The myth of Theseus is suspected to have been written sometime around 100 AD and is considered a Greek myth. The true date of this myth has not been determined since most were passed down by word of mouth. Greek mythology is full of stories about mortals battling mythical beast with strength or intellect. I will be using the Carl Jung method to analyze this myth through the use of Archetypes. Carl Jung was a Swedish psychiatrist that was born in 1875. He is well known for his work in archetypes which he believed was models of people’s behavior or personalities. He believed that these archetypes came from a collective unconscious that we all share. This method could be applied to literature and religion. He described four major archetypes but went on to say that there was no limit to how many may exist. In this myth of Theseus, we will look at three archetypes that are universal in myths of heroic figures in Greek mythology. I will be focusing on Theseus, Minotaur and the labyrinth and how these apply to Jung’s archetypes. In this story, Theseus is a heroic warrior and the son of Aegues, the king of Athens. His journey is filled with danger that requires strength, intelligence and cunning to overcome. His first encounter was a feat of strength when he had to roll a boulder to access his father’s sword and sandals. This had to be accomplished before he could begin his journey and could not have been done by any other mortal. Next, he has several encounters with different…
When Ariadne and Theseus run into the Minotaur the beast lunges towards Theseus. Theseus hops on the Minotaurs back and jabs a sword into his tough hide. The Minotaur pinned Theseus against a stone wall and “The pain was excruciating, but with effort of will, Theseus hung on” (Donaldson 18). If Theseus wasn’t brave enough to keep hanging on he would have died.” After another deep thrust of the weapon, the Minotaur’s ghastly howl became a gurgle, and the hulking body collapsed on the ground,…
Some may believe that Theseus was not capable of being called a hero because of his mistakes and poor actions. However, his very heroic traits outweigh all of his cons. According to the traits of a hero, a hero should have married a princess; Theseus had a relationship with Ariadne, and then he married her sister, Pasiphae. Theseus, much like Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games, volunteered his life in place of another one. He offered to take part in King Minos’s punishment of the Athenians.…
Greek myths, they reinterpreted the myths to represent their own lifestyles. Some of the scenes depicted on the coffins are dreadful and others depicted scenes that were tranquil. Such as the one on page 63 figure 38 which is titled Dionysus discovers the sleeping Ariadne. In this scene that is illustrated on the coffin comes from the story of Ariadne. Ariadne was the half-sibling of the Minotaur and the daughter of King Minos. Unfortunately, she had fallen in love with Theseus the man that…
until they were long enough. When Theseus was satisfied with the length, he rolled into the employee parking lot and trembled with excitement at the sight of his reserved parking space. It was everything he had ever dreamed of. Children’s play area, shining gold M, pristine drive-thru. Happily, he bounded through the doors. At the entrance, a young girl met Theseus. Judging by her nametag, she was an employee named Ariadne. Theseus’ heart burst open with happiness. They would…
Greek myths like Theseus and the Minotaur are a huge influence on both Ancient Greek society and the modern world. Greek deities like Zeus, Apollo, and Athena are widely recognized thanks to the long lasting effect of the Greek culture. The Ancient Greeks valued attributes such as loyalty, courage, wits, justice, and morality. Theseus, the eponymous protagonist of Edith Hamilton’s The Cruel Tribute, exemplifies the cultural values of the bygone society of Greece. In the classic myth, Minos,…
The play I would pick that would be centered on the life of Theseus would be focused on the myth of him and the Minotaur. I feel like this is a good myth for a tragedy because there is a small number of characters at play, chiefly Theseus, his father Aegeus, the Minotaur itself, King Minos’s daughter Ariadne, and Daedalus who helps Theseus defeat the labyrinth. This small character list would fit the need for only three actors. I also think this particular myth has a lot of the features needed…
They would not be able to accomplish this without playing as a team. Life is the same, if one does not work with others and is selfish then it will be very difficult to succeed. Also, in Theseus and the Minotaur, Theseus left Ariadne on an island. Because of this, Theseus got cursed by Ariadne and his father died when he reached Athens: “but Theseus left Ariadne on the Island of Naxos, where some say the god Dionysus claimed her as his bride” (O’Rahilly 5). This myth shows readers that only…
Theseus Theseus was an incredibly smart and cunning man. He faced many opponents in his journey to Athens including his most dangerous foe, the Minotaur. Theseus was born and raised in Troezen. His mother’s name was Aethra and was the daughter of king Pittheus of Troezen. There is some question of who his father was as Aethra was with both Aegeus, king of Athens, and Poseidon on the same night. Despite this, many people believed Aegeus to be his father. When Theseus was young, Aegeus put…
The movie the Hunger Games is based on the old myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. In this film Katniss Everdeen and the myth of Theseus, both characters prove to be epic heroes. Through all of the challenges and obstacles they both follow the epic hero cycle. In the myth, Queen Pasiphae slept with a bull sent by Zeus and gave birth to a vicious monster, Minotaur which is a half bull, half bull. The husband of Queen Pasiphae was extremely embarrassed by the Minotaur, but could not kill it.…