How did the last Athenian king Codrus save his city from the enemy?

In Greek mythology, Codrus is the last king of Athens, the son of Melanthus, a descendant of Neleus, and a representative of the Messenian royal house. When the Dorians captured Messenia, Codrus went to Athens, defeated the Athenians in one decisive battle and killed their king, a descendant of Theseus, after which he reigned in Athens, taking an Athenian wife as his wife. After the Dorians invaded Attica, the Delphic oracle predicted that they would be able to take possession of Athens only if they spared Codru's life. The inhabitants of Delphi, who were friendly towards the Athenians, informed them about this prophecy (according to another version, the Athenians learned about the prophecy from their spy in Delphi). Wanting to save his city, Codrus went out to fight the enemy dressed as a simple woodcutter and, unrecognized by the Dorians, deliberately sacrificed his life. According to another version, Kodr, dressed in rags, went out of the city gates supposedly to get firewood and died in a provoked skirmish with the enemy. One way or another, having learned about the death of Codrus, the Dorians lifted the siege.

In Greek mythology, Athenian hero and king, son of Aegeus and Ephra

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Answer for the question "In Greek mythology, Athenian hero and king, son of Aegeus and Ephra", 5 letters:
Theseus

Alternative crossword questions for the word theseus

Legendary Athenian king

Defeated Procrustes and the Minotaur

Slayer of the Minotaur

Defeated the Minotaur

Who did Ariadne give the thread to?

The legendary Athenian king who killed the Minotaur and Procrustes

Definition of the word theseus in dictionaries

Wikipedia Meaning of the word in the Wikipedia dictionary
Several meanings are known: Theseus is a character in myths in Ancient Greece. Chosei is a village in Japan. Theseus is an upcoming film about hitman turned anti-hero Theseus, who begins killing assassins using their methods.

Mythological dictionary Meaning of the word in the dictionary Mythological Dictionary
(Greek) - the son of the Athenian king Aegeus and the Troezen princess Efra. King Aegeus, who had been childless for a long time, asked the oracle about his offspring, but received an unclear answer. Setting off on his travels, he came to the Troezen king Pittheus, who unraveled the meaning of the oracle's answer...

Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1998 The meaning of the word in the dictionary Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1998
THESEUS (Theseus) legendary Athenian king (c. 13th century BC). He is credited with the synoicism of Attica, the division of citizens into Eupatrides, Geomores and Demiurges. According to Greek legends, Theseus accomplished many feats (including defeating Procrustes, the Minotaur, participating...

Examples of the use of the word theseus in literature.

Impregnable Athens was destroyed, Helen was freed, his mother was in grave captivity in Sparta, his sons Theseus, Demophon and Akamant, were forced to flee from Athens, and all power was in the hands of the hated Menestheus.

How could he be an Argonaut if Jason had already died, and Theseus is still moving towards his exploits.

Copy her from the unfortunate Aspasia: In everything I am similar to the victim Theseus, Although my island is not deserted.

This refers to the seven Athenian youths and seven girls whom Theseus delivered from death by killing the Minotaur in the labyrinth at Knossos.

The great Macedonian accomplished a feat that surpassed the deeds of the mythical heroes - Hercules, Theseus and Dionysus.

Kodr, Greek - descendant of Erechtheus and son of Melanthus, the last Athenian king. Top picture: The Acropolis of Athens, reconstruction by Leo von Klenze in 1846.

Kodr stands at the “watershed” of myths and historical tradition. His father allegedly was king in Messenian Pylos, but was ousted from there by the Heraclides, that is, the Dorians, and moved to Athens; For saving the city from the invading Boeotians, the Athenians elected Codrus as their king. However, during the reign of Codrus, the Dorians also attacked Attica. Having learned that the prophecy foretells the salvation of Athens if its king dies, Codrus disguised himself as a simple woodcutter, went into the forest, provoked a quarrel with the Dorian watch there and was killed. Soon the Dorians retreated from Athens, and Attica remained one of the few areas of European Greece not conquered by the Dorians.

Codrus had several sons, of whom Androcles founded Ephesus, Nileus founded Miletus, and Medont (Medon) became, after the death of Codrus, the ruler of Athens, but no longer as “basileus” (“basileus”), i.e. king, but as “ archon" - "dominant", since, out of respect for Codrus, the Athenians stopped assigning the royal title to anyone.

