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The Slayer of the Minotaur and King of Athens, Theseus! Since he's a son of Poseidon, I decided my version was going to be a horse. His fur and eyes are the same colors as his fathers', although he gets his golden mane and tail from his mother, Aethra, who is a mare. I had played around with giving Theseus the same colored mane as Poseidon as well, but it made him look a bit too 'dull', and Theseus was supposed to be on the 'extraordinary' side. So I took a leaf out of the book of the video game "Hades," which has Theseus as a character. In that game, he's depicted with blond hair, and that helped give my version the effect I was looking for.

Theseus' pose here is based off a few different statues of the original Theseus, so he's holding in his right hand a club which, in some versions, he used to slay the Minotaur with, while in his left, he holds a short sword.

Although Theseus is heralded as a Greek hero, keep in mind that in those days, "hero" meant somebody who accomplished great feats, and not the kind of stuff we today would consider "heroic." So, generally... Theseus isn't really seen as a very noble figure by today's standards.

Here's a rough timeline of Theseus' life in my version:

-King Aegeus of Athens, a goat, was childless (even though he previously had two wives), and desired an heir. After speaking with an oracle, he was told "Do not loose the wineskin until you have returned to Athens, lest you die of grief." Aegeus did not understand the prophecy, and went to consult Pittheus, the king of Troezen. Pittheus understood what it meant, and promptly made Aegeus drunk before giving him his 16-year-old daughter, Aethra. After laying with Aegeus, Aethra snuck out and met with her then-lover: 18-year-old Poseidon, king of the seas. Aethra informed her father that her child was Poseidon's, but Troezen realized he could use this to his advantage; he convinced Aegeus that the child had *two* fathers: Aegeus himself, and Poseidon. Because of the circumstances, Aegeus did not marry Aethra, instead burying his sandals and sword under a huge rock, instructing Aethra that when their son was grown, that he should move said rock (if he were strong enough) and take the tokens back to Athens to claim his royal birthright.

On his 15th birthday, Theseus is informed by his mother, Aethra, that he is the son of both Poseidon and King Aegeus of Athens (the ancient Greeks thought this was possible, although we in modern day know better Theseus was actually Poseidon's son). After proving his strength in moving the huge rock to retrieve the sword and sandals, Theseus sets out towards Athens and accomplishes his famous Six Labors.

Upon making it to Athens and meeting King Aegeus, the goat-king's 15-year-old wife, Medea, realizes exactly who this young stallion is thanks to her own divination powers. Now Medea had just recently given birth to a son with Aegeus, namely Medus, but thanks to Theseus being considered the "actual firstborn," he would have claim over the Athenian throne. Wanting to protect her newborn's royal birthright, Medea whispers into her husband's ear that such a powerful stranger would try to usurp the Athenian throne, and so therefore must be done away with.

After some convincing, Aegeus agrees to his wife's plan of poisoning Theseus... but as the young stallion raises the deadly goblet to his lips, Aegeus finally notices the sandals on his feet and the sword at his side. The old goat knocks the goblet from Theseus' hand before embracing his son. Aegeus promptly banishes Medea and her son back to the land of Colchis, where she would later meet Jason of the Argonauts.

Later, Theseus battles the Pallantides and wins.

16 - his most famous act: slaying the Minotaur of Crete with the help of 16-year-old Ariadne. Theseus takes her and her sister 14-year-old Phaedra with him back to Athens, although he abandons Ariadne on the island of Naxos (where she's later found by Dionysus, who ends up marrying her). Thanks to Theseus forgetting to put up white sails on his ship, his father, King Aegeus, upon seeing the ship with black sails, believes his son has perished, and throws himself off a cliff into the sea, which was later named after him to become the Aegean Sea. Theseus becomes King of Athens and marries Phaedra.

17 - Theseus meets King Pirithous (who was not only another stallion, and not only roughly the same age as Theseus, but also one of the many illegitimate sons of Zeus - in the original myths, Zeus turned into a horse and had sex with Dia, resulting in the birth of Pirithous), who had heard of the former's many feats, and wanted to see for himself. After engaging in battle, the two become so impressed by one another that they make an oath of friendship (and even become lovers). The two later join in the Caldonian Boar Hunt. Theseus' sons with Phaedra, Acamas and Demophan, are born.

18 - Pirithous marries Hippodamia - except their wedding is disrupted by drunken centaurs who carry the bride off. Theseus assists his friend in retrieving Hippodamia. Afterwards, Theseus would fight the Marathonian Bull, that had been captured by Heracles during one of his Labors. Crossing paths with Heracles, Theseus goes with him to steal the girdle of Hippolyta, the Amazon Queen. Although Hippolyta is enamored with Heracles, Theseus ended up capturing her and bringing her to Athens as his concubine.

