Project Vision 21

Francisco Miraval

I have been reading Greek mythology since I was a child. Perhaps, I like to say, because it is easier to understand Greek mythology than any modern soap opera. Among the many heroes and anti-heroes of old times, from Hercules to Procrustes, I was always interested in the stories about Theseus, perhaps because he killed the Minotaur, and, thanks to Ariadna, was able to escape from the labyrinth.

Theseus, according to those old myths, was one of the seven great heroes of Greece. His accomplishments and adventures are well-known. Some say he was the son of Aegeus, king of Athens. Others say his father was none other than Poseidon. Theseus lived a life of continuous danger and met other mythical figures, including Jason and his Argonauts.

Among other feats, he is credited for hunting the Calydonian boar, a monstrous boar sent my Artemis (Diana) to destroy that kingdom, because its king failed to honor the goddess.

Theseus, still a young man, eventually reached Athens, where he was accepted by Aegeus as future king. But one day Theseus volunteered to be one of the two young people who every year Athens had to send as “tribute” to Crete to be sacrificed.

In what it is known as the Cretan cycle of Theseus myth (see Evslin, An encyclopedia of Greek mythology), Theseus arrives in Crete and, as expected, it is thrown into the labyrinth where he must face the horrendous Minotaur. Theseus, having fought monsters before, defeats the Minotaur, and, thanks to his friendship with Ariadna (daughter of King Minos of Crete), he escapes the labyrinth and puts an end to the annual tribute of young people. Later, Theseus becomes king of Athens.

In ancient times, this kind of stories was told again and again. They were seldom written down. Usually, they were oral stories. Each time they were shared, a detail changed according to the preferences, wishes, or skills of the storyteller.

It is said that those old myths have no place in our modern, advanced, sophisticated, and scientific society. After all, who would like to spend any time with the story of a young person sent as a tribute to a distant land to be killed as part of a game to entertain the organizers and keep the conquered people subjugated?

Myths were once sacred stories. Today, they are just tales. Even worst, “myth” is now synonym with deception and lies. Any sacred or inspirational elements of the myths are gone. We assume myths are something strictly from the past, with no room in our technologically advanced civilization.

But myths are sly. They know how to rewrite themselves. They change clothes and names and reintroduce themselves as new stories.Today, Theseus is no longer a Greek hero, but a young female fighter from District 12 in Panem. The labyrinth has been replaced by mass media. And the monster to be defeated is other young people. I wonder to whom or what we are still offering our young people as tribute.