The legend about Codra, which has come down to us with various minor changes, reflects certain historical facts. First of all, Athens actually survived the Dorian invasion in the 12th-10th centuries. BC e. and thanks to this, they preserved intact the political and cultural continuity of the Mycenaean and Pre-Cenean eras. And also the fact that in Athens the institution of kings was abolished very early - but, of course, not as a one-time act, but as a result of the gradual limitation of royal power by the aristocracy. The state was headed by a council of nine archons elected from aristocratic circles; as democratization progressed, their powers decreased until, in the end, they were limited to formal legal and religious issues. The chairman of this council had the title of "first archon", and the calendar year during which he performed his duties was named after him. However, the list of historical Athenian archons is opened not by Codrus’s son, Medon, but by Creon, unknown to us (mid-7th century BC).

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Athens Acropolis

Temple of Olympian Zeus

Theseus, Theseus - in ancient Greek mythology, the son of the Athenian king Aegeus and Efra, the 10th king of Athens.

The name Theseus indicates strength. Theseus belongs to the generation of heroes before the Trojan War. The birth of Theseus is unusual. On his father’s side, Theseus had among his ancestors the autochthon Erichthonius, born from the seed of Hephaestus on earth and raised by Athena, and the autochthon Kranai and the first Attic king Cecrops. Theseus's ancestors were wise half-snake, half-human people. However, Theseus himself is a representative of pure heroism, he is simultaneously the son of man and god. On his mother’s side, Theseus descends from Pelopes, the father of Pittheus, Atreus and Thyestes, and therefore from Tantalus and, finally, from Zeus himself.

Being childless, Aegeus went to the oracle, but could not guess his answer. But the oracle was solved by the Troezen king Pittheus, who realized that power in Athens would belong to the descendants of Aegeus, and, having given the guest a drink, put him to bed with his daughter Ephra. On the same night, Poseidon became close to her, or had coupled with her the day before on the island of Spheros. Thus, the son born of Ephra had (as befits a great hero) two fathers - the earthly Aegeus and the divine Poseidon.

Labors of Theseus

Leaving Ephra, Aegeus asked to raise his future son, without naming his father’s name, and left him his sword and sandals, so that, having matured, Theseus, wearing his father’s sandals and with his sword, would go to Athens to Aegeus, but so that no one would know about it. I didn’t know, because Aegeus was afraid of the machinations of the Pallantids (the children of Pallant’s younger brother, who claimed power due to Aegeus’ childlessness). Ephra hides the true origin of Theseus and Pittheus spread the rumor that the boy was born from Poseidon (the most revered god in Troezen). When Theseus grew up, Ephra revealed to him the secret of his birth and ordered him, taking Aegeus’ things, to go to Athens to his father.

Even before leaving Troezen, Theseus, having become a young man, dedicated a lock of hair to the god Apollo in Delphi, thereby, as it were, entrusting himself to the god and concluding an alliance with him. Theseus did not go to Athens the easy way - by sea, but by land, through the Isthmus of Corinth, along a particularly dangerous road, where robbers, children and descendants of monsters lay in wait for travelers on the way from Megara to Athens. Theseus killed Periphetus, Sins, the Crommion pig, Sciron, Cercyon, Procrustes and Damastus. In Athens, King Aegeus fell under the power of the sorceress Medea, who found shelter with him and hoped that her son from Aegeus, Mede, would receive the right to the throne.

Theseus came to Athens as a liberator from monsters, a beautiful young hero, but was not recognized by Aegeus, to whom Medea instilled fears of the stranger and forced him to drug the young man with poison. During the meal, Theseus pulled out his sword to cut the meat. The father recognized his son and threw away the cup of poison.

Theseus also had to contend with 50 Pallantides whom he ambushed. Having exterminated his cousins ​​and expelled their allies, Theseus established himself as the son and heir of the Athenian king. Theseus glorified himself as a worthy heir to royal power during the clash of Athens with the Cretan king Minos, who demanded tribute of 7 boys and 7 girls every nine years as atonement for the death of his son Androgeus.

When Minos came for the third time for tribute, Theseus decided to go to Crete himself to measure his strength with the monstrous Minotaur, to whose devouring the victims were doomed. The ship set off under a black sail, but Theseus took with him a spare white one, under which he was supposed to return home after defeating the monster. On the way to Crete, Theseus proved to Minos his descent from Poseidon by retrieving from the bottom of the sea a ring thrown by Minos. Theseus and his companions were placed in a labyrinth, where Theseus killed the Minotaur. Theseus and his companions emerged from the labyrinth thanks to the help of Ariadne, who fell in love with Theseus. At night, Theseus with the Athenian youth and Ariadne secretly fled to the island of Naxos. Theseus, caught there by a storm, not wanting to take Ariadne to Athens, left her while she was sleeping. However, Ariadne was kidnapped by Dionysus, who was in love with her. According to a number of mythographers, Theseus was forced to leave Ariadne on the island, because Dionysus appeared to him in a dream and said that the girl should belong to him. Theseus went further, forgetting to change the sails, which caused the death of Aegeus, who threw himself into the sea when he saw the black sail and thereby became convinced of the death of his son. According to legend, this is why the sea is called the Aegean.

