The Labors of Theseus

Theseus needed to go to Athens to meet his father.  As he went on his journey, he realized that the path he was taking was the fastest route to Athens, but he would have to face dangerous bandits who were known for their horrendous ways of killing poor travelers who come across the forest.  Despite the risks, he decided to go forward.  The first bandit he met was a huge man with a bronze club called Periphetes.  He liked to kill his victims by hitting them on the head with his bronze club, which killed them instantly.  Theseus prepared to fight the man, and quickly dodged a blow, grabbed the club from Periphetes, and clonked him on the head instead, which killed the half-giant.  Next was Sinus, which means the pine bender.  In his garden were two trees held together by a single rope.  He tied the hands of his victim to one tree and the ankles to the other, and when he let go of the rope, his victim has been split in two.  Theseus realized the trick, and after a minute, Sinus has been split by the very same trees he used to kill others.  The next monster was called the Crommyonian Sow, which was a man-eating giant pig.  No one dared to approach it or else they would be eaten.  Theseus did not fear the monster, and with a swift move of his sword, the pig lay dead.  The fourth bandit was Sciron.  He loved to make his victims wash his feet by a cliff and push them off, and waiting for them was a giant man-eating turtle.  Theseus played along with the trick and as he was washing Sciron’s feet, he grabbed them and threw his host off the cliff.  Sciron met a “snappy” end (buh-dum bum).  Next was Cercyon.  He challenged his victims to a “friendly” wrestling match, however, he made it into a fight to the death, leaving his victims lifeless on the floor.  Theseus was pinned down, but quickly lifted Cercyon in the air and threw him on a pile of jagged rocks nearby.  Thus the end of Cercyon.  Finally, there was Procrustes, which means the stretcher.  He had a bed and offered his victims to lay in it.  Then, if the victim was too big, he would hack off bits of their body until they fit perfectly.  If they were too small, he would stretch them until they fit perfectly.  Theseus looked at Procrutes, and realized that his host was too big for the bed.  A fight ensued leaving Procrustes pinned down on the bed, and Theseus cutting him until he fit perfectly.  He gave Procrustes a taste of his own medicine.  Theseus left the forest, eventually arrived in Athens, and met his father, who was king of Athens.  There he would stay until he met his next biggest challenge: the Minotaur.

Picture: "Theseus Greek Mythology." Digital image. Quirky Berkeley. September 26, 2015. Accessed October 10, 2016. http://quirkyberkeley.com/theseus-and-his-sinking-ship/.