with any woman before he reached Athens, but not appearing to explain this clearly. Consequently, on his way home, he went to Trozen, and asked the advice of Pittheus about the response of the God, which ran thus: "Great chief, the wine-skin's foot must closed remain, Pittheus clearly perceived what the oracle must mean, and persuaded or cheated geus into an intrigue with Æthra. Afterwards, when he discovered that ho had conversed with the daughter of Pittheus, as he imagined that sho might prove with child, he left behind him his sword and sandals hidden under a great stone, which had a hollow inside it exactly fitting them. This he told to thra alone, and charged her if a son of his should be born, and on growing to man's estato should be able to lift the stone and take from under it the deposit, that she should send him at once with these things to himself, in all secrecy, and as far as possible concealing his journey from observation. For ho greatly feared the sons of Pallas, who plotted against him, and despised him on account of his childlessness, they themselves being fifty brothers, all the sons of Pallas. IV. When thra's child was born, some writers say that ho was at once named Theseus, from the tokens placed under the stone; others say that he was afterwards BO named at Athens, when geus acknowledged him as his son. He was brought up by his grandfather Pittheus, and had a master and tutor, Konnidas, to whom even to the present day, the Athenians sacrifice a ram on the day before the feast of Theseus, a mark of respect which is much more justly due to him, than those which they pay to Silanion and Parrhasius, who have only made pictures and statues of Theseus. V. As it was at that period still the custom for those who were coming to man's estate to go to Delphi and offer to the god the first-fruits of their hair (which was then out for the first time), Theseus went to Delphi, and they The first cutting of the hair was always an occasion of solemnity among the Geeks, the hair being dedicated to some god. The first instance of this is in Homer's Iliad, where Achilles speaks of having PLUTARCH'S LIVES. say that a place there is even to this day named after him. But he only cut the front part of his hair, as Homer tells us the Abantes did, and this fashion of cutting the hair was called Theseus's fashion because of him. The Abantes first began to cut their hair in this manner, not having, as some say, been taught to do so by the Arabians, nor yet from any wish to imitato the Mysians, but because they Were a warlike race, and met their focs in closo combat, and studied above all to come to a hand-to-hand fight with their enemy, might as Archilochus bears witness in his verses: They use no slings nor bows, But hand to hand they closo And conquer with their swords,” So they cut their hair short in front, that their enemies Macedon for the samo reason ordered his generals to have not grasp it. And they say that Alexander of the beards of the Macedonians shaved, becauso they were a convenient handle for the enemy to grasp. VI. Now while he was yet a child, Ethra concealed the real parentage of Theseus, and a story was circulated by littlicus that his father was Poseidon. For the peoplo of Trezen have an especial reverence for Poseidon; ho is their tutelar deity; to him they offor first-fruits of their harvest, and they stamp their money with the trident and proval both strong in body and of good sound sense, as their badge. But when he was grown into a youth, then thara led him to the stone, told him the truth about his father, and bade him take the tokens from beneath it and sail to Athens with them. IIe easily lifted the stone, but determined not to go to Athens by sea, bis mother and his grandfather implored him to go that the voyage was a safe and easy one, and though By land it was a difficult matter to reach Athens, That time, it seems, produced mon of great and unas the holo way was infested with robbers and bandits. wearied strength and swiftness, who mado no good uso of though way. dedicated his hair to the river Sperchcius. The Athenian youth time, imitated this custom, offered their hair to Herakles, The Roman emperor Nero, in latof these powers, but treated all men with overbearing inso1 lence, taking advantage of their strength to overpower and slay all who fell into their hands, and disregarding justice and right and kindly feeling, which they said were only approved of by those who dared not do injury to others, or feared to bo injured themselves, while men who could get the upper hand by forco might disregard them. Of theso ruffians, Herakles in his wanderings cut off a good many, but others had escaped him by concealing themselves, or had been contemptuously spared by him on account of their insignificanco. But Herakles had the misfortune to kill Iphitus, and thereupon sailed to Lydia and was for a long time a slavo in that country under Omphalo, which condition ho had imposed upon himself as a ponance for the murder of his friend. During this period the country of Lydia enjoyed peaco and reposo; but in Grecco the old plaguo of brigandago broke out afresh, as there was now no ono to put it down. So that the journey overland to Athens from Peloponnesus was full of peril; and Pittheus, by relating to Theseus who each of these evildoers was, and how they treated strangers, tried to prevail upon him to go by sca. But it appears that Theseus had for a long time in his heart been excited by the renown