Theseus Ring
Theseus Ring | |
---|---|
Material | Gold |
Height | 1.8 cm |
Width | 2.7 cm |
Created | c. 1450 BC |
Discovered | c. 1955 Athens, Attica, Greece |
Present location | Oxford, England, United Kingdom |
The Theseus Ring is a
The antiquity of the Theseus Ring was debated after its discovery in the Plaka district of Athens in the 1950s. For a while it was dismissed as a fake, but as of 2006, the ring has been identified as an authentic 15th century BC
Origin of the name in legend
The ring was named the "Theseus Ring" because of an ancient Greek myth about Theseus.[citation needed] According to this story, there was a dispute between Minos and Theseus over the parentage of Theseus. In Crete, Minos molested one of the maidens and Theseus became angry and challenged him, boasting of his parentage by Poseidon. Minos, being the son of Zeus, did not believe that Theseus did indeed have divine parentage. Minos believed that if Theseus' father was in fact Poseidon, Theseus would have no difficulty reaching the bottom of the ocean. Minos threw a ring overboard and challenged Theseus to dive in and retrieve it. The fishes of the sea then took Theseus upon their backs and conveyed him to the palace of Amphitrite, Poseidon's wife. She handed Theseus the ring that had landed at the bottom of the ocean floor and also gave him a jeweled crown, which was later placed among the stars.
References
- ^ "The Ring of Theseus on display for the first time", with image.