The Quest for Theseus

About this book

After a preface by Dr. Reynold Higgins of the British Museum and a brief introduction by Dr. Ruth B. Edwards an experienced classical archaeologist begins the examination of the Quest with an outline of the legend as it was known to the Athenians and the development and variants it underwent up to the end of the classical period. Dr. Anne G. Ward the editor then gives a historical survey of the Bronze Age Aegean; she describes the religious and political background and compares the contemporary life and institutions of the mainland with those of Crete. The focus of the book then narrows to the career of Theseus himself as it follows his steps geographically from Troezen to Scyros and notes the surviving remains that lend support to the historical reality of the hero...W.R. Connor Associate Professor of Classics at Princeton University then carries the story to classical Athens in order to explain what Theseus meant to the Greeks in terms of their daily life. He discusses the religious significance of the hero cult as well as the moral and political implications of the social reforms and unification of Attica that were attributed to Theseus. Simon Tidworth a specialist on the uses of myth in art completes the book with a survey of the Theseus legend in Roman medieval and Renaissance and modern literature in music and in the visual arts." Numerous b/w and color illustrations.