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4.

When Aethra gave birth to a son, he was at once named Theseus, as some say, because the tokens for his recognition had been ‘placed’ in hiding; but others say that it was afterwards at Athens, when Aegeus ‘acknowledged’ 1 him as his son. He was reared by Pittheus, as they say, and had an overseer and tutor named Connidas. To this man, even down to the present time, the Athenians sacrifice a ram on the day before the festival of Theseus, remembering him and honoring him with far greater justice than they honor Silanio and Parrhasius, who merely painted and moulded likenesses of Theseus.

1 It is impossible to reproduce in English the play on the Greek words.

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load focus Greek (Bernadotte Perrin, 1914)
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  • Commentary references to this page (2):
    • Sir Richard C. Jebb, Commentary on Sophocles: Oedipus Tyrannus, 911-1085
    • Sir Richard C. Jebb, Commentary on Sophocles: Oedipus at Colonus, 562
  • Cross-references in general dictionaries to this page (2):
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