obbed of their own legitimate
offspring, while he made a foreigner and a bastard the heir to his
kingdom.

This vexed Theseus, and determining not to hold aloof, but to share the
fortunes of the people, he came forward and offered himself without
being drawn by lot. The people all admired his courage and patriotism,
and AEgeus finding that his prayers and entreaties had no effect on his
unalterable resolution, proceeded to choose the rest by lot. Hellanicus
says that the city did not select the youths and maidens by lot, but
that Minos himself came thither and chose them, and that he picked out
Theseus first of all, upon the usual conditions, which were that the
Athenians should furnish a ship, and that the youths should embark in it
and sail with him, not carrying with them any weapon of war; and that
when the Minotaur was slain, the tribute should cease.

Formerly, no one had any hope of safety; so they used to send out the
ship with a black sail, as if it were going to a certain doom; but now
Theseus so encouraged his father, and boasted that he would overcome the
Minotaur, that he gave a second sail, a white one, to the steersman, and
charged him on his return, if Theseus were safe, to hoist the white one,
if not, the black one as a sign of mourning. But Simonides says that it
was not a white sail which was given by AEgeus, but "a scarlet sail
embrued in holm oak's juice," and that this was agreed on by him as the
signal of safety. The ship was steered by Phereclus, the son of
Amarsyas, according to Simonides.

When they reached Crete, according to most historians and poets, Ariadne
fell in love with Theseus, and from her he received the clew of string,
and was taught how to thread the mazes of the Labyrinth. He slew the
Minotaur, and, taking with him Ariadne and the youths, sailed away.
Pherecydes also says that Theseus also knocked out the bottoms of the
Cretan ships, to prevent pursuit. But Demon says that Taurus, Minos'
general, was slain in a sea-fight in the harbor, when Theseus sailed
away.

But according to Philochorus, when Minos instituted his games, Taurus
was expected to win every prize, and was grudged this honor; for his
great influence and his unpopular manners made him disliked, and scandal
said that he was too intimate with Pasiphae. On this account, when
Theseus offered to contend with him, Minos agreed. And, as it was the
custom in Crete for women as well as men to be spectators of the games,