The King Must Die (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Mary Renault
- First Published: 1958
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Historical realism
- Time of Work: The Mycenaean Age in ancient Greece
- Setting: Greece and Crete
- Genres: Long fiction, Historical fiction, Mythological literature, Adventure
- Subjects: Mythology or myths, Power, personal or social, Politics, Love or romance, Suicide, Gender roles, Religion, War, Kings, queens, or royalty, Gods or goddesses, Ambition, Heroes or heroism, Rites or ceremonies, Greek or Roman times, Greece or Greek people, Hellenism, Royal courts or courtiers
- Locales: Greece, ancient, Crete, ancient
Characters Discussed
Theseus (THEE-see-uhs), the protagonist and narrator. The grandson of King Pittheus of Troizen and son of Princess Aithra, Theseus does not discover until later that he is the son of Aegeus, the king of Athens. After becoming the “king for a year” of Eleusis, Theseus journeys to Athens to reveal himself to King Aegeus. He later subdues Eleusis, vanquishing its queen; makes the isthmus safe for travelers; and allows himself to be sent to Crete as a bull-dancer. An earthquake and revolution make him king there.
Pittheus, the king of Troizen and...
[The entire page is 870 words long]
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