n to slay it. Therefore, in his anger against
the Athenians he swore that, once in every nine years, he would give
fourteen of the Athenian men and maidens to the Thing, and that none of
them should bear sword or spear, dagger or axe, or any other weapon.
Yet, if one of the men, or all of them together, could slay the monster,
Minos made oath that Athens should be free of him and his tribute.'

Theseus laughed and stood up. 'Soon,' he said, 'shall King Minos be free
from the Horror, and Athens shall be free from the tribute, if, indeed,
the gods be with me. For me need no lot be cast; gladly I will go to
Crete of my free will.'

'I needed not to be a prophetess to know that you would speak thus,'
said Medea. 'But one thing even I can do. Take this phial, and bear it
in your breast, and, when you face the Minotaur, do as I shall tell
you.' Then she whispered some words to Theseus, and he marked them
carefully.

He went forth from Medea's bower; he walked to the crest of the hill
upon which Athens is built, and there he saw all the people gathered,
weeping, and looking towards the sea. Swiftly a ship with black sails
was being rowed towards the shore, and her sides shone with the bronze
shields of her crew, that were hung on the bulwarks.

'My friends,' cried Theseus, 'I know that ship, and wherefore she comes,
and with her I shall sail to Crete and slay the Minotaur. Did I not slay
Sinis and Sciron, Cercyon and Procrustes, and Periphetes? Let there be
no drawing of lots. Where are seven men and seven maidens who will come
with me, and meet these Cretans when they land, and sail back with them,
and see this famous Crete, for the love of Theseus?'

Then there stepped forth seven young men of the best of Athens, tall,
and strong, and fair, the ancestors of them who smote, a thousand years
afterwards, the Persians at Marathon and in the strait of Salamis. 'We
will live or die with you, Prince Theseus,' they said.

Next, one by one, came out of the throng, blushing, but with heads erect
and firm steps, the seven maidens whom the seven young men loved. They,
too, were tall, and beautiful, and stately, like the stone maidens
called Caryatides who bear up the roofs of temples.

'We will live and die with you, Prince Theseus, and with our lovers,'
they cried; and all the people gave such a cheer that King Aegeus heard
it, and came from his palace, leaning on his staff, and Medea walked
beside him.

'Why do you raise a gl