Theseus Ring - Misplaced Pages

Greek gold signet ring from the 15th century BC

Theseus Ring
Bull-leaping on a different Minoan gold signet ring, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Material	Gold
Height	1.8 cm
Width	2.7 cm
Created	c. 1450 BC
Discovered	c. 1955 Athens, Attica, Greece
Present location	Oxford, England, United Kingdom

The Theseus Ring is a gold signet ring that dates back to the 15th-century BC, in the Mycenaean period, though the subject is typical of Minoan art. The ring is gold and measures 2.7 x 1.8 cm. On the ring is a depiction of a bull-leaping scene, which includes a lion to the left and what may be a tree on the right. It comes from the area of Anafiotika in the Plaka, the ancient city center of Athens, where it was found in a pile of earth during building operations. It now belongs to the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. There is no assertion that the ring actually belonged to Theseus, whose myth includes a gold ring.

The antiquity of the Theseus Ring was debated after its discovery in the Plaka district of Athens in the 1950s. For a while it was dismissed as a fake, but as of 2006, the ring has been identified as an authentic 15th century BC artifact. The Greek press had reported the discovery of a gold signet ring, and the National Archaeological Museum of Athens wanted to purchase it for 75,000 euros from the woman who owned it. After an examination by a panel of experts at the Cultural Ministry, the piece was declared to be genuine.

Origin of the name in legend

The ring was named the "Theseus Ring" because of an ancient Greek myth about Theseus. According to this story, there was a dispute between Minos and Theseus over the parentage of Theseus. In Crete, Minos molested one of the maidens and Theseus became angry and challenged him, boasting of his parentage by Poseidon. Minos, being the son of Zeus, did not believe that Theseus did indeed have divine parentage. Minos believed that if Theseus' father was in fact Poseidon, Theseus would have no difficulty reaching the bottom of the ocean. Minos threw a ring overboard and challenged Theseus to dive in and retrieve it. The fishes of the sea then took Theseus upon their backs and conveyed him to the palace of Amphitrite, Poseidon's wife. She handed Theseus the ring that had landed at the bottom of the ocean floor and also gave him a jeweled crown, which was later placed among the stars.

References

"The Ring of Theseus on display for the first time", with image.

External links

“The Ring of Theseus”, Unseen Museum, 12 January 2015 - 15 March 2015, National Archaeological Museum.
Greek archaeologists confirm authenticity of "Theseus Ring"
Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology: Theseus Archived 2006-11-15 at the Wayback Machine
Rings in Mythology
Theseus and the Ring

v t e Major exhibits at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens
Neolithic	Karditsa Thinker
Cycladic	Frying pan 1 Frying pan 2 Spool-shaped pyxis
Minoan	Akrotiri Boxer Fresco Wall Paintings of Thera
Mycenaean	Grave stelai of Mycenae Mask of Agamemnon Octopus amphora Nestor's Cup Theseus Ring Warrior Vase
Archaic	Apollo Omphalos Artemision Bronze Daidala Dedication of Nikandre Dipylon Amphora Dipylon inscription Grave stele 7901 Horses Amphora Kroisos Kouros Lemnos stele Merenda Kouros Phrasikleia Kore Pitsa panels Rider Amphora Sounion Kouros Stele of Aristion
Classical	Antikythera Ephebe Funerary naiskos of Aristonautes Funerary Stela of Demokleides Grave Stele of Hegeso Great Eleusinian Relief Mantineia Base Marathon Boy Myrtis Nike of Epidaurus Ninnion Tablet Xenokrateia Relief
Hellenistic	Antikythera mechanism Aristonoe Group of Aphrodite, Pan and Eros Heracles of Antikythera Jockey of Artemision Lycosoura Artemis Lycosoura Demeter Mithridates relief Nike of Megara Poseidon of Melos Themis of Rhamnous
Roman	Aphrodite of Syracuse Armed Aphrodite Atalante Hermes Bust of Antinous Diadumenos Hermes Criophorus Hermes of Aegium Lenormant Athena Varvakeion Athena

Categories: