Athenian Pride
The Tale of Theseus
There is an old saying,
Whose truth did not lack:
"What each may have done,
Theseus did back."
His father: Aegeus,
His mother: unknown.
Athens was his when
He pulled sword from stone.
To prove he was heir,
He went to the king,
And did not drink wine
In which poison did ring.
He knew he was brave
And he knew he was smart,
So he showed this to all
Right from the start.
To Crete he would go,
Where Minos did dwell,
With seventeen others
Who were sentenced to Hell.
"The mast shall hold white
If the gods save me,
But black will mean death,"
To his father said he.
The Minotaur wait,
Half-man and half-bull,
Contained in a labyrinth
So dark and so dull.
Ariadne saw him,
It was love at first sight.
She swore she would save Theseus
From the Minotaur's bite.
She gave him some string
To tie to the door
And weave through the maze
To get out of its core.
With bare hands he killed
The Monster of Crete,
And fled with his love
Not a moment too late!
But soon came misfortune
When they stopped for the night,
When the moon was shining,
But bore little light.
Upon them came a storm,
They were blown out to sea,
And so was the last time
He saw Ariadne.
Forgetting the sails,
The black filled the air.
The King took his life
In his own despair.
So Theseus now ruled,
And, to everyone's delight,
He set up a council
Where people had rights.
Commander in Chief was he,
Smartest of all.
The world's first democracy
Was there at his call.
And he continued
To fight with his heart.
In the Greek legends
He played quite a part.
In the Great War of Thebes,
He helped bury the dead,
And not one gem was took,
For he did what he said.
He welcomed Hercules
When no one else would.
Theseus would be there
When no one else could.
He helped kill a boar,
Was an Argonaut,
And soon with Prithoüs,
A friendship was wrought.
He went with him to Hades
Where they sought Persephone.
Soon bound in forgetfulness,
Were Prithoüs and he.
But Hercules came
And saved him alone,
For Prithoüs was
Held fast to his throne.
Many years after
He continued his life
With Ariadne's sister,
Phaedra, his new wife.
Hippolytus, her stepson
(Son of Hippolyta and he)
Worshipped Artemis alone
And very stubborn was he.
Aphrodite came forth
And played them a trick,
Which was horridly rude
And ultimately sick.
In love was Phaedra
With her only stepson.
Nothing could change her,
Her heart had been won.
But her love was not returned,
For it was love he hated.
With this news Phaedra felt
Incredibly jaded.
She killed herself in sadness
And to Theseus she wrote
How Hippolytus touched her.
A very beguiling note.
In his mighty rage
He banished his son
Away from his home
And all that he'd done.
But then Artemis came
And set Theseus straight.
But when he found out,
It was far too late.
His son was attacked
By a monster at sea,
And so he returned.
Close to death was he!
"If only I could die
For you," Theseus said.
And so Hippolytus
Was accepted when dead.
Banished by Athens,
He went to a king
Who killed him for reasons
That nobody sings.
So Theseus died,
A depressing doom,
And it was Athens
Who built him a tomb.
The life of a hero
Whom Greece sure did miss,
And so we must all
Remember this:
Even if they are
Our fortunate friends,
Still can they meet
Unfortunate ends.
5
The Tale of Theseus
There is an old saying,
Whose truth did not lack:
"What each may have done,
Theseus did back."
His father: Aegeus,
His mother: unknown.
Athens was his when
He pulled sword from stone.
To prove he was heir,
He went to the king,
And did not drink wine
In which poison did ring.
He knew he was brave
And he knew he was smart,
So he showed this to all
Right from the start.
To Crete he would go,
Where Minos did dwell,
With seventeen others
Who were sentenced to Hell.
"The mast shall hold white
If the gods save me,
But black will mean death,"
To his father said he.
The Minotaur wait,
Half-man and half-bull,
Contained in a labyrinth
So dark and so dull.
Ariadne saw him,
It was love at first sight.
She swore she would save Theseus
From the Minotaur's bite.
She gave him some string
To tie to the door
And weave through the maze
To get out of its core.
With bare hands he killed
The Monster of Crete,
And fled with his love
Not a moment too late!
But soon came misfortune
When they stopped for the night,
When the moon was shining,
But bore little light.
Upon them came a storm,
They were blown out to sea,
And so was the last time
He saw Ariadne.
Forgetting the sails,
The black filled the air.
The King took his life
In his own despair.
So Theseus now ruled,
And, to everyone's delight,
He set up a council
Where people had rights.
Commander in Chief was he,
Smartest of all.
The world's first democracy
Was there at his call.
And he continued
To fight with his heart.
In the Greek legends
He played quite a part.
In the Great War of Thebes,
He helped bury the dead,
And not one gem was took,
For he did what he said.
He welcomed Hercules
When no one else would.
Theseus would be there
When no one else could.
He helped kill a boar,
Was an Argonaut,
And soon with Prithoüs,
A friendship was wrought.
He went with him to Hades
Where they sought Persephone.
Soon bound in forgetfulness,
Were Prithoüs and he.
But Hercules came
And saved him alone,
For Prithoüs was
Held fast to his throne.
Many years after
He continued his life
With Ariadne's sister,
Phaedra, his new wife.
Hippolytus, her stepson
(Son of Hippolyta and he)
Worshipped Artemis alone
And very stubborn was he.
Aphrodite came forth
And played them a trick,
Which was horridly rude
And ultimately sick.
In love was Phaedra
With her only stepson.
Nothing could change her,
Her heart had been won.
But her love was not returned,
For it was love he hated.
With this news Phaedra felt
Incredibly jaded.
She killed herself in sadness
And to Theseus she wrote
How Hippolytus touched her.
A very beguiling note.
In his mighty rage
He banished his son
Away from his home
And all that he'd done.
But then Artemis came
And set Theseus straight.
But when he found out,
It was far too late.
His son was attacked
By a monster at sea,
And so he returned.
Close to death was he!
"If only I could die
For you," Theseus said.
And so Hippolytus
Was accepted when dead.
Banished by Athens,
He went to a king
Who killed him for reasons
That nobody sings.
So Theseus died,
A depressing doom,
And it was Athens
Who built him a tomb.
The life of a hero
Whom Greece sure did miss,
And so we must all
Remember this:
Even if they are
Our fortunate friends,
Still can they meet
Unfortunate ends.
5