Aigeus
Aigeus (also Ägeus , ancient Greek Αἰγεύς ) is a king of Attica in Greek mythology , son of Pandion and Pylia . After his father's death, with the help of his brothers Pallas , Nisos and Lykos, he re-conquered the paternal realm of Attica, drove out the sons of Metion and, as the eldest son, received supremacy.
He is the father of the hero Theseus , who is considered the first king of Athens in mythology.
Birth of the son Theseus
Both his first marriage with Meta, the daughter of Hoples, and with Chalkiope, the daughter of Rhexenor, remained childless. The sons of his brother Pallas meanwhile had hopes for the royal throne. So Aigeus asked the Oracle of Delphi how he could have a son. The oracle prophesied to him: "Your son will be a glorious hero. But be careful not to open the protruding end of a hose before you have reached your home, otherwise you will find a grievous death." Since Aigeus did not understand this enigmatic saying, he went to his friend, King Pittheus of Troizen . He understood the prophecy (by the hose the Pythia had meant a wineskin, and loosening its protruding end means getting drunk) and decided to use the moment for his own purposes. He makes Aigeus drunk and, in the hope that the future hero would be his descendant, had no objections when Aigeus wanted to sleep with his daughter Aithra . Theseus emerged from this act of love .
Before Aigeus returned to Athens , he left a sword and sandals under a heavy stone. As soon as Theseus is strong enough to roll the stone aside by hand, he should set off to Aigeus.
Theseus in Athens
The Pallantiden (sons of Pallas) forcibly overthrew Aigeus from the throne. Theseus, who was now sixteen years old, came to Athens to see his father, and he recognized him by his sword and shoes. Theseus defeated the Pallantids and Aigeus took over again the rule of Attica.
When Medea, the third wife of Aigeus, got involved with Theseus, they were caught and Medea had to leave Attica with her son Medos .
Death of Aigeus
When Theseus moved to Crete in order to free Athens from the shameful tribute it had to pay to Crete (seven young men and just as many virgins, see Minotauros ), he promised his father that in the event of his happy return instead of the black sail, which led the ship to wind a white one. As the victor approached the coast of Attica, however, he forgot this, and the father, thinking that his son had perished, threw himself into the sea at the sight of the black sail, which he called the Aegean Sea . Thus the oracle's prophecy came true that he would meet a grief-stricken death. Theseus inherited his throne over Athens and established democracy.
Adoration
Since he attributed his childlessness to the wrath of Aphrodite Urania , he is said to have introduced her worship in Athens in order to reconcile her. Aigeus himself was worshiped in a heroon in Athens. In addition, an Attic phyle was named after him.
literature
- Konrad Wernicke : Aigeus 1 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume I, 1, Stuttgart 1893, Col. 952-955.
- Emil Wörner : Aigeus . In: Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Detailed lexicon of Greek and Roman mythology . Volume 1,1, Leipzig 1886, column 145 f. ( Digitized version ).
Web links
- Aigeus in the Greek Myth Index (English)
Remarks
- ^ Libraries of Apollodorus , 3, 206.
- ^ Pausanias : Travels in Greece , 1, 5, 4.
- ^ Libraries of Apollodorus , 3, 208.
- ^ Pausanias: Travels in Greece , 2, 3, 8.
- ^ Pausanias: Travels in Greece , 1, 14, 7.
- ^ Pausanias: Travels in Greece , 1, 22, 5.
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Pandion | King of Attica | Theseus |