by Mary Renault · 1962
Narrated by Theseus in first person, the novel opens with his return to Athens after killing the Minotaur in Crete, and follows his kingship, his bond with Pirithoos, his abduction of the Amazon Hippolyta and her death defending Athens at his side, and his marriage to Phaedra whose passion for his son Hippolytos leads to the young man's death and Theseus's own ruin.