The King Must Die (Masterplots II: Women’s Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Mary Renault
- First Published: 1958
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Historical realism
- Time of Work: Pre-classical Greece
- Setting: Greece and Crete
- Principal Characters: Theseus, Pittheus, Aithra, Persephone, Aegeus, Ariadne, Asterion the Minotauros, Minos, Poseidon
- 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
Form and Content
The King Must Die is the story of the early years of Theseus, the legendary king of Athens. Set in pre-classical Greece and told by Theseus himself, the novel chronicles Theseus’ childhood, adolescence, and early manhood as the fatherless grandchild of King Pittheus of Troizen. As a young man, Theseus leaves Troizen in search of his father, King Aegeus of Athens, and in the process becomes involved in a lifelong struggle against the worship of Mother Dia, or Demeter, the goddess of fertility. The novel also describes in vivid detail Theseus’...
[The entire page is 2087 words long]
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