Theseus

“[T]he people lifted up their hands to Athena on the hilltop and cried out, ‘How long, O Queen of the Air, how long shall this thing be?’”

The people of Athens are turning to their patron goddess—Athena—for deliverance from this cruel situation. Even when times are hard, the ancient Greeks turn to the gods and believe in their divine power and authority. They pray for deliverance and for the gods to intervene on their behalf.

“[F]or no one who is thrust into the den of the Minotaur ever comes out again. Remember that you are the hope of Athens, and do not take this great risk upon yourself.”

Minos weighs the needs of the people against Theseus’s desire to enter the Labyrinth, while Theseus does the same. They come to different conclusions: Theseus believes he can best serve the people by going to Crete, while Aegeus wants him to stay and directly protect Athens.

“They led the youths and maidens a long way into the Labyrinth, turning here and there, back and forth, a thousand different times, until it seemed certain that they could never find their way out again.”

The 14 tributes are taken into the Labyrinth and meant to be hopelessly lost. For Minos, this reflects not only the helplessness of the 14 youths sent into the Labyrinth but also the helplessness of all of Athens. Just as the tributes cannot hope to escape the Labyrinth, Athens cannot hope to escape Minos and his revenge.

“For hours they stood there, hearing no sound, and seeing nothing but the smooth, high walls on either side of the passage and the calm blue sky so high above them. Then the maidens sat down upon the ground and covered their faces and sobbed.”

The passage of time builds tension and suspense. Theseus is risking his life to save them, but this moment of calm provokes anguish as the tributes await their fates. Nobody knows what is about to happen, and the characters are isolated, seeing only sky and walls and hearing nothing.

“When he saw Theseus with the sword in his hand coming to meet him, he paused, for no one had ever faced him in that way before.”

The Minotaur is used to facing opponents who are unarmed and unable to defend themselves. This parallels the relationship between Athens and Crete: Minos does not expect resistance because no one has ever fought back against Crete’s cruel demands.

“He was twice as tall as a man, and his head was like that of a bull with huge sharp horns and fiery eyes and a mouth as large as a lion’s; but the young men could not see the lower part of his body for the cloud of dust which he raised in running.

The Minotaur represents two sides of humanity—the man and the monster. In this moment, the monster is the part that is fully present, as Theseus can see only the bull half and not the human half.

“Minos, when he arose from sleep, did not know that the youths and maidens had gotten safe out of the Labyrinth. But when Ariadne could not be found, he thought that robbers had carried her away. He sent soldiers out to search for her among the hills and mountains, never dreaming that she was now well on the way towards distant Athens.”

Minos is overly calm and overly arrogant. He does not believe that anyone could escape his trap, so when Ariadne is missing, he believes that he has once again been robbed. This can make Minos both a character to be empathized with and a character to be disliked. He cannot accept losing another child, but he is also arrogant enough to believe that nobody could outwit him.

“At last the vessel with Theseus and his companions hove in sight, but it still carried only the black sail, for in their joy the young men had forgotten to raise the white one.”

The men and women of Athens escaped the Labyrinth and believed that their troubles were ended. This made them careless, and they forgot about the promise and their responsibility to Aegeus to inform him that Theseus was still alive. Their carelessness amid celebration caused one final—and unnecessary—death before Athens was completely free from the threat of Minos’s Labyrinth.