Born son of the King of Athens, the god Poseidon, and Princess Aethra, his first task was to find his father’s sandals and sword, and take them to Athens, where Medea tried to poison him.
de la Hyre
Fathered by King Aegeus and Poseidon, after revealing sandals and a sword, Medea tried to poison him with aconite to stop him knowing his father.
Only the gods wore sandals in the ancient world. Then the state of your footwear told much about you, with fashion opting for the outrageously impractical.
From abandonment by his father, to the reunion in which Medea tried to poison him, Theseus was a true and thoroughly flawed hero.
Feet playing major roles in paintings by Gustave Moreau, Tintoretto, Rembrandt, Böcklin, Lovis Corinth, and others.
A link between the downfall of Medea and a series of stories about the hero Theseus, this was a subject for the Prix de Rome. Includes a little-known Poussin.
The Eclectic Light Company 