Theseus was too active to love an idle life and began to look around him to find ways of helping his father’s people. He wanted to be worthy of the throne. “It is not enough,” he said, “that I am of royal descent. I should also have a royal heart and be of real service to mankind. I must be a leader in deeds as well as in words.” He soon found an opportunity to show his prowess.
To the northeast of Athens is a beautiful mountain-ridge with a white marble band across it. This is the famous Pentelikon, and the purple mountain of Hymettos is separated from it by a narrow pass. Beyond these mountains is the plain of Marathon sloping down to the blue sea. In the plain of Marathon the terrible Bull which Herakles had brought from Crete to Eurystheus still roamed, but the tyrant had turned it loose. This Bull did great havoc among the inhabitants of the surrounding country.
Theseus heard of their distress and promised to free them from the fearful beast. He armed himself with a tough shield and a long spear and went to Marathon. When he found out the Bull’s hiding-place he chased and overtook him. He grappled him by the horns with his powerful hands and dragged him back to Athens. The people of Athens and all the country about came to meet Theseus. They rejoiced because he had rid them of such a pest and they admired his strength, but they did not dare to help him, and stood ready to run for their lives in case the Bull should slip away from him. Theseus went through the midst of the city holding on to the Bull, which he took to the temple of Apollo and offered up as a sacrifice to that god. Old Ægeus shed tears of joy when he saw how the gods honored him in the possession of such a son.
II. Theseus Sails to Crete
But there was a greater adventure with greater glory awaiting Theseus, for Athens had a more terrible enemy than the mad Bull of Marathon. It had happened years before that a son of Minos, the wise and powerful King of Crete, had come to Athens to take part in the yearly festival held in honor of the goddess Athena. He took part in all their public games and came off victor every time. The athletes of Athens were very angry that a man from another country should show more skill and carry off all the prizes, so with Ægeus’ consent they killed him.
Then Minos made war on the Athenians and killed a great number of them, and the gods also punished them for this treacherous murder by letting the land bear no crops and by sending on them a deadly fever.
The Athenians were compelled to surrender to Minos, and they had to agree to the most humiliating terms. They promised to send seven youths and seven maidens every year to Crete.
Now Minos had a park laid out by the most cunning man of his times. There were walks and paths so many and so winding that no one who got into it could get out again, but had to wander on and on, getting more and more confused. This park was called the Labyrinth, and in the centre of it was a cave in which just at that time King Minos kept a dangerous monster which had the body and limbs of a man but the head of a bull.
The creature was called the Minotaur and it was fierce and cruel. There was only one way to prevent him from roaming the fields and endangering the lives of the people. He had to be kept in a good humor, and this could be done only by feeding him now and then on human flesh. So Minos bethought him of using the Athenian captives for that purpose.