I’ve been reading books about the myth of King Theseus.

Specifically, I finished Mary Renault’s “The King Must Die” and am about to finish her “The Bull from the Sea”.

These are fun historical fiction versions of the mythos of his life.

And it’s myth. According to our gpt5.1 friend, there’s not evidence for a real Theseus:

There is no direct historical evidence that Theseus ever existed as an actual king. He is considered a mythological hero, similar to Heracles or Perseus, and appears primarily in Greek mythic tradition rather than in contemporary historical records.

  1. No archaeological evidence: There is no inscription, artifact, tomb, or contemporary record referring to Theseus. Athens’ early history from the Bronze Age has left almost no written records, so heroic figures from this era are known only through myth.
  2. Earliest sources are centuries later: The earliest literary references (Homer, roughly 8th century BCE) mention Theseus briefly—and already as a legendary hero. By the time of Plutarch (1st–2nd century CE), Theseus’ biography was clearly recognized as part myth, part tradition, not reliable history.

Sad face.

I am working in a visit to Crete in my Greece trip specifically to visit Knossos and the Palace of Minos where Theseus slayed the Minotaur (in myth).

I still want to go and see it. Even if there’s zero evidence of even a King Minos.

But if this did all go down in some form, gpt5.1 says maybe around 1300–1200 BCE, i.e. Bronze Age Greece.

Anyway, a lot happens in the myth, here’s a helpful summary of the main events (via gpt5.1):

  • Birth to Aethra and either King Aegeus of Athens or the god Poseidon
  • Raised in Troezen, unaware of his royal origins
  • Lifted the stone left by Aegeus to retrieve the sword and sandals proving his lineage
  • Chose to travel to Athens by land, defeating bandits and monsters along the way (Periphetes, Sinis, Sciron, Cercyon, Procrustes)
  • Arrived in Athens and was nearly poisoned by Medea before Aegeus recognized him
  • Volunteered to go to Crete as one of the youths sent to the Minotaur
  • Slew the Minotaur with the help of Ariadne and escaped the Labyrinth using her thread
  • Abandoned Ariadne on Naxos (various versions explain why)
  • Forgot to change his ship’s sails from black to white, causing Aegeus to believe him dead and throw himself into the sea
  • Became king of Athens after Aegeus’ death
  • United the scattered communities of Attica into a single political entity (the Synoecism)
  • Battled the Amazons and, in some versions, married their queen Antiope/Hippolyta
  • Fought alongside Heracles in several adventures
  • Married Phaedra, who later accused his son Hippolytus of wrongdoing, leading to Hippolytus’ death
  • Lost favor in Athens and traveled to Skyros
  • Died on Skyros—pushed off a cliff by King Lycomedes in most accounts

Nice.

The bits that stood out for me were killing Periphetes/Corynetes to become king of Epidaurus, all the stuff in Crete and the stuff with the Amazons/marrying queen Antiope/Hippolyta.