Back To Athens With Theseus example essay topic

Theseus & Ariadne My soul leaned out to grasp her. All else in this moment was as passing dust clouds or a summer shower. says Theseus, the Athenian hero and narrator of The king Must Die by Mary Renault, about the kingdom of Athens as he looks over it from is father's palace. Theseus has a stronger love for Athens then anything else, including the gods. Soon after he discovers the beauty of Athens, he is sent to Crete to be a bull dancer: a kind of sacrifice for the decadent goddess on earth Ariadne. When they meet they quickly fall in love despite her passionate, blood thirsty personality.

When the Cretan civilization is overturned by war, he takes Ariadne and the cranes, (his bull dancing team), and they go to a nearby island called Naxos. While they are there, Ariadne takes part in a celebration and ends up performing the acts of the women who are in touch with the gods of the civilization. Theseus is troubled by this because she did such a holy act without communicating or being in touch with the gods. He makes the hard decision to leave Naxos and return to Athens without Ariadne.

He loves Athens too much, and thinks that it might hurt Athens to bring Ariadne back with him. He makes this decision because Ariadne will never respect the gods as he does because she does not believe in them. Also, she has lived as the goddess on earth too long, and is used to having human blood sacrificed to her. Because of this, she has a spoiled attitude, and takes things for granted. Finally, she is the epitome of the Matriarchal culture, and he was raised in the Patriarchal world.

Ariadne can never devout herself to the gods like Theseus because she does not believe in them. She basically thinks that they are silly superstition. When she follows the other to the top of the mountain in pursuit of the king of Naxos, she keeps on going when all of the others who do not hear the gods have stopped. If she had really believed in the gods, she would have stopped with the others out of respect for them, but since she does not, it is all a game for her and she keeps on playing.

Living as the goddess on earth for so long has molded her into, basically, a spoiled brat. She is so used to having people sacrifice to her as if she was an almighty goddess. They even sacrifice human bodies. Not even the real gods ask for those kinds of sacrifices!

What is sad is that she takes the whole thing so lightly. She thinks nothing of the bull court other than that it is a great form of entertainment. In fact, the bull dancers are giving their lives up for her! If she goes back to Athens with Theseus, she will not be able to handle it because she is so used to being treated like a goddess. They even carry her when she leaves the palace! She grew up in the Matriarchal culture where the women are the rulers, and the men are just there to work and get them pregnant.

All the women in her culture are highly respected. If Theseus takes her back to Athens with him, she will never be able to respect him as a king who has authority over her. He wonders Will she always see me as a mainland bull-boy, even when I am king. Probably.