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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.912
EAN num: 9780394751047
ISBN number: 0394751043
Label: Vintage
Manufacturer: Vintage
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 352
Printing Date: February 12, 1988
Publishing house: Vintage
Release Date: February 12, 1988
Sale Popularity Level: 24880
Studio: Vintage
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
The story of the mythical hero Theseus, slayer of monsters, abductor of princesses and king of Athens. He emerges from these pages as a clearly defined personality; brave, aggressive and quick. The core of the story is Theseus' Cretan adventure.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
Renault takes a preposterous Greek myth and makes it somewhat plausible based on modern scholarship and fascinating speculation. She can write beautifully, with sparkling dialogue, attractive characters and surprising plot twists.
At times she can be a little frustrating with strange syntax and an indirect approach to story telling, causing temporary confusion. But I started to get used to that and will move on to another of her books.
Rated by buyers 
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I love mythology and history, and after reading the reviews I had high hopes. I could not finish this book. Theseus is portrayed as an oversexed macho twerp. I could not finish because at a certain point I just didn't care what happened to him. I think a teenage boy would love this book, but it's not for me.
Rated by buyers -
If you really like obfuscation posing as ancient dialog, then this is great stuff. Otherwise, it's just badly written. Not only is the style pointlessly dense, but every few pages there are sentences that are simply gibberish. (I used to work for a group analyzing obscure biblical passages, so I'm fairly conversant with gibberish.) Some bits are not even sentences.
Characters repeatedly make decisions that do not appear to derive from events or character development. E.g., at the end of the book, the main character is apparently grossed out by the-love-of-his-life's involvement is the local rituals, and decides to leave in the middle of the night. This is a guy who's repeated been exposed to a variety of gruesome events, often as not with little remorse, and has repeatedly fought his way through impossible odds. But his girl gets some guts on her, and he runs away.
Ms. Renault also wanders off repeatedly into detail that is useless or irrelevant. For example, Theseas is on his way to a mysterious rendezvous, but suddenly there are a few sentences about the fact that the city has plumbing. He has no interaction with the plumbing, and no interesting tidbits are offered about it, it's just there.
It appears from the other reviews that if you love this kind of thing, you'll probably love this anyway. I just found it annoying.
Rated by buyers 
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I had read this book when it was very first published years ago, then again a bit after that, so it was a long hiatus until reading it again now. I must say, its magic had not abated and it held me in its spell from beginning to end. I only regret it's not a longer book, but I have the sequel ready to open, so that should take care of that.
Lovely writing, gripping story and characters, Renault at her best.
Rated by buyers -
Theseus is the legendary Hellene hero of ancient Greece who may be the son of Poseidon. Crafty and swift, he is able to outwit his opponents on the battlefield and bring the mighty rulers of Crete to their knees.
Ms. Renault has done an excellent job of breathing life into this mythical figure, telling his story from his early years on up to warrior and then hero of Athens. Told in the very first person, the story is filled with vivid descriptions of an ancient time now lost. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of Crete and the life of a bull dancer. Ms. Renault was able to take a complicated myth and organize it into a cohesive tale, weaving into the tale the importance of the gods' influence on the ancient people.
Theseus was developed so well that at times I felt anger toward his views of the pre-Hellenic religion. I had to remind myself that as a Hellene, his views would be derogatory toward the queen of Eleusis and their custom of killing the old king to make way for the young king.
I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in ancient history, particularly ancient Eleusis, Athens and Crete.
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