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The Sword and the Crown
The Tales of Corona Borealis
Chapter 3: Father and Son
Medea watched the young man enter her palace.
She had been with Aegeus for many years now. She was quite comfortable,
but also alert to any danger to her security and an inner alarm
warned her about the young man who approached. Looking into his
eyes, she saw his face change to that of Aegeus, then back again
and she knew he was the son.
Lighter than air, Medea slipped through the palace, transporting
herself behind her protector. "Aegeus," she whispered into his ear,
"a young man approaches who would take your belongings, and your
throne."
Aegeus turned in alarm. "Shall I have him killed?"
Medea calmly ran her fingers through his hair, "Better to let him
kill himself."
At that point the guards announced the arrival of a young man who
wished an audience with the king. "He must earn an audience," responded
King Aegeus. "Tell the young man that I will see him after he has
killed the Bull of Marathon." The message was relayed, the young
man left, and Medea comfortably took the throne next to Aegeus.
There had been no thought of him for weeks, then one day the guards
announced the arrival of a young man who had just come from Cnossos
and now wished an audience with the king, for he claimed to have
killed the Bull of Marathon.
Medea paled. "What shall I do?" asked Aegeus.
"I'll take care of him," she said reassuringly. "I'll mix a poison
for him and bring you two goblets of wine to toast his success."
Medea returned with two silver goblets, one with wine and poison,
and held them upon a silver tray as Theseus introduced himself to
the king.
Aegeus took his cue from Medea's eyes as he picked up the poisoned
drink and handed it to his son. He picked up the other cup and,
holding it in the air, he gave a toast to the young hero. Theseus
also held his goblet in the air, but his other hand rested against
his sword. Aegeus' eye, drawn by a movement of Theseus hand, suddenly
and for the first time, noticed the sword. Recognition struck the
king like lightning. This was his son! He cast the goblet from Theseus'
hand just as he was about to drink.
Tears streamed down his face as the father held his son tightly.
Aegeus turned to Medea, but she looked away. "Go," Aegeus said to
her. "You are never to be seen in Athens again, or I will kill you
myself."
The months that followed were happy for the father and son, but
one morning Theseus noticed the weight of gloom upon the king. "Why
are you so sad this morning?" Theseus asked as he sat down next
to him.
"It is time again to send tribute to King Minos in Crete. It happens
every nine years, but it always seems to come too soon," Aegeus
voice trembled with emotion.
"Crete and Athens once had a war," Aegeus continued. "Crete won,
but King Minos' son Androgeus was killed in battle. Minos was so
upset that, after stealing the Athenian treasure, he exacted an
additional penalty in revenge. He demanded that, every nine years,
seven young Athenian men and seven Athenian maidens be sent in sacrifice
to him as food for the Minotaur.
"At first we refused. But after our refusal, all of Greece was afflicted
by earthquakes and famine. As Minos is the son of Zeus, we asked
the king of heaven what to do. His response was, 'Send Minos what
he wants.' Sadly, that is what we have been doing ever since."
Theseus was fascinated by the story. "What is the Minotaur?" he
asked.
"Maybe I should back up a bit and tell you the whole story. After
all, if you are to be a just king, it will be important for you
to be knowledgeable before you make decisions," Aegeus leaned back
in his chair.
"King Minos had a wife named Pasiphae," Aegeus began. "Because she
was the daughter of Sol she thought she was immune to giving offerings
to the gods. Aphrodite became very angry with her insults of omission
and decided to teach Pasiphae a lesson.
"Now it happened that, on the island of Crete, Poseidon had sent
a magnificent white bull to test the honor of King Minos. This was
the bull which Heracles later brought here and released when it
became known as the Bull of Marathon. It was the same bull which
you killed. Minos had said that he would sacrifice to Poseidon whatever
appeared from the sea, so Poseidon sent the white bull from out
of the waves, onto the shore of Crete. Minos decided this magnificent
bull would breed beautiful cattle so he kept it for his own and
sacrificed another bull instead.