19 - Hippolytus, the son of Theseus and Hippolyta, is born. The Amazons attack Athens in an attempt to rescue their queen, but Hippolyta is slain in battle, and the Amazons are driven back. Pirithous also loses his wife, Hippodamia, when she dies after giving birth to their son, Polypoetes. Since they each lost a bride (or in Theseus' case, a concubine), the two friends swore an oath to help each other gain a new one. After hearing tales of the beauty of Helen of Sparta, Theseus makes his own choice, and the two stallion-kings set off. First, they successfully kidnap Helen, although since she is only 12 at the time, the plan is to keep her until she is 14 (the legal marrying age in those days, yuck). Meanwhile, Pirithous decides that he wants his own new bride to be none other than Persephone, Queen of the Underworld. Theseus initially objects and tries talking Pirithous out of this, but the latter insists. Bound by their oath, Theseus follows Pirithous into the Underworld... only to be imprisoned by Hades and tortured by the Furies.

20 - Heracles, on his 12th and final Labor to kidnap Cerberus, comes to the Underworld and comes across Theseus and Pirithous. After pleading their case, Heracles manages to convince Persephone to allow Theseus to leave... but not Pirithous; Hades will not allow him to leave his prison. Theseus helps Heracles drag Cerberus out of the Underworld to bring him to Heracles' cousin, King Eurystheus (who becomes so terrified at the sight that he demands Heracles return Cerberus immediately). Afterwards, Theseus reclaims his throne in Athens, only to hear news that Helen had been rescued and brought back to Sparta - and that his mother, Aethra, as well as Pirithous' sister, Physadeia, had also been taken to Sparta to be Helen's handmaidens. Theseus would have gone to rescue them, except Athena warned him that, thanks to his stunt in trying to kidnap Persephone, that he no longer held favor amongst the gods, and that the only reason he was permitted to remain ruler of Athens was because he was Poseidon's son. Thus, Theseus is forced to take this loss and live a much quieter life from then on.

21 - (fun fact: this is the year that Achilles is born.)

22 - Theseus receives news that Hera and Athena were assembling a group of the finest heroes to assist a new young aspiring hero, Jason, in his own quest to reclaim his throne. Seeing this as a chance to reclaim some of his former glory, Theseus offered his services to sail with Jason on the Argo... except among the Argonauts were the Dioscuri, otherwise known as Castor and Pollux, the twin brothers of Helen - the same Helen that Theseus captured to be his concubine. Even though they rescued their sister and took revenge on Theseus by capturing his mother, the two brothers never forgave the king of Athens... and when the Argonauts made a stop at the River Cius, where Heracles was left behind to search for his lover, Hylas, the Dioscuri took advantage of the situation by binding and gagging Theseus to leave him behind, thus robbing him of any chance of glory. When Theseus returns to Athens, he claimed that he had been begged to sail with the Argonauts, but refused, seeing it all as a fool's journey... and those who are familiar with the story, will know that Theseus turned out to be partially right.

[unknown when the following events happen:]

-He receives Oedipus when the latter was blinded and exiled.
-He helps Adrastus recover the Seven at Thebes by negotiation and has them buried.

34 - Phaedra, Theseus' wife, felt unloved by her husband, especially since he continued to mourn the loss of Pirithous, even after all these years. It's unknown what exactly caused the following, but 32-year-old Phaedra ends up trying to seduce her 15-year-old stepson, Hippolytus, who rejects her. Phaedra then writes a letter to her husband, lying about Hippolytus raping her, before committing suicide. Theseus believes his now dead wife's words and has his son killed by a bull; however, Artemis is able to reveal the truth to Theseus. As if things couldn't get any worse, this event turns out to be the last straw for Athens. Theseus loses the last of his popularity among the citizens, and he is exiled by Menestheus, who takes the throne for himself. Theseus flees to the island of Skyros, ruled by King Lycomedes (who was also hiding 13-year-old Achilles in female disguise so he wouldn't be recruited for the upcoming Trojan War as per the request of Achilles' mother, Thetis). Fearing that Theseus might try to usurp his own throne, Lycomedes has him bound and gagged and thrown off a cliff into the ocean. Thus, Theseus dies.

2 years later, the Trojan War begins, and another 2 year later, the Trojan War ends, and 55-year-old Aethra is rescued by her 21-year-old grandsons, Acamas and Demophan. Unfortunately, upon hearing of the death of her son, Theseus, Aethra kills herself. Demophan ascends to the throne of Athens.

