"What lies beyond is full of marvels and unreality,
a land of poets and fabulists, of doubt and obscurity..."
Plutarch, Lives

PROLOGUE

Young Theseus was having a good week. The teenager hadn't even reached Athens, and already he had disposed of a whole slew of evil men! One by one the ruffians confronted our protagonist, and one by one the ogres bit the dust. The road to Athens was littered with dead scum.

Love when that happens to bad people. "Next! Bring it on, chumps!"

The countryside was abuzz with his exploits, and unscrupulous public relations executives and agents were already drafting up exclusive endorsement contracts. Vase painters were asking how to spell 'Theseus', eager to be the first to debut this new wunderkind. Nike reps were licking their chops.

Fame and legend was his for the taking, just like his cousin Hercules (Heracles), the man Theseus idolized the most. Cousin Herc had performed 12 incredible labors one after the other, over the course of a few years. Theseus, one week into his new career, had already accomplished 6. Not too shabby, for a neophyte!

'Hey, this hero stuff is pretty easy', he thought to himself, whistling a happy song and pleased as nectar to be alive. Theseus was tall, blonde and strikingly handsome, and even at the fresh age of 16, his sculpted body rivaled Apollo's. In the short time he set out from his hometown, Troezen, to meet his father in Athens, he had overcome enough challenges to last a lifetime or three, and with each victory his stature seemed to grow ten-fold.

Indeed, young Theseus was having a good week. But the fun was only beginning! Yes, the fun was just beginning...

Alright, Myth Maniacs, it's time to grab your favorite libation, curl up in your most comfortable chair, and join me on a heroic journey like no other. For, as my good friend 'Ritchie' Plutarch once said,

"What lies beyond is full of marvels and unreality,
a land of poets and fabulists, of doubt and obscurity..."

Ready? Hey, use a coaster! Ok...

Let's go meet Theseus!