"As Aphrodite, in her anger with Pasiphae, looked over the scene
in Crete, she noted the wildness of this Cretan Bull. 'Aha,' she
thought, 'I've found my revenge.' She made Pasiphae fall in love
with the white bull of Poseidon.
"Pasiphae was in agony in her unrequited love, for try as she might,
she could think of no way to consummate her passion. It was when
she had lost all hope of fulfillment that she met the inventor Daedalus.
"Daedalus had been born in Athens and was favored by our goddess
Athena. She had taught him many clever skills and with his fast
mind he was able to invent amazing things. But Daedalus had a flaw,
and that was jealousy for the works of others.
"Now it happened that Daedalus' sister had a son named Perdix who
was also very talented. One day uncle and nephew were on the roof
of Perdix' house. 'Look uncle,' Perdix said proudly, 'look at this
tool I made. It will cut through wood or metal or clay. I call it
a saw.'
"Daedalus looked at this remarkably simple but brilliant invention
and he grew envious. 'Why couldn't I have thought of this? Why leave
this to a mere child? I will say that I am the inventor!' And in
a rage he threw his nephew off the roof. Perdix died upon the rocks
below.
"Daedalus, banished from Athens, went to live on the island of Crete.
It wasn't long before word of his talents spread throughout the
land. One evening, cloaked in darkness, Pasiphae came to his door
with her sad tale of unfulfilled love and the inventor agreed to
help her.
"Daedalus crafted a wooden heifer and covered it with a real heifer's
hide. Pasiphae wheeled her cover into the field where the white
bull stayed and then she climbed inside. Nine months later Pasiphae
gave birth to a baby with a human body but the head of a bull, and
she called it the Minotaur.
"Minos went wild with rage at the shameful birth of the Minotaur.
Of course, he blamed Daedalus for making it happen and chained the
inventor in prison. But finally, after the king had time to quiet
down, Pasiphae got permission to release Daedalus if he could build
a proper home for her animal child.
"This was when Daedalus built the labyrinth. It was an open maze
where the Minotaur could run and play, but inescapable because the
exit was hidden."
Aegeus lowered his eyes as he continued. "When, during the war,
Minos' favorite son Androgeus was killed, he was angry that the
Minotaur remained. That is why he punishes us by sending our children
into the labyrinth as food for the monster. We killed his son and
we are condemned to suffer. This is why I am sad today. Oh, those
poor children," King Aegeus sighed.
"I have a solution, father," offered Theseus. "Send me to the Minotaur."
"How can I do that?" asked the king. "I have only recently discovered
that I have a son. I refuse to forfeit him so soon."
"Remember, father," said Theseus, "I killed the Minotaur's father
by your request. I could kill the Minotaur too."
Aegeus had to agree, as he remembered it was at his suggestion that
his son had hunted down the Bull of Marathon. It would make sense
for Theseus to kill the Minotaur as well. He thought, "It might
be Poseidon's revenge. After all, Poseidon was instrumental to Theseus'
birth."
"The ship that takes our children to Crete carries black sails.
I will pack the ship with white sails for your return. If you live,
make sure it is flying the white sails." Theseus promised, and made
plans for the journey to Crete.
Aegeus was waiting at the dock the morning that his son and the
others sailed. While the parents of the thirteen other young men
and women wept and kissed their children 'goodbye,' Theseus spoke
to the crowd. "Don't think of us as dead yet, for we intend to stop
this ritual. It is our mission not to be victims, but to fight for
our lives and the future lives of all the children of Athens. We
will kill the Minotaur and return home to you."
The people cheered Theseus as the fated fourteen climbed aboard
the ship. Just as the black sails caught the wind for Crete, Aegeus
called to his son, "Remember to raise the white sails upon your
return," and the crowd cheered them one last time.
Tales of
the Immortal Night ©2003, J.J. Kuhl
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