Evening star., 1915-03-21


in all the labors of Hercules ] f1nd that
he attacked only one monster, Geryon,
and that was the tenth labor, showing
that Hercules had had plenty of exer-
else before taking on Geryon.
X x
Now let us come to Theseus. The
first thing he did after declaring to
himself that he would do such deeds
to win honor and renown that even
Aegeus should love him was to walk
right up into the Spider mountains,
which hang over Epidaurus and the
sea. and pick fight with Periphetos,
the son of Hephaistos and Anticleia.
the mountain nymph. and whom fear
stricken men had long called Corynetes.
the club bearer. Theseus was mere
youth and Periphetos was an old Of
fender and had terrorized the nymphs
and the shepherds for miles around.
But Theseus got him.
"Theseus' victory over Periphetos had
scarcely grown cold when the nymphs
and shepherds told him of SIMS. the
robber. whom men called Pituocamptes,
the bender, because he bent down
two pine trees. bound travellers hand
and foot between them and then let the
trees spring back. tearing his victims
asunder. Well. Theseus met the ter
rible pine bender and left him hanging
to the trees Next, on a cliff-Sde with
a rock barrier on one hand and the
dreadful drop to the sea on the other.
did Theseus, still a mere youth. meet
Sciron, the notorious robbcr. whose
famous trick was to make men stop
to wash their feet and while they were
doing this he would kick them off the
cliff into the sea to the great tortoise
that lived below and fed off the bodies
Of the dead. But Theseus took on
Sciron and got him, too.
Every one of my friends in Wash
ington knows that it was Theseus who
outwrestled and then slew the monster
Kerkuon, who ruled brutally in Eleu-
except Theseus, and who had mur-
dered his own daughter, Alope, in
prison.
Did not Theseus get the better of
the dread Procrustes, who. in his hos
pitable way. gave men and women Il
bed in his palace and then, if they were
too tall for the bed. he would chop off
their feet, and if they were too short
lie would stretch their limbs until they
died?
ITO my mind the best and cleverest
thing that Theseus ever did. and there
rable with it. was in staying the mino-
taur in the labyrinth in Crete and in
getting out of the labyrinth, which no
body had ever done before. OF course,
in this he had the assistance of the
beautiful Ariadne, the daughter OF
ruthless King Minos, aud every time
hear of the clues which the police have
to this crime and that crime, l think OF
Theseus, Ariadne, the minotaur and the
labyrinth For did not Ariadne say to
Theseus, according to report. Fair
youth, you are too bold, but l can help
you, weak as | am. | will give you a
sword and with that, perhaps, you may
slay the beast, and clue OF thread,
and by that, perhaps, you may hnd
your way out again?
when Theseus went into the doleful
gulf. or the labyrinth, he tied one end
of his clue of thread to stone aud
let it unroll out of his hand as he went
along. Then, after he had killed the
minotaur. whose body was mans.
whose head was that of a bull and
whose teeth were those of a lion, The
seus found his way back out or the
labyrinth by the clue of thread which
he had unwound, and In this way origl-
mated the usual significance of the
word clue
II feel that you will agree with me
that as a man of action, as doer OF
big deeds and as man capable OF
handling other men. Theseus was Il
bigger success than Hercules, yet the
fame of Hercules is much wider than
that Of Theseus."