Essay Example on Theseus the King of Athens

Theseus was a founder-hero as well as the king of Athens; who started his leadership at a very young age. He was the son of the king of Athens, Egeus and his mother was Princess Aethra. Theseus was raised in his motherland because from conception, his father and mother were not living together. His father left his sword and sandals under a huge rock and instructed Theseus' mother that the son should take possession of them when he was a young man and brave enough to manage to take them. Later, when Theseus was old enough, his mother told him about his father and his instructions he had left about the sword and the sandals hid under the huge rock (Mills, 2). He was to take them to his father so that he could claim his birthright. However, there was a series of six labours or entrances that he was to encounter before reaching the father's land. Young, brave and ambitious, he managed to go through all the six labours; which proved his worth as being capable of succeeding his father later in life.

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Lastly, he managed to get to his father, though he could not recognize him because he had never seen him before. However, his stepmother did notice him and tried to poison him. That was because he posed a threat to his son as a successor. However, the father saw him and prevented him from being poisoned. That made the stepmother flee; as there would be consequences to her intentional acts. Later, he became the successor to his father, and that marked the start of his great historical journey as a leader. When he took over, Athens was under a decree; hence there was a need for a great leader in making the situation much better. They were under the torture of the influential leader of Crete, Minos. Thus, Theseus insisted that he be sent to Crete so that he could remedy the prevailing situation. He was successful in his mission, successfully fighting the Minotaur, and that marked the start of his successful leadership in Athens.

There are various ways through which Theseus influenced the Roman society; through his character; which made him one of their heroes. First, it was through his role as being brave and fearless. He succeeded his father at a time when the influence of Minos was mistreating his society. Through his bravery, he managed to address the situation on his own; which brought peace and respect back to his people. He was brave enough to go to Crete, taking the form of an ordinary person; so that he could liberate his people from the suffering they had gone through earlier. That was one of the first highlights that had a positive effect on the welfare of the people. Unity is the other way through which Theseus influenced his society. In any community, there is a high probability that the people will thrive through integration than when they are at war in their midst. On that basis, Theseus was at the forefront of enhancing unity; so that the people would have a common front so that they would achieve their communal goals and objectives.

Prior to his leadership, the Attic communities were not unified; because they had a series of differences that the father was not able to help them reconcile. However using his power and skills, he was determined to make sure that the entire society he was in charge of was at peace. He took various measures under his influence; and united the Attic communities into a common front (Diamant, 42). That had the effect of turning them into a state that was centrally administered. That had the end result of making them more powerful, as they were capable of planning and taking ion challenges together. That transformed the society into a unified one; one of the greatest achievements under his name. The unity significantly contributed to the success of the community; because they had common goals and objectives, they would take on. It is factual to state that most of the progress achieved under his leadership was as a result of the unity he helped in establishing.

Another significant influence that Theseus had on the Roman culture was the prosperity in commerce and agriculture that he enabled the community to achieve. He believed that the success of any society is based on their sustainability; which would be achieved when they did prosper in agriculture. With a great agricultural basis, they would be capable of achieving sustainable development. That is because with enough food; they would be capable of taking care of the other life objective they had as a community. Theseus believed that the sea would be a great resource; because it would complement agriculture through the water that would be used for irrigation. Furthermore, the water would provide a mode of transport for agricultural produce (Davie, 27). The sea would also provide a great deal of convenience regarding commerce; as the transportation of commodities would be made more convenient. The other way through which he influenced the Roman culture was through sports; whereby there were various games played under his instruction. That had the effect of improving the way through which the people socialized and improving their welfare.

In the various milestones that were achieved by Theseus, the multiple branches of government played a critical role. One of the branches that were essential in the success achieved by Theseus, is the executive. That is because it was responsible for public works, maintaining public order, commanding of armies and the administration of justice. These are the activities that the success was there were five magistracies; which were in charge of various activities that they were under the executive. They were the powerhouse of the society; because they were aimed at the betterment of human welfare; which was a significant objective of the leadership under Theseus. The people that were to serve in the executive were elected and had to be competent to serve the roles that they were responsible for. They were responsible for reporting to Theseus; so that there were order and their activities were consistent with the objectives that Theseus subscribed to.

The other branch of government that was essential at that time was the judicial branch; which consisted of the courts. It was responsible for making sure that the people in society obeyed the law. They were under judges; who were experts in the law. Before Theseus took over leadership, there were divisions in society; which fueled disorder. He empowered the judiciary to oversee public order; which was responsible for the unity that he achieved during his leadership. There was the senate too; which was the primary government component. It was composed of former magistrates; who were required to exhibit a great deal of accountability in the execution of their roles. They could not pass lows but gave decrees; which were instructions that were to be followed for the better welfare of the society. For example, the declaration of war, public expenditure and allocation of provinces were some of the decrees. They created convenience in the activities that were being carried out through the decrees. Thus, it is evident that the various branches of government were essential in Theseus achieving his legacy.

References

Davie, John N. "Theseus the king in fifth-century Athens." Greece & Rome 29.1 (1982): 25-34. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/greece-and-rome/article/theseus-the-king-in-fifthcentury-athens/8741DED2BC59193D08240AC0E1354DDA

Diamant, Steven. "Theseus and the unification of Attica." Hesperia Supplements 19 (1982): 38-47. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1353968?seq=1

Mills, Sophie. Theseus, tragedy, and the Athenian empire. Oxford University Press, 1997. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=2FDNXfVLDBUC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=theseus+greek+mythology&ots=KGBR2581xL&sig=aCnVWsDJUd-3OXboeDN-GZpzd5k&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=theseus%20greek%20mythology&f=false