of Herakles for courago: ho thought more of him than of any one else, and loved above all to listen to those who talked of him, especially if they had seen and spoken to him. Now ho could no longer conceal that he was in the same condition as Themistokles in later times, when ho said that tho trophy of Miltiades would not let him sleep. Just so did tho admiration which Theseus conceived for Herakles make him dream by night of his great exploits, and by day determine to equal thom by similar achievements of his own. VII. As it happened, they were connected, being second cousins; for thra was tho daughter of Pittheus, and Alkmena the daughter of Lysidike, and Lysidiko and Pittheus were brother and sister, being the children of Pelops and Hippodamcia. So Theseus thought that it would be a great and unbearablo disgraco to him that his cousin should go everywhere and clear tho sea and land of the brigands who infostod them, and he should refuse used a PLUTARCII'S LIVES. to undertake the adventures that came in his way; throw ing discredit upon his reputed father by a pusillanimous flight by sea, and upon his real father by bringing him only the sandals and an unfleshed sword, and not proving his noble birth by the evidence of some brave deed accom plished by him. In this spirit he set out on his journey, with the intention of doing wrong to no one, but of avenging himself on any one who offered wrong to him. VIII. And first in Epidaurus ho slew Periphetes, who club as his weapon, and on this account was called the club-bearer, because he laid hands upon him and forbade him to proceed farther on his way. The club took his fancy, and he adopted it as a weapon, and always used it, just as IIorakles used his lion's skin; for the skin was a proof of how huge a beast the wearer had overcome, while the club, invincible in the hands of Theseus, had yet been worsted when used against hun. At tho Isthmus ho destroyed Sinis tho l'ino-bender by tho very device by which he had slain so many people, and that too without is better than practice and training. Sinis had a daughter, having ever practised the art, proving that truo valour a tall and beautiful girl, named Porigouno. When her father fell she ran and hid herself. Theseus sought her everywhere, but she fled into a place whero wild asparagus grew thick, and with a simple child-like faith besought the plants to conceal her, as if they could understand her words, burn them. Ilowever, when Theseus caller. to her, pledging promising that if they did so sho never would destroy or himself to tako caro of her and do her no hurt, sho camo out, and afterwards boro Theseus a son, named Melanippus. She afterwards was given by Theseus in marriago to Deiones, tho son of Eurytus of (Echalia. Ioxus, a son of Orytus's settlement in Caria; and for this reason tho descendants of Ioxus have a family custom not to burn the asparagus plant, but to reverence and worship it. Thaia, was no ordinary beast, but a fierce croature and Melani IX. hard Ppus, and Theseus's grandchild, took part in Now the wild Bow of Krommyon, whom they called to to destroy, that it might not be thought that he performed his exploits of noccssity. Bosides, he said, a bravo man conquer. This animal he turned out of his way need only punish wicked men when they came in his way, but that in the case of wild beasts he must himself Beck them out and attack them. Some say that Phaia was a murderous and licentious woman who carried on brigandage at Krommyon, and was called a sow from her life and habits, and that Theseus put her to death. X. Before coming to Megara he slew Skeiron by flinging him down a precipico into the sea, so the story runs, because he was a robber, but some say that from arrogance ho used to hold out his feet to strangers and bid them wash them, and that then he kicked the washers into the Без. But Megarian writers, in opposition to common tradition, and, as Simonides says, "warring with all antiquity," say that Skeiron was not an arrogant brigand, but repressed brigandage, loved those who were good and just, and was related to them. For, they point out, akus is thought to have been the most righteous of all the Grecks, and Kychreus of Salamis was worshipped as a god, and the virtue of Peleus and Tolamon is known to all. Yet Skeiron was tho son-in-law of Kychreus, and father-in-law of Makus, and grandfather of Pelens and Telamon, who were both of them sons of Endeis, the daughter of Skeiron and his wife Chariklo. It is not then reasonable to suppose that these, the noblest men of their time, would make alliances with a malefactor, and give and receive from him what they prized most dearly. But they say that Theseus slew Skeiron, not when he first went to Athens, but that afterwards ho took the town of Eleusis which belonged to the Megarians, by dealing treacherously with Diokles, who was the chief magistrate there, and that on that occasion ho killed Skeiron. This is what tradition says on both sides. XI. At Eleusis Theseus overcame Kerkyon of Arcadia in wrestling and killed him, and after journeying a little farther he killed Damastes, who was surnamed Prokroustes, by compelling him to fit his own body to his bed, just as he used to fit the bodies of strangers to it. This ho did in imitation of Herakles; for he used to rotort upon his aggressors the same treatment which they intended for him. Thus Herakles offered up Busiris as a sacrifico, and overcame Antæus in wrestling, and Kyknus in singlo combat, and |