Theseus Slays the Minotaur

Theseus loved Athens more than anything. Athens was a city of
enligtenment, freedom and beauty. Theseus loved Athens so much that he
had volunteered to die for it.

Years before, Athens had lost a war against the powerful Kingdom of
Technologia. The terms of surrender had been that every year, Athens
must send seven of her finest young men and seven of her finest maidens
to Technologia where they would be sacrificed to a terrible beast
called the Minotaur.

Theseus, the finest warrior in Athens, had volunteered to be sacrificed
to the Minotaur.

Theseus was not just any man. Barely out of his youth, he was muscled
like a bull. His face was a carefully sculptured masterpiece. His long
golden hair was woven by angels. And his mind was worth more than all
of the riches in the world. He was very resourceful, very wise and the
most loving of all men.

But his mission was not a mission of love. It was a mission of
destruction. Secretly, he had vowed to kill the minotaur.

Now, Theseus and the thirteen other youths were at the entrance of the
Labrynth. The Labrynth was an impossible maze where the Minotaur was
kept. Once those who were to be sacrificed were inside the Labrynth,
the Minotaur hunted them down one by one until they were all dead.
Theseus knew that even if he succeeded in killing the Minotaur, he
would starve to death in the Labrynth.

Now, the Princess of Athens approached Theseus to say goodbye.

"Noble knight, Athen's finest, my heart breaks to see you die so
young," said the princess.

"I'm proud to die now. I was born into this world with the glory of
heaven and I die full of glory, which this mortal world has not yet had
time to strip from me," he replied.

"I love you, Theseus. Freely, I give you my heart and I can't let my
heart be shattered in the Minotaur's jaws as you shortly will be. Zeus,
the king of all gods, gave me a golden ball of thread which will allow
you to escape the labrynth. Simply unwind it as you walk into the maze
and follow it back to the entrance," said the princess.

"Thank you. Your gift will help me to escape. But I did not come here
to escape. I came here to challenge the Minotaur, which has killed so
many pure and beautiful youths. The Minotaur, the mortal enemy of
Athens is my mortal enemy. I shall not leave the labrynth unless the
minotaur is dead."

"Then kiss me now. I don't want to die without knowing that my lips
have touched those of Theseus, the greatest man who ever lived," begged
the princess.

"To kiss you would be to defile you, the most beautiful of creatures.
And this I cannot do. But give me your hand and I'll defile it,"Theseus
said with a laugh. The princess gave him her hand and he kissed
it.

Technologian guards seperated the two and herded Theseus and the rest
of the youths who were to be sacrificed into the labrynth. Theseus
unwound the ball of golden string as he went.

Finally, the guards left the prisoners at the center of the Labrynth.
All of the beautiful young people sat down on the red dirt stoically,
bravely, ready to die.

But Theseus said, "Brothers, sisters, do you see the golden thread that
I hold in my hand?"

"Yes," said the youths.

"Follow it, it will lead you back to the entrance. Don't worry about
the Minotaur, I'll make noise and attract him to me."

"Thank you so much, Theseus. You sacrifice your life for us. Our lives
will be dedicated to promoting your legend,"said one of the
girls.

But one of the boys stepped forward. "Brave as you are, Theseus, I am
just as brave. I'll stay here and make noise while the rest of you
escape," he said.

Theseus replied, "You're every bit as brave as I am but you're not as
strong. I intend to fight the Minotaur and delay him so that all of you
will escape. Now leave, I'll allow no more discussion." All of the
youths ran.

Now, Theseus shouted, "The Minotaur is a coward and a weakling. I'll
beat his brains out with my bare fists." He shouted this like a chant
until he was in a bloodthirsty frenzy.

And then the Minotaur came. The Minotaur was a gigantic beast who was
the size of two ferocious bulls. His bottom was that of a monstrous
bull and his top was that of a powerful man. His long hair was made of
red, venomous snakes. He had a handsome human face but when he opened
his mouth to roar, he exposed a terrifying set of teeth that looked
like white ivory daggers.

Roaring, the Minotaur charged Theseus.

Theseus leaped upon the minotaur. Unable to knock the terrible creature
down, he wrapped his legs around the Minotaur's human abdomen and
latched on. Then he proceed to pound the Minotaur's human face with his
fists. The red snakes bit Theseus's arms repeatedly but Theseus
continued to pound the Minotaur's face, which soon stopped looking like
a face but more a slab of bloody meat. And then with one last powerful
punch, Theseus buried his fist in the minotaur's head. The snakes
buried their deadly fangs into Theseus's arm, which was trapped in the
Minotaur's head.

The Minotaur fell down dead and Theseus leaped off of it. As Theseus
jumped, the two snakes who were biting him were torn of of the
Minotaur's scalp. The red snakes were the most deadly in the whole
world and their bite was inevitably fatal.

Contemptously, Theseus tore the snakes off of his arm. He had trained
for a full year to kill the Minotaur. Part of his training had been to
immunize his body against the venom of the snakes. The venom was
harmless to him.

Theseus followed the golden thread back to the entrance. The Athenian
princess was waiting for him. He was carried back to Athens on her
carriage.

Theseus and the princess were married shortly afterward.

At their wedding party, which was one of the most extravagant ever
held, Theseus said to the princess, "And now we'' have children and
we'll raise them to be brave and wise. But above all, we'll teach them
to love life."

"I love life but I love you more," said the princess.