Theseus (c)

Description
The Slayer of the Minotaur and King of Athens, Theseus! Since he's a son of Poseidon, I decided my version was going to be a horse. His fur and eyes are the same colors as his fathers', although he gets his golden mane and tail from his mother, Aethra, who is a mare. I had played around with giving Theseus the same colored mane as Poseidon as well, but it made him look a bit too 'dull', and Theseus was supposed to be on the 'extraordinary' side. So I took a leaf out of the book of the video game "Hades," which has Theseus as a character. In that game, he's depicted with blond hair, and that helped give my version the effect I was looking for.

Theseus' pose here is based off a few different statues of the original Theseus, so he's holding in his right hand a club which, in some versions, he used to slay the Minotaur with, while in his left, he holds a short sword.

Although Theseus is heralded as a Greek hero, keep in mind that in those days, "hero" meant somebody who accomplished great feats, and not the kind of stuff we today would consider "heroic." So, generally... Theseus isn't really seen as a very noble figure by today's standards.

Here's a rough timeline of Theseus' life in my version:

-King Aegeus of Athens, a goat, was childless (even though he previously had two wives), and desired an heir. After speaking with an oracle, he was told "Do not loose the wineskin until you have returned to Athens, lest you die of grief." Aegeus did not understand the prophecy, and went to consult Pittheus, the king of Troezen. Pittheus understood what it meant, and promptly made Aegeus drunk before giving him his 16-year-old daughter, Aethra. After laying with Aegeus, Aethra snuck out and met with her then-lover: 18-year-old Poseidon, king of the seas. Aethra informed her father that her child was Poseidon's, but Troezen realized he could use this to his advantage; he convinced Aegeus that the child had *two* fathers: Aegeus himself, and Poseidon. Because of the circumstances, Aegeus did not marry Aethra, instead burying his sandals and sword under a huge rock, instructing Aethra that when their son was grown, that he should move said rock (if he were strong enough) and take the tokens back to Athens to claim his royal birthright.

On his 15th birthday, Theseus is informed by his mother, Aethra, that he is the son of both Poseidon and King Aegeus of Athens (the ancient Greeks thought this was possible, although we in modern day know better Theseus was actually Poseidon's son). After proving his strength in moving the huge rock to retrieve the sword and sandals, Theseus sets out towards Athens and accomplishes his famous Six Labors.

Upon making it to Athens and meeting King Aegeus, the goat-king's 15-year-old wife, Medea, realizes exactly who this young stallion is thanks to her own divination powers. Now Medea had just recently given birth to a son with Aegeus, namely Medus, but thanks to Theseus being considered the "actual firstborn," he would have claim over the Athenian throne. Wanting to protect her newborn's royal birthright, Medea whispers into her husband's ear that such a powerful stranger would try to usurp the Athenian throne, and so therefore must be done away with.

After some convincing, Aegeus agrees to his wife's plan of poisoning Theseus... but as the young stallion raises the deadly goblet to his lips, Aegeus finally notices the sandals on his feet and the sword at his side. The old goat knocks the goblet from Theseus' hand before embracing his son. Aegeus promptly banishes Medea and her son back to the land of Colchis, where she would later meet Jason of the Argonauts.

Later, Theseus battles the Pallantides and wins.

16 - his most famous act: slaying the Minotaur of Crete with the help of 16-year-old Ariadne. Theseus takes her and her sister 14-year-old Phaedra with him back to Athens, although he abandons Ariadne on the island of Naxos (where she's later found by Dionysus, who ends up marrying her). Thanks to Theseus forgetting to put up white sails on his ship, his father, King Aegeus, upon seeing the ship with black sails, believes his son has perished, and throws himself off a cliff into the sea, which was later named after him to become the Aegean Sea. Theseus becomes King of Athens and marries Phaedra.

17 - Theseus meets King Pirithous (who was not only another stallion, and not only roughly the same age as Theseus, but also one of the many illegitimate sons of Zeus - in the original myths, Zeus turned into a horse and had sex with Dia, resulting in the birth of Pirithous), who had heard of the former's many feats, and wanted to see for himself. After engaging in battle, the two become so impressed by one another that they make an oath of friendship (and even become lovers). The two later join in the Caldonian Boar Hunt. Theseus' sons with Phaedra, Acamas and Demophan, are born.

18 - Pirithous marries Hippodamia - except their wedding is disrupted by drunken centaurs who carry the bride off. Theseus assists his friend in retrieving Hippodamia. Afterwards, Theseus would fight the Marathonian Bull, that had been captured by Heracles during one of his Labors. Crossing paths with Heracles, Theseus goes with him to steal the girdle of Hippolyta, the Amazon Queen. Although Hippolyta is enamored with Heracles, Theseus ended up capturing her and bringing her to Athens as his concubine.

