The King Must Die

“It is when we stretch out our hands to our moira that we receive the sign of the god” (Renault 52). Mary Renault tells the story of Theseus, grandson of Pittheus, the King of Troizen. The story is told from Theseus’ point of view when reflecting on his life. He tells about his journey throughout Greece and the trials he encounters. In the King Must Die, the themes of the search of the son for the father, maturation, and the idea that the king suffers for his people show what qualities make a good king. Throughout this story, one theme is predominant while Theseus searches not only to know his father’s true identity but also for a relationship with him. The search of the son for the father creates an important quality in a king because he doesn’t know if he is godly or just mortal. No one in Theseus’ family will tell him who his actual father is, but on his seventeenth birthday, his mother led him to the most sacred spot in the woods. She said to him, “I swore your father the oath gods dare not break; or I would not do it. I promised him by the River, and the Daughters of Night, not to tell you who you are, unless by yourself you could life this stone” (Renault 34). Theseus tries desperately to lift the giant stone but is unable to. He then left but returned soon thereafter to try again. At his third attempt, he lifted the stone and found sandals and a sword that told him who his father was. Theseus’ father is Aigeus, king of Athens, not the god Poseidon. “If he has not brawn, he will need wit” (Renault 44). This is a quote that Theseus’ mother tells him that his father said. Theseus learns that he wasn’t begotten by a god and will not have the strength that godly genes bring. Therefore, he must make up for it with his intelligence. Both of these aspects show how Theseus’ search for his father, helps form Theseus into a man fit to be a king. The theme of maturation is shown throughout this novel simply by Theseus’ telling of his life from childhood to