han
his veins were filled with agony, which nothing could assuage. He tried
to tear off the robe, but the skin and flesh came with it, and his blood
was poisoned beyond relief. Unable to bear the pain any longer, and
knowing that by his twelve tasks he had earned the prize of endless
life, he went to Mount Oeta, crying aloud with the pain, so that the
rocks rang again with the sound. He gave his quiver of arrows to his
friend Philoctetes, charging him to collect his ashes and bury them, but
never to make known the spot; and then he tore up, with his mighty
strength, trees by the roots, enough to form a funeral pile, lay down on
it, and called on his friend to set fire to it; but no one could bear to
do so, till a shepherd consented to thrust in a torch. Then thunder was
heard, a cloud came down, and he was borne away to Olympus, while
Philoctetes collected and buried the ashes.

THESEUS

[Illustration: Theseus.]

Theseus, the great national hero of Athens, is said to have been born at
Troezen, where his father, AEgeus, King of Athens, slept one night with
AEthra, the daughter of Pittheus, king of the place. AEgeus, on his
departure, hid his sword and his shoes under a large stone, and charged
AEthra, if she brought forth a son, to send him to Athens with these
tokens, as soon as he was able to roll away the stone. She brought forth
a son, to whom she gave the name of Theseus, and when he was grown up
informed him of his origin, and told him to take up the tokens and sail
to Athens, for the roads were infested by robbers and monsters. But
Theseus, who was desirous of emulating the glory of Hercules, refused to
go by sea, and after destroying various monsters who had been the terror
of the country, arrived in safety at Athens. Here he was joyfully
recognized by AEgeus, but with difficulty escaped destruction from Media
and the Pallantids, the sons and grandsons of Pallas, the brother of
AEgeus. These dangers, however, he finally surmounted, and slew the
Pallantids in battle.

His next exploit was the destruction of the great Marathonian bull,
which ravaged the neighboring country; and shortly after he resolved to
deliver the Athenians from the tribute that they were obliged to pay to
Minos, King of Crete. Every ninth year the Athenians had to send seven
young men and as many virgins to Crete, to be devoured by the Minotaur
in the Labyrinth. Theseus volunteered to go as one of the victims, and
through the assi