Editing Theseus (section)

==Theseus and Pirithous==
[[File:Antonio_Canova_Teseo_defeats_the_centaur.jpg|thumb|''Theseus Defeats the Centaur'' by [[Antonio Canova]] (1804–1819), [[Kunsthistorisches Museum]]]]

Theseus's best friend was [[Pirithous]], king of the [[Lapiths]]. Pirithous had heard stories of Theseus's courage and strength in battle but wanted proof so he rustled Theseus's herd of cattle and drove it from [[Marathon, Greece|Marathon]] and Theseus set out in pursuit. Pirithous took up his arms and the pair met to do battle but were so impressed with each other's gracefulness, beauty and courage they took an oath of friendship<ref>{{cite Plutarch|Theseus|30|1|2}}</ref> and joined the [[Calydonian boar hunt]].

In ''Iliad'' I, [[Nestor (mythology)|Nestor]] numbers Pirithous and Theseus "of heroic fame" among an earlier generation of heroes of his youth, "the strongest men that Earth has bred, the strongest men against the strongest enemies, a savage mountain-dwelling tribe whom they utterly destroyed." No trace of such an oral tradition, which Homer's listeners would have recognized in Nestor's allusion, survived in the literary epic. Later, Pirithous was preparing to marry [[Hippodamia (wife of Pirithous)|Hippodamia]]. The [[centaur]]s were guests at the wedding feast, but got drunk and tried to abduct the women, including Hippodamia. The Lapiths won the ensuing battle.
[[File:Wall painting - Peirithoos receiving the centaurs at his wedding - Pompeii (VII 2 16) - Napoli MAN 9044.jpg|thumb|left|[[Pirithous]] and [[Hippodamia (wife of Pirithous)|Hippodamia]] receiving the centaurs at his wedding. Antique fresco from [[Pompeii]]]]

In [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' Theseus fights against and kills [[Eurytus]], the "fiercest of all the fierce centaurs"<ref>Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' XII: 217–153</ref> at the wedding of [[Pirithous]] and [[Hippodamia (wife of Pirithous)|Hippodamia]].

Also according to Ovid, Phaedra, Theseus' wife, felt left out by her husband's love for Pirithous and she used this as an excuse to try to convince her stepson, Hippolytus, to accept being her lover, as Theseus also neglected his son because he preferred to spend long periods with his companion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theoi.com/Text/OvidHeroides1.html#4|title=OVID, HEROIDES IV – Theoi Classical Texts Library|website=theoi.com|language=en|access-date=11 September 2022}}</ref><ref>[[Ovid]]'s ''[[Heroides]]'', [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0085%3Apoem%3D4 4]</ref>

===Abduction of Persephone and encounter with Hades===
[[File:Theseus Helene Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2309 n2.jpg|thumb|Theseus carries off Helen, on an [[Attica|Attic]] red-figure [[amphora]], c. 510 BC]]

Theseus, a great abductor of women, and his bosom companion, [[Pirithous]], since they were sons of Zeus and Poseidon, pledged themselves to marry daughters of Zeus.<ref>Scholia on ''Iliad'' III.144 and a fragment (#227) of [[Pindar]], according to Kerenyi 1951:237, note 588.</ref> Theseus, in an old tradition,<ref>[[Athenaeus]], ''[[Deipnosophistae]]'' [http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/Literature/Literature-idx?type=turn&id=Literature.AthV3&entity=Literature.AthV3.p0079&q1=helen&pview=hide 13.4 (557a)];

cf. Kerenyi (1959:234) and note.</ref> chose [[Helen of Troy|Helen]], and together they kidnapped her, intending to keep her until she was old enough to marry. Pirithous chose [[Persephone]], even though she was already married to [[Hades]], king of the underworld. They left Helen with Theseus's mother, [[Aethra (Greek mythology)|Aethra]] at [[Aphidna]], whence she was rescued by the [[Dioscuri]].

On Pirithous's behalf they rather unwisely traveled to the underworld, domain of [[Persephone]] and her husband [[Hades]]. As they wandered through the outskirts of [[Tartarus]], Theseus sat down to rest on a rock. As he did so he felt his limbs change and grow stiff. He tried to rise but could not. He was fixed to the rock. As he turned to cry out to his friend, he saw that Pirithous too was crying out. Around him gathered the terrible band of [[Furies]] with snakes in their hair, torches, and long whips in their hands. Before these monsters, the hero's courage failed and he was led away to eternal punishment.

For many months in half-darkness, Theseus sat immovably fixed to the rock, mourning for both his friend and for himself. In the end, he was rescued by [[Heracles]] who had come to the underworld for his 12th task. There he persuaded Persephone to forgive him for the part he had taken in the rash venture of Pirithous. So Theseus was restored to the upper air but Pirithous never left the kingdom of the dead, for when Heracles tried to free Pirithous, the underworld shook. They then decided the task was beyond any hero and left. When Theseus returned to Athens, he found that the [[Dioscuri]] had taken Helen and Aethra to [[Sparta]].