Theseus (thee' see us) was the son of Aegeus (i jee' us), the king of Athens, but he lived with his mother in a distant country. One day she took him to a large stone on a nearby hillside. Your father's sword and shoes are underneath this stone," she said. He left them for you. If you are strong enough to move the stone, then you have grown enough to go to your father." Theseus moved the stone easily. He took the sword and journeyed to Athens.

When his father saw the sword he had buried so long ago, he rejoiced. "My son has come home to us!" he announced to his people. "Theseus will be the next king of Athens!" The people cheered and feasts were held in the young man's honor. But even while they celebrated, there was a great sadness in the land. Each year the people were forced to send a gift to Minos, the powerful king of Crete. The gift Minos demanded was the lives of fourteen young men and women! They were to be sacrificed to the minotaur, a horrible creature, half man, half bull. When Theseus heard of this, he was outraged.

"Father, this evil must stop. This year I will be one of the men to go to Crete. I will find a way to destroy the minotaur!"

A few days later Theseus and thirteen other young people put out to sea in a ship with black sails. Aegeus was heartbroken. He feared he would never see his own son again. "Don't worry, Father," Theseus called to him. "On my return I will change these black sails of mourning to white sails of celebration! When you see my ship on the horizon, you will know that I am safe!"

Upon their arrival in Crete, the Athenians were presented to King Minos. His daughter Ariadne (ar ee ad' nee) saw Theseus and fell in love with him. That night she sneaked into the cell where he was imprisoned.

"Theseus! Listen carefully. The minotaur lives in the labyrinth, a maze of paths so confusing that once inside no one ever finds the way out again. Take this spool of thread and this sword. Fasten the thread to a stone at the entrance to the labyrinth. Unwind it as you walk. Then find the minotaur and kill it. When you have done this, follow the thread back to the entrance."

"You will be well rewarded for all your help," Theseus promised her.

Ariadne smiled. All I ask is that you take me with you when you return to Athens."

The next day the frightened group was taken to the labyrinth and pushed inside. Their captors quickly fled. "Wait for me here," Theseus told the others. He stepped cautiously into the maze, unwinding the thread as he moved along. Soon he heard a terrible scream, not human, and not animal, but something in between and not of this earth.

The minotaur stood before him. Its eyes blazed with fury and hunger. Its powerful hooves pawed the ground. With a tremendous roar, it thundered toward Theseus. The brave young man stood still, raised his sword, and thrust the blade into the beast. With a horrible cry, the minotaur fell to the ground.

Theseus quickly followed the thread back to the others. "Hurry! The creature is dead! We must get back to our ship before they find out we've escaped!" Taking Ariadne with them, the smalt group set sail for Athens. On the way home, they stopped for a night on the island of Naxos. When they departed, Ariadne was left behind. Theseus never saw her again.

The ship continued toward home, but in his excitement Theseus forgot to change the sails from black to white. Aegeus was watching from shore when the ship with black sails appeared on the horizon. "My son is dead!" he cried out. In his grief, he threw himself over the cliffs. In this way the people of Athens were freed from fear of the minotaur, and Theseus became their king.

Write what these sentences from the story mean.

1. "If you are strong enough to move the stone, then you have grown enough to go to your father."



2. "On my return I will change these black sails of mourning to white sails of celebration!"



3. Soon he heard a terrible scream, not human and not animal but something in between and not of this earth.



4. Why did Aegeus throw himself from the cliffs when he saw Theseus's ship returning from Crete?



5. In your own words, describe the labyrinth.



6. Why did Theseus volunteer to go to Crete? What do you think were his reasons for taking on such a dangerous task?



7. From what you know of Theseus, do you think he made a good king? Why?