Course Six: Spectrum, Part 2 289
under black sails, which Theseus
promised his father to change for
white when he returned
victorious.
When they arrived in
Crete, the princess Ariadne fell
in love with Theseus. She
furnished him with a spindle of
thread by which he might trace
and retrace his way out of the
labyrinth. He slew the Minotaur,
escaped from the labyrinth, and
taking Ariadne, sailed for Athens.
On their way they stopped at the island of Naxos, where
Theseus abandoned Ariadne. As the ship approached
the coast of Greece, Theseus forgot to raise the white
sails, and the old king, thinking his son had perished,
took his own life. Theseus thus became king of Athens.
Theseus accompanied Heracles in his expedition
to the Amazons. During their attack, he carried off
Queen Hyppolyta’s syster, Antiope, by whom he later
had a son, Hippolytus. The Amazons in their turn
invaded Greece. The final battle in which Theseus
overcame them was fought in the very midst of Athens.Jason (c. 1287–1247 BCE)
Jason’s father was Aeson, the lawful king of
Iolcus, whose half-brother, Pelias, had usurped the
throne. He imprisoned Aeson and would have
murdered Jason at birth. But Jason’s mother, Alcimede,
deceived Pelias by mourning as if the baby had died,
secretly sending him away to Mt. Pelion to be raised
by the wise Centaur, Chiron. When Jason turned 20,
he returned to Iolcus intending to restore his father to
his throne. On the way, he carried an old woman across
a swollen stream, losing a sandal in the torrent.
An oracle had warned Pelias to beware of a
stranger wearing one sandal, so when Jason showed
up to claim his throne, Pelias plotted to get rid of him.
He commissioned Jason to embark on a heroic quest
to bring back the legendary Golden Fleece from Colchis
(see below). Jason succeeded, bringing back not only
the Fleece, but also the princess Medea as his wife.
Medea, a sorceress, arranged the death of Pelias, then
she and Jason fled to Corinth.
After many years, Jason left Medea to marry
Glauce, daughter of Corinth’s King Creon. Medea
wreaked a terrible vengeance, killing the bride and
Creon, and murdering her own children. She escaped
in a chariot pulled by winged dragons, leaving Jason
to mourn his losses. A broken old man, Jason was
eventually killed by a falling timber as he was sleeping
under the prow of his famous ship, the Argo.Atalanta (c. 1285–1255 BCE)
Atalanta’s father, King Iasus of Arcadia, wanted
a boy. When a girl was born, he exposed her in themountains were she was suckled by a mother bear
sent by the goddess Artemis. A group of hunters found
her and raised her to womanhood. Atalanta became a
famously skilled archer and, like Artemis, loved to hunt.
Atalanta sailed with the Argonauts in quest of
the Golden Fleece. She was wounded in battle with
the Colchians and was healed by Medea. Atalanta also
participated in the Calydonian Boar Hunt. Other male
hunters objected to her presence, but Meleager, a
fellow Argonaut and leader of the hunt, admired
Atalanta and insisted she be allowed to join. Atalanta’s
arrow was the first to draw the boar’s blood, so when
Meleager finally killed it he gave her its hide and head.
King Iasus then proudly claimed Atalanta as his
daughter and wanted her to marry. However, Atalanta
had been warned by the Oracle not to marry, so she
came up with a clever plan. Knowing no one could
outrun her, she offered to race the suitors, agreeing to
marry the man who could beat her. Melanion loved
Atalanta and called upon Aphrodite, Goddess of love,
who gave him three golden apples. During the race,
whenever Atalanta would get ahead of him, Melanion
would toss one for-
ward. Atalanta could
not resist stooping to
pick up each apple,
giving Melanion the
advantage he need-
ed. He won the race
and Atalanta’s hand
in marriage.Odysseus (c. 1260–1190 BCE)
Mortal grandson of Hermes, “wily” Odysseus
(Ulysses in Latin) ruled the island kingdom of Ithaca.
He was one of the most prominent Greek leaders in
the Trojan War, famed for his cleverness and cunning,
and for his eloquence as a speaker. As one of the
original suitors of lovely Helen, he proposed the pact
whereby her husband would be chosen by lot, and all
the others would pledge to defend his marriage rights.
This pact led to the Trojan War when Helen left her
husband, Menelaus, and ran off with Paris of Troy.
After ten years of war (1220–1210), Odysseus
came up with the idea of the Trojan Horse by which
the Greeks were finally able to take the city of Troy
itself. But Odysseus is most remembered for the saga
of his ten-year voyage to return home to his own
kingdom of Ithaca, his faithful wife, Penelope, and his
son, Telemachus. This tale was immortalized by Homer
as The Odyssey (see below).Cuchulain (72–101 CE)
Cuchulain (ku-HOO-len) was the greatest hero
of Ireland. His father was the Sun-god Lugh, and his
mother, Dechtire, was the sister of Conchohar I, King
of Ulster, Ireland (r.71–92). Named Setanta at birth, he- Spectrum 2.p65 289 1/15/2004, 9:31 AM