Pittheus (Ancient Greek: Πιτθεύς) was the son of Pelops and Hippodamia. His siblings included Atreus and Thyestes among others. He was the father of Aethra and thus grandfather of Theseus, future King of Athens Pittheus ruled over Troezen, a city composed of the towns of Anthea and Hyperea which he combined.
Mythology[]
Early Life[]
Pelops was the strongest of the kings in Peloponnesus quite as much on account of the number of his children as the amount of his wealth. He gave many daughters in marriage to men of the highest rank, and scattered many sons among the cities as their rulers. Coming from the district of Pisatis in Elis, Pittheus and his brother Troezen were received by Aetius, son of Anthas. This Anthas was a brother of Hyperenor and the two were sons of Poseidon and Pleiad Alcyone, both reigned in Hyperea and Anthea before Aetius.
The Pelopids settled in the country and divided the power with Aetius. Thus, after these events the land was ruled by three kings instead of one: Aetius, Troezen and Pittheus but the newcomers enjoyed the real authority. This was evident after Troezen's death for Pittheus who supplanted the earlier dynasty, ruled as the sole king. Having gathered settlers together and joining the two villages of Hyperea and Anthea into a modern city, Pittheus renamed it Troezen after his sibling.
Bellerophon came to Troezen to ask Pittheus for Aethra's hand in marriage, but the hero was banished from Corinth before the nuptials took place.
Later Life[]
The childless King Aegeus of Athens received an oracular prophecy ("Do not loosen the bulging mouth of the wineskin until you have reached the height of Athens, lest you die of grief."), he approached the famously wise Pittheus for help. Pittheus got Aegeus drunk and the Athenian king lay with Aehtra, Pittheus' daughter. Afterwards, Aethra waded out to an island and lay with Poseidon, According to Plutarch, Pittheus merely spread the report of her daughter's copulation with the god so that Theseus might be regarded as the son of Poseidon, who was much revered at Troezen. When it was revealed that Aethra was pregnant, Aegeus returned to Athens but left with her his sandals, shield and sword. He placed them under a rock and told her that when their son was of age, he should retrieve the items and bring them to Athens, where Aegeus would recognize him.
The child of Aethra, Theseus, grew up in Troezen. A legend states that when Heracles finished his 12 labors, he visited Pittheus and lay down the pelt of the Nemean Lion on a couch so that it was in a lifelike position. A little while later Theseus, who was seven years old at this time, came into the room with some of his schoolmates. When the children came in, all except Theseus ran in terror. Theseus took an axe and attempted to attack the pelt. Theseus eventually grew up and returned to Athens, where he was recognized by his father.
After killing the Minotaur, Theseus succeeded his father and sent his own son (Hippolytus), Pittheus' great-grandson, to Troezen to be raised as the heir to the Troezen throne. Hippolytus was killed, however, by Poseidon, on the wishes of Theseus as the king was led to believe that Hippolytus violated his step-mother (Theseus' wife) Phaedra.
Pittheus' tomb and the chair on which he had sat in judgment were shown at Troezene down to a late time.
Family[]
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