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| Crispijn van de Passe the Elder Theseus and Ariadne - Landscape Background with Labyrinth ca. 1602-1607 engraving Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Antonio Tempesta Theseus vanquishing the Minotaur before 1620 etching Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (Achenbach Foundation) |
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| Johann Wilhelm Baur Theseus is recognized by his father Aegeus ca. 1639 etching Harvard Art Museums |
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| Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione Theseus finding his father's weapons 1645 etching Harvard Art Museums |
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| Nicolas Poussin Theseus finding his father's sword ca. 1635 oil on canvas Musée Condé, Chantilly |
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| Giovanni Francesco Romanelli Helen carried off by Theseus before 1662 oil on canvas Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery |
When thou must home to shades of underground,
And there arriv'd, a new admired guest,
The beauteous spirits do engirt thee round,
White Iope, blithe Helen, and the rest,
To hear the stories of thy finish'd love
From that smooth tongue whose music hell can move;
Then wilt thou speak of banqueting delights,
Of masques and revels which sweet youth did make,
Of tourneys and great challenges of knights,
And all these triumphs for thy beauty's sake:
When thou has told these honours done to thee,
Then tell, O tell, how thou didst murder me.
– Thomas Campion (1601)
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| John Bewick Theseus lifting the stone which concealed his father's arms ca. 1760-95 colored chalks and watercolor British Museum |
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| Jean-Guillaume Moitte Theseus and the River God Achelous ca. 1792-95 drawing Princeton University Art Museum |
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| Alexander Macco Hercules and Theseus conquering the Amazons 1795 etching and engraving Philadelphia Museum of Art |
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| Antonio Canova Theseus and the Minotaur 1782 marble Victoria & Albert Museum |
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| Raphael Morghen after Antonio Canova Theseus and the Minotaur 1787 etching and engraving British Museum |
Theseus
Unwind your thoughts in thread of gold
And thread of crimson, intertwined:
One end within my hand I hold,
And trace your labyrinth of mind.
Through changing corridors your voice,
In accents caught from wall to wall,
Diminishes, while I rejoice
To follow where the echoes fall
Down caverns where the timeless day
Grows insubstantial and obscure,
Until, with heart intent to stay,
I come upon you, Minotaur!
– William Stephens (1935)
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| Antonio Canova Theseus slaying the Centaur ca. 1795 marble Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna |
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| Pietro Bettelini after Giovanni Tognolli after Antonio Canova Theseus slaying the Centaur before 1829 engraving Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Pietro Bonato after Giovanni Tognolli after Antonio Canova Theseus slaying the Centaur before 1827 engraving Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Francis Frith Antonio Canova's Sculpture of Theseus slaying the Centaur in Vienna ca. 1850-80 albumen print from glass negative Victoria & Albert Museum |