To Trust a Wife or Son Choices test a hero. The great Greek hero Theseus was given a choice: trust his son and face the discontentment of the gods, or trust his wife and forever lose his only son. The ultimate challenge a father, husband, or worshipper can face was posed before Theseus. The struggle inside Theseus head is the perfect reflection of the hero, the myth, and the culture of Ancient Greece. What is more, Theseus dilemma is still in many ways relevant today and the lessons derived from it aid the difficult choices we must make in our lives. This myth provides profound insight about the true character of Theseus, the great hero of Athens. In the story, Theseus remarries Phaedra, the sister of Ariadne of Crete. Ariadne helped Theseus escape from the Minotaur, but he abandoned her on the way back to Athens. Aphrodite noticed this marriage and cursed Phaedra to a horrible fate. When Hippolytus, Theseus and the Amazon Hippolyta s son, was born, Theseus sent him away to a southern city in Greece. Many years later, Hippolytus returned as a handsome young man, and Aphrodite s curse set in. Phaedra fell in love with Hippolytus, a love kept secret by shame and respect for her stepson. Eventually, able to contain herself no longer, she admitted everything to her nurse. Her nurse, seeing that ignoring this problem would almost certainly lead to tragedy, went to Hippolytus and told him, She is dying for love of you. Give her life. Give her love for love. Hippolytus was not in the least convinced and was appalled by the nurse s proposal. He flew to his mother and told her of his disgust with her. She quietly went back into the house, and unbeknownst to anyone, killed herself. Later, Hippolytus returned and was disconcerted by the scene of many men crowding around his house. When he entered, Theseus said that a note left
behind by his mother accused Hippolytus of her death. This is where the true spirit of Theseus was shown, when he had to make his decision of who to judge and who to trust. Theseus, usually very open-minded, readily cursed and banished Hippolytus. The curse was fulfilled when Hippolytus chariot shattered and he was fatally injured. He pleaded to Artemis to show Theseus the truth. Artemis and Hippolytus appeared to Theseus in a vision, and Theseus saw the error of his judgment, but it too late to change it. Although Theseus, the hero of this story, made errors, he was considered one of the wisest of all the heroes of Greece. He was the ruler of the wisest city, Athens. When faced with believing either his son or his wife, Theseus was not able to simply wrestle the situation into submission, which is perhaps what Hercules, the strongest man in Greece, might have done. When Theseus discovered his wife, dead, with simply a note that proclaimed Hippolytus the killer, he was quick to blame Hippolytus. And yet, even as he erred, Theseus knew when he had made a mistake. Artemis told him Hippolytus was indeed innocent, and Theseus was immediately and profoundly remorseful. When he learned that he had condemned Hippolytus incorrectly, he proclaimed, If only I could die for you. Despite all of his faults, he was wise enough to know when he had wronged another. He learned to trust others and that was one of his greatest qualities. For this reason, the primary cultural value of this story is trust. Theseus had to make the decision of who to trust, his only son, or his dear wife. The lives of the ancient Greeks who fabricated this story were filled with decisions of trust, from the menial task of picking an honest vendor of goods to judging suitable spouses for their children. In today s society, we often struggle with whom to trust in our daily lives as well as whether we can trust ourselves to make critical decisions that will forever impact us. The essence
of love also played an important part in the culture of this myth. It was malicious love that sparked the horrible fate of each character in this story. Even as it is obvious the Greeks valued love, it is equally obvious that they were aware that love could tear apart and destroy other relationships. Even today, love can be the cornerstone or the wrecking ball of families and friendships. When Theseus married Ariadne s sister, Phaedra, Aphrodite reacted by cursing Phaedra to love Hippolytus. When Hippolytus acted disrespectfully toward his mother, she in turn blamed him for her death. The creators of this myth were trying to show how love and trust is complex. Being overly trusting towards one person can cause you to misjudge another person. Like many people in the modern world, my own psyche deals with issues related to trust on a frequent basis. I often wonder when I am making the right decision about who to trust and when I am making a critical error. When a friend assures me that I can spend time with him and finish my homework as well, I am unsure whether he is telling the truth or advocating for his own self-interest. Unfortunately, this myth did not give me a simple solution to my problem; it only reassured me that it is indeed a struggle to know when it is appropriate to trust. The topic of love can be more easily translated into my life in the form of friendship commitment versus family commitments. The activities with my family often conflict with the activities I want to do with my friends and vice versa. Love tore Theseus life apart, and in portraying this the myth taught me that any relationship must be cared for moderation so that it doesn t destroy one s other relationships. When faced with the difficult choice of believing either his wife or his son, Theseus was reduced to his bare character, and his true feelings were exposed. I face this same issue when making an important decision in my life. When I have a truly crucial choice to
respond to, any accomplishments or mistakes I have made in the past are useless and without merit. When this happens I feel exposed and brought down to my true character, a part of me that even I know little about. This myth showed me that this insecurity is experienced by even the great heroes of Ancient Greece, looked upon as nearly immortal and yet still as vulnerable as any person on earth. If I bring together the myth, the hero, and culture, I can learn how to help my own psyche. In deciding whether to trust his wife or son, Theseus had to make a decision that he knew might haunt him for the rest of his days. The myth explains how he made the wrong choice, but the essence of the myth suggests that Theseus never made a decision at all. The ancient Greeks were as scared of making poor choices as we are today, and the true value of this myth shows that just as I can t always know what is right and what is wrong, neither could Theseus. While this myth exemplified the hero and the culture of the time period it was written in, it also spoke to me as an individual about the fragility of our choices. But we can learn from the actions of Theseus, the great hero of ancient Greece, that to let the fear of making the wrong choice is worse than making the wrong choice itself. We must trust in the others around us and, most importantly, we must trust in ourselves. USE THE QUESTIONS BELOW and the rubric TO GUIDE YOUR DRAFTING MYTH TETRAD- Ideas and Content/Organization Name 1. Is there a clear thesis? Do I know what hero, myth and cultural value is the focus? How could it be Very clear in all paragraphs Clear in intro, but gets off the topic a little in some places not really, I m not clear on one or more of these
2. Does the essay show a deep understanding of the tetrad principles? How could it be general detailed and clear detailed, in depth, original 3. Does the essay make a deep personal connection? How could it be not yet general strongly personal 4. Is there a strong connection made between the 4 elements of the tetrad? How could it be no, each one has a clear point, but the writer doesn t show how they re connected in some places there are connections yes, the connections are throughout the essay 5. Do paragraphs organize? Can I easily tell what the topic is for each paragraph? How could it be paragraphs are confusing most paragraphs are clear but may be a little dull paragraph topics are clear and interesting 6. Do paragraphs have a logical order and leave the most interesting part for last? How could it be no clear reason for the order logical but doesn t lead up to a strong ending order is logical and leads to a powerful ending 7. Does the intro: introduce the assignment, focus the thesis and hook you? How could it be not yet some of those things (which ones?) YES! 8. Are there clear and interesting transitions that move the reader smoothly? How could it be writing is a little choppy and needs transitions transitions are clear, but simple or obvious more transitions are needed transitions are smooth and interesting 9. Does the conclusion bring it all together to a final personal realization? How could it be
no clear conclusion at end summarizes but doesn t come to a final realization clear and interesting final point wraps up the ideas of the essay