Theseus' wife, Phaedra, fell in love with her step son and killed herself because of it.
-Theseus' son dies because he was banished by his father since he believed Hippolytus abused his wife.

Denouement: Theseus is killed by the king, his friend and host. The reason why he did so is unknown.

Other Gods Involved

The other gods and goddesses that were involved in Theseus' story are Hercules, Poseidon, and Aphrodite.

What Theseus is known for

Theseus is known for giving freedom to the people of Athens once he became king. Once this happened he decided that he didn't want to control his kingdom and he wanted it to be a government of the people. He is also known for defeating Minotaur in the Labyrinth and saving fourteen people from a painful and fearful death. Another thing that made Theseus well known, even before he arrived in Athens, was defeating the bandits along the route of his travels. He had such an impact, that people grew up saying "Nothing without Theseus."

Symbols that represent Theseus

The paddles: symbolizes strength
A flock of birds(flying V): Leadership
Two doves: Friendship
Kana: bravery

What did Theseus look like?

Family

Aegeus- Father
Hercules- Cousin
Woman in southern Greece- Mother
Hippolytus- Son

Journey Perspectives-Michiko

Metaphorically:
"She told him then that the time has come for him to seek his father (pg. 155)"
      Theseus wanted to meet his father, so he followed his dream and got to meet his father.
"His idea was to become a great hero (pg.155)"
     This is metaphorical to the journey because this shows that you need to know what you want in life.
"He battered the monster to the death (pg. 158)"
    This example is metaphorical because fear did not hold him back therefore he was able to accomplish more.
"He battered the monster to the death (pg. 158)"
    This is metaphorical because he wouldn't have been able to learn that the had great power, if he did not apply the actions to it. 
    

Symbolically:
"The others followed and taking Ariadne with them they fled to the ship and over the sea toward Athens (pg. 158)"
    This symbolizes leadership and bravery.
"He wanted peoples government, where all would be equal (pg. 160)"
    This symbolizes kindness to the people.
"He protected  his two helpless daughters and sent them safely home after their fathers death (pg. 160)"
   This symbolizes protection and care for his people.
"Theseus gave him his hand, roused his courage (pg 160)"
   This symbolizes a close friend as well as a good leader.
Theseus can also be symbolized by a bull because it represents pride and accomplishments. He also defeated one. 

Literally:
   He meant to go to Athens in search for his father. He came across an issue with limitation of the people, he destroyed the problem and gave freedom to the people.

Summary of Theseus' Journey

Theseus was the son of Aegeus, the Athenian king. Aegeus left Theseus when Theseus was only a boy. Aegeus placed a hollow sword and a pair of shoes underneath a large stone. Aegeus told his wife that when Theseus grows older and Theseus is able to lift the stone and retrieve the items, he may go to Athens and claim him as his father. Theseus grew up and he was much stronger than the others, and his mom took him to the stone and he lifted it with no problem. Aegeus’s wife told Theseus it was time for him to find his father. Theseus did not go on the ship, until convinced that the voyage was dangerous. Theseus killed all the bandits on the way to Athens. When Theseus reached Athens, he was invited to a dinner by Aegeus, Aegeus was unaware that Theseus was his son. Aegeus feared the popularity of Theseus, so he invited him to dinner he planned on poisoning Theseus so the people did not vote Theseus as king. Before Theseus drank the poisoned drink, he drew the sword his father placed under the stone and his father hit the cup to the ground. A few years before Theseus arrived in Athens, Minos, the king of Crete, lost his only son. Minos invaded the country and captured Athens, Minos said the he would destroy the land of Athens if they did not send him seven maidens and seven children every nine years. Those people were given to the Minotaur (a monster, half human half bull, offspring of Minos and his wife). The Minotaur was given to Minos from Poseidon to sacrifice to him. Minos did not kill the bull given to him form Poseidon, but instead made a Labyrinth for him. When Theseus arrived in Athens it was time for the next choosing, Theseus offered himself to go, he wanted to kill the Minotaur he told his father that he would change the black flag on his ship to the white flag to show his success in killing the Minotaur. Ariadne, the daughter of Minos fell in love with Theseus when she first saw him, she went to a Daedalus and asked him to show her a way out of the Labyrinth. She sent for Theseus, and she told him that she would help him out of the Labyrinth if he would take her back to Athens and marry her. Theseus agreed and she gave him the hint that Daedalus have give her. The hint was to tie a ball of thread at the door he entered in and unroll it as he went on. Theseus began to look for the Minotaur, Theseus found him sleeping and jumped on top of him and punched him to death. When he arose from the Minotaur, he followed the yarn back and he found the door. The others followed him and with Ariadne, they left on the ship and went back to Athens. On the way there they stopped at an island and Ariadne was left there (different stories have different theories of how). Thesesus forgot to change the black flag to the white flag, and when they drew closer to Athens his father saw the flag was black, he thought his son died so he threw himself off of a cliff and fell into the sea and died, the sea was later called the Aegean sea. Theseus then became king, he was the wisest king but he did not want to rule over the people, he wanted a government where the people would be equal. He resigned as king and created a council hall where the people meet and vote. This made Athens the most happiest and prosperous of all cities. Theseus led the War of Seven against the Thebans, because Thebes refused to burry her enemies. Theseus was able to solve many problems just like the one above.