Mythen und Taten des Theseus. Ein Versuch seine Mythen und sein Leben miteinander zu verknüpfen
Myths and Deeds of Theseus. An Attempt to Link his Myths and his Life

Summary/Abstract: Theseus is mentioned in considerations regarding writings and myths in which his name appears. In such considerations the life of Theseus, seem to be referred to, when actions attributed to him are described in some sort of a chronological order. This situation may raise questions about the possibility to construct a biography of Theseus and questions about the acceptability of such a construct. Considerations regarding the myths of Theseus and those regarding the deeds of Theseus should be kept separated. This explicit separation of two kinds of considerations does usually not occur and thus questions may be asked: which is the acceptable meaning of considerations containing statements using ‘Theseus’? Should they be used only to refer to traditional tales about Theseus i.e. myths of Theseus? Can they also be used to refer to a chronological chain of events which constitute somehow the life of Theseus? How is a literary text to be considered where the name ‘Theseus’ occurs? Should it be considered only as a mythological drama based on some myths of Theseus? Can it be considered also as a source for describing a sequence of the life of Theseus? This article seeks to tackle following problems: general mythological and literary research on one side and specific narrative, logical and ontological perspectives are to be put in contrast in order to offer consistent considerations on two separate issues. Firstly, there are considerations on myths about Theseus and mythological writings as sources for the reconstruction of myths of the classical world. Secondly, there are considerations on stories of Theseus as sources for his biography in a non-existent mythical world. These later considerations can justify consistent assertions on Theseus himself. The use within a certain theoretical frame of considerations of this type can be bound together in a biography of the real but non-existent life of Theseus.

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