ABSTRACT
Following the visit of Aegeus to the court of King Pittheus at Troezen, Aethra, one of the king's daughters, gave birth to a son whose father was either Aegeus or the god Poseidon. When the boy, Theseus, was sixteen, his mother told him of the circumstances of his birth and took him to the rock under which Aegeus had placed a sword and a pair of sandals as a test of his identity. When he had lifted the rock and taken these tokens of proof, Theseus decided to go to Athens to claim the recognition of Aegeus. Ignoring his mother and grandfather, who advised him to make the journey by sea, he went via the isthmus which at the time was inhabited by brigands and outlaws. He killed Periphetes and kept his club, and subjected Sinis to the same fate that the latter used to reserve for travellers. He killed the Crommyonian sow, and Sciron who forced travellers to wash his feet and then kicked them into the sea, as well as Cercyon the fighter, and finally Procrustes who either 'stretched' or 'shortened' travellers so that they were the right size for his bed. Medea, who had won the confidence of Aegeus in Athens, guessed Theseus' identity and tried to kill him by preparing a poisoned goblet for a banquet to which she made sure he was invited. But, as Theseus drew his sword, Aegeus recognized it and knocked over the goblet. According to another version of the story, Medea sent him to fight the monstrous bull of Marathon, but Theseus captured it and, as he drew his sword to offer it as a sacrifice, Aegeus realized who he was.
