![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() This view of clashing cultures may not be supported by current scholarship, but it was based on the theories and research available to Renault at the time of writing, and something about it still rings true. Yet even as he accepts this age-old role, Theseus wrestles with a decadent matriarchal culture to bring about a new individual consciousness, transforming it into something less primal and more forward-looking. A king, Theseus suggests, is one who is willing to sacrifice his personal destiny for the good of the people - “the king must die,” as ancient rituals demand, so that new life can arise. As the young hero grows up, from mysterious beginnings, through trials that test his strength both in body and mind, to an ultimately tragic end, he struggles to discern and accept his moira, his fate. What is a true king? That question runs throughout the two historical novels that Mary Renault wrote about Theseus, the legendary ruler of Athens. Mary Renault, The Bull from the Sea (1962) ![]()
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