Other exploits of Theseus

Theseus took part in the Calydonian hunt, as well as in the battle with the centaurs who were rampaging at the wedding of Pirithous, Theseus's closest friend. But he was not among the Argonauts, since at that time he was helping Pirithias to get himself the goddess of the kingdom of the dead, Persephone, as his wife. By this act, Theseus crossed the limit of what was possible, established by the gods for heroes, and thereby became a disobedient and daring hero. He remained in Hades, where he was forever chained to the rock of Pirithous, if not for Hercules, who saved Theseus and sent him to Athens.

An equally daring act of Theseus was his abduction of Helen, who was recaptured by her brothers and later became the cause of the Trojan War. Returning from his trip to the kingdom of Hades, he found the throne occupied by Menestheus. Theseus was forced to go into exile, unable to pacify his enemies. He secretly transported the children to Euboea, and he himself, having cursed the Athenians, sailed to the island of Skyros, where Theseus’s father once had land. But the king of Skyros, Lycomedes, not wanting to part with his land, treacherously killed Theseus by pushing him off a cliff.

Historical prototype

Eusebius of Caesarea in his chronography calls Theseus the 10th king of Athens, who reigned 30 years after Aegeus from 1234 to 1205. BC e. Plutarch, in his biography of Theseus, provides evidence of the real existence of such an ancient king in Athens. Many details were taken by Plutarch from Philochorus, an author of the 3rd century BC. e.

During the reign of Theseus, the Athenians killed the son of Minos Androgeus, for which Athenian boys had to pay tribute to Crete. However, Theseus himself went to the competition established by Minos in memory of his deceased son, and defeated the strongest of the Cretans, the Minotaur, in the fight, as a result of which the boys’ tribute was canceled.

Theseus gathered the Athenians, who lived scattered throughout their country, into a single community, and became the actual founder of Athens. Here is how Plutarch (“Theseus”) writes about it:

“He gathered all the inhabitants of Attica, making them a single people, citizens of one city, whereas before they were scattered, it was difficult to convene them, even if it was about the common good, and often discord and real wars flared up between them. Going around dem after dem and clan after clan, he explained his plan everywhere, ordinary citizens and the poor quickly bowed to his admonitions, and to influential people he promised a state without a king, a democratic system that would give him, Theseus, only the place of a military leader and guardian of the laws, for the rest, he will bring equality to everyone - and he managed to persuade some, while others, fearing his courage and power, which by that time were already considerable, preferred to yield with kindness rather than submit to coercion. He erected a single prytaneia and a council house common to all in the current old part of the city, calling the city Athens (...) In an effort to further enlarge the city, Theseus invited everyone into it, offering citizenship rights (...) But he did not allow disorderly crowds of settlers caused confusion and disorder in the state - he for the first time identified the classes of nobles, landowners and artisans, and left the nobles to judge the worship of God, occupy the highest positions, as well as teach laws and interpret divine and human institutions, although in general he seemed to equalize all three classes among themselves . The fact that Theseus, according to Aristotle, was the first to show favor towards the common people and renounce autocracy, is evidently evidenced by Homer, who in his “List of Ships” calls only the Athenians “the people.”

Theseus kidnapped one of the Amazons, Antiope, because of which the Amazons invaded Attica, and only with great difficulty did the Athenians defeat the warriors. After the death of Antiope, Theseus took Phaedra as his wife and had a son, Hippolytus, with her. Then Theseus, already over 50 years old, and his friends went to Epirus for the daughter of the king of the Molossians (an Epirus tribe), where he was captured and thrown into prison. When he was able to return to Athens, he found a dissatisfied people, incited against him by Menestheus. Having been defeated in the fight against his enemies, Theseus retired to the island of Skyros, and died there, either killed by the king of Skyros, Lycomedes, or simply falling off a rocky cliff.

According to Eusebius, Theseus was expelled from Athens by ostracism, a rule against tyranny, which he was the first to introduce as a law. Menestheus took the Athenian throne.