19 - Hippolytus, the son of Theseus and Hippolyta, is born. The Amazons attack Athens in an attempt to rescue their queen, but Hippolyta is slain in battle, and the Amazons are driven back. Pirithous also loses his wife, Hippodamia, when she dies after giving birth to their son, Polypoetes. Since they each lost a bride (or in Theseus' case, a concubine), the two friends swore an oath to help each other gain a new one. After hearing tales of the beauty of Helen of Sparta, Theseus makes his own choice, and the two stallion-kings set off. First, they successfully kidnap Helen, although since she is only 12 at the time, the plan is to keep her until she is 14 (the legal marrying age in those days, yuck). Meanwhile, Pirithous decides that he wants his own new bride to be none other than Persephone, Queen of the Underworld. Theseus initially objects and tries talking Pirithous out of this, but the latter insists. Bound by their oath, Theseus follows Pirithous into the Underworld... only to be imprisoned by Hades and tortured by the Furies.

20 - Heracles, on his 12th and final Labor to kidnap Cerberus, comes to the Underworld and comes across Theseus and Pirithous. After pleading their case, Heracles manages to convince Persephone to allow Theseus to leave... but not Pirithous; Hades will not allow him to leave his prison. Theseus helps Heracles drag Cerberus out of the Underworld to bring him to Heracles' cousin, King Eurystheus (who becomes so terrified at the sight that he demands Heracles return Cerberus immediately). Afterwards, Theseus reclaims his throne in Athens, only to hear news that Helen had been rescued and brought back to Sparta - and that his mother, Aethra, as well as Pirithous' sister, Physadeia, had also been taken to Sparta to be Helen's handmaidens. Theseus would have gone to rescue them, except Athena warned him that, thanks to his stunt in trying to kidnap Persephone, that he no longer held favor amongst the gods, and that the only reason he was permitted to remain ruler of Athens was because he was Poseidon's son. Thus, Theseus is forced to take this loss and live a much quieter life from then on.

21 - (fun fact: this is the year that Achilles is born.)

22 - Theseus receives news that Hera and Athena were assembling a group of the finest heroes to assist a new young aspiring hero, Jason, in his own quest to reclaim his throne. Seeing this as a chance to reclaim some of his former glory, Theseus offered his services to sail with Jason on the Argo... except among the Argonauts were the Dioscuri, otherwise known as Castor and Pollux, the twin brothers of Helen - the same Helen that Theseus captured to be his concubine. Even though they rescued their sister and took revenge on Theseus by capturing his mother, the two brothers never forgave the king of Athens... and when the Argonauts made a stop at the River Cius, where Heracles was left behind to search for his lover, Hylas, the Dioscuri took advantage of the situation by binding and gagging Theseus to leave him behind, thus robbing him of any chance of glory. When Theseus returns to Athens, he claimed that he had been begged to sail with the Argonauts, but refused, seeing it all as a fool's journey... and those who are familiar with the story, will know that Theseus turned out to be partially right.

[unknown when the following events happen:]

-He receives Oedipus when the latter was blinded and exiled.
-He helps Adrastus recover the Seven at Thebes by negotiation and has them buried.

34 - Phaedra, Theseus' wife, felt unloved by her husband, especially since he continued to mourn the loss of Pirithous, even after all these years. It's unknown what exactly caused the following, but 32-year-old Phaedra ends up trying to seduce her 15-year-old stepson, Hippolytus, who rejects her. Phaedra then writes a letter to her husband, lying about Hippolytus raping her, before committing suicide. Theseus believes his now dead wife's words and has his son killed by a bull; however, Artemis is able to reveal the truth to Theseus. As if things couldn't get any worse, this event turns out to be the last straw for Athens. Theseus loses the last of his popularity among the citizens, and he is exiled by Menestheus, who takes the throne for himself. Theseus flees to the island of Skyros, ruled by King Lycomedes (who was also hiding 13-year-old Achilles in female disguise so he wouldn't be recruited for the upcoming Trojan War as per the request of Achilles' mother, Thetis). Fearing that Theseus might try to usurp his own throne, Lycomedes has him bound and gagged and thrown off a cliff into the ocean. Thus, Theseus dies.

2 years later, the Trojan War begins, and another 2 year later, the Trojan War ends, and 55-year-old Aethra is rescued by her 21-year-old grandsons, Acamas and Demophan. Unfortunately, upon hearing of the death of her son, Theseus, Aethra kills herself. Demophan ascends to the throne of Athens.

Theseus (c)