Theseus was one of the great legendary Greek heroes. Much of what we know of Greek civilization comes from Athenian writers, and Theseus was to Athens what Romulus was to Rome. He inherited a small kingdom -- really not much more than the Acropolis itself -- from his father, and by force and by diplomacy, he forged a united kingdom out of all the tiny villages that stretched across the plain of Attica.
A couple of weeks ago, I discussed certain aspects of Mary Renault's historical reconstruction of the Theseus legend in The King Must Die. That book covered Theseus's legendary descent from the god Poseidon, his actual descent from the King of Athens, his childhood in the Peloponnesian coastal kingdom of Troezen, his father's eventual acknowledgement of paternity, Theseus's sudden transport to Crete to face the bull ring and the Minotaur, the earthquake that leveled the palace (the "Labyrinth") at Knossos, and his struggle to overthrow Minoan rule over Crete and its domination of the Greek world. The novel ends with Theseus's return to Athens.
I've now re-read, after many years, Mary Renault's sequel -- The Bull from the Sea. In my earlier post, I was interested in discussing certain aspects of The King Must Die. I didn't actually review the book (a book that has been reviewed by hundreds of writers, professional and amateur). I'll just toss in my belated opinion -- The King Must Die brilliantly recreates the Minoan world, and the primitive Hellene societies that the Minoans dominated.
The King Must Die also brilliantly ties together the sometimes conflicting legends concerning Theseus -- including his encounter with the Minotaur in the Labyrinth -- and makes some cohesive sense out of them. If the Theseus legend has some origin in the life and exploits of an actual person, Renault may have given as good a description of that person's life and times as anyone in our own day could produce. The "Goodreads" book review site asks us to give books we review a number of stars, from one to five. With no hesitation, I gave the Renault novel five stars.
I also give The Bull from the Sea five stars. The plot of the earlier volume led up to a dramatic climax with the earthquake and Theseus's leadership of the anti-Minoan revolt. The Bull from the Sea lacks a climax that is quite so identifiable. But the central event is perhaps Theseus's exploration of the Black Sea shoreline, where he encounters a fierce band of Amazons -- female devotees of Artemis -- whose leader he defeats in combat. As an agreed consequence of the defeat, the leader (Hippolyta) becomes first his captive, then his lover, and ultimately his de facto queen.
The plot is too intricate to summarize in this blog post. But Renault does a masterful job of tying together the many legends of Theseus's exploits into a single coherent tale-- a tale as free of supernatural interventions as possible. At the same time, she presents a moving love story -- the relationship between Theseus and the only woman he was ever able to truly love -- a woman as courageous and as strong as himself, Hippolyta. She also presents a moving story of his tragic relationship with their son Hippolytos -- a boy he could never understand, a son as courageous and strong-minded as himself, but his total opposite in many ways.
"When I was small," he said, "I asked you once why the guiltless suffer, too, when the gods are angry. And you said to me, 'I do not know.' You who were my father, and the King. For that I have always loved you."
I made him some kind answer, wondering if I should ever make him out.
As a boy, Hippolytos had once asked his father to explain the purpose of man.
I had never heard such a question. It made me shrink back; if a man began asking such things, where would be the end of it? It was like peering into a dark whirlpool with a deep and spinning center, going down and down. ... "That," I said, "is the business of the gods, who made us."
"Yes, but for what? We ought to be good for it, whatever it is. How can we live, until we know."
The politician and soldier stares at the philosopher, his own flesh and blood, and finds him inscrutable.
The Bull from the Sea also ties the Theseus story together with other Greek legends. We encounter Medea, Oedipus, Antigone, the battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs, and Achilles. Yes, that Achilles. It had never occurred to me that the Trojan War occurred in the generation following that of Theseus, as the Mycenaeans supplanted the Minoans as a leading power in the region. And Theseus's son by his legal wife, the Minoan Phaedra, was Akamus, who as an adult was involved in the Trojan horse story.
All biographies and biographical tales are tragic in some respect, if they are written truly, because human life is tragic. Theseus ends as an old man, suffering the after effects of a paralyzing stroke. While visiting an old friend, the King of Skyros, he reflects on his life. He had accomplished much, he recognized, but Athens was already corrupt and being weakened by poor leadership. Its unity, for which he had devoted his life, was being broken up by ambitious regional leaders. He wondered what had been the use of it all.
His host was eager to introduce Theseus to his teenage son, Achilles. His son, the host king said, hero worshipped Theseus and was eager to meet him. Theseus was Achilles's "touchstone for a man," his father confided.
I lay down, being tired, and sent off my servants. I was thinking, before I fell asleep, of the flashing, light-footed boy, awaiting tomorrow. It would be good to spare him that. Let him keep this Theseus who speaks for the god within him. Why change a god for a lame old man with a twisted mouth.
Theseus recalls the hereditary duties of kingship which his family owed the gods. When the king's time has come, the king goes consenting to his death, giving his life to strengthen his people. The palace at Skyros is built on a high cliff above the sea, just as his own palace on the Acropolis is perched high above the plain.
He shuffles out the door, and down the path toward the cliff. The tide is coming in.
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