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Theseus and the Minotaur
King Minos sat in his high chair and watched the young Athenians enter his great hall. "You all know that you will never leave the labyrinth alive" , said Minos. "The Minotaur will find you and kill you one by one.”
“ But what if we kill the Minotaur first, King Minos?" said Theseus.
Minos laughed loudly. " Kill the Minotaur?" he said. "Why, if you kill the Minotaur, I promise to let all of you go.”
"I will kill him,” said Theseus. "Just let me take my sword into the labyrinth, and I will face the monster."
“Oh, so the lucky swimmer is now a hero too!” said Minos- He was still laughing.
“I am Theseus, son of King Aegeus. If I kill your monster, do you promise to let us return to Athens?"
“ All right, tomorrow morning you may try to kill my monster. If you escape the labyrinth, all of you may leave.'*
Ariadne, King Minos' daughter, was standing next to her father as the men spoke. She thought Theseus was very handsome and admired his courage so much that she fell in love with him instantly. She secretly decided to help the young hero.
During the night, Ariadne quietly went into the prisoners' room and awoke Theseus. She explained to Theseus that the Minotaur was not his only danger.
“Who are you?" Theseus said and admired her beauty.
“I am Ariadne, the daughter of the king, and I am here to help you. Listen to me. You will enter the labyrinth easily, and I believe that you are a great hero and will kill the Minotaur. But even if you do that, you will never find your way out of the maze! You see, even the Minotaur is a prisoner there. But I know how you can escape the labyrinth. If I tell you how to get out of the labyrinth, will you promise to marry me and take me with you to Athens?"
Theseus promised the princess that he would do so, and then Ariadne gave him a ball of thin string and explained to him what to do.
The next morning when Theseus entered the labyrinth, he tied one end of the string to a rock near the door. As he walked deeper into the maze, he let the string out slowly, Theseus walked deeper and deeper into the maze, always moving towards the center where the Minotaur lived. The bones of many people and animals lay on the ground- Many of the walls were covered with dry blood.
Eventually Theseus heard the sound of heavy breathing and the loud foolsteps of a large animal. He stopped walking and waited for the Minotaur to appear around the corner. As soon as the monster saw Theseus, it put its head down and ran at Theseus with its horns. Theseus reached out his strong arms and grabbed the horns with his powerful hands. The Minotaur turned its head quickly back and forth trying to get Theseus off, but it could not. Then Theseus used all of his strength and turned the Minotaur ‘s neck until it almost broke. The Minotaur fell and- before it could get back up again, Theseus pushed his sword into its mouth and all the way through its head. He then followed the string back to the entrance of the labyrinth.
When Theseus came out of the labyrinth with a bloody sword in his hands, the other Athenians began crying tears of joy. By killing the Minotaur, Theseus had not only saved his own life, but theirs as well. King Minos was very angry to see Theseus come out of the labyrinth alive. However, because of his amazing deed, the king was now certain that Theseus was protected by the gods. He let the Athenians go free, and thus Athens' debt to Crete was ended.
The next day, Theseus kept his promise to Ariadne and took her with him. When King Minos learned that his daughter had left with Theseus, he sent his ships to capture the Athenians. But Theseus had left very early, and his ship was too far ahead. After following for just a day, Minos’ ships gave up and returned to Crete.
Everyone was so happy returning to Athens that they had a great party and drank all the wine on the ship. The next day they stopped on the island of Naxos and went in search of fresh water. While on the island, Ariadne walked around picking flowers to give to Theseus, She soon fell asleep on the beach in the warm sun. When Theseus saw her sleeping there, a strange thing happened. His heart turned cold to her, and he ordered his people to return to the ship and leave the island without her. Ariadne awoke just in time to see the ship disappear from sight. Her heart broke, and she cried until night fell.
When the gods heard Ariadne cry, they became angry and decided to punish Theseus for his selfishness. They made all the people on the skip forget to hang the white sails. As they approached Athens, the black sails still hung high.
Since Theseus had left, his father had spent every day sitting on a high cliff over the sea — watching the water and waiting for the ship's return. When he saw the black sails hung on the ship^ his heart broke just as Ariadne's had. He had prayed all his life that his son would rule the kingdom after he died, and now he did not have anyone to rule the kingdom after he died- He stood up and walked over to the edge of the cliff, looked once more at the black sails on the ship, and let himself fall into the sea far below.
When Theseus finally arrived in Athens, he expected a large party to be going on in celebration of the safe return of the young men and women. Instead all the people had sad faces, and Theseus was greeted only by the dead body of his father, lying on the beach where the waves had pushed it.