''The King Must Die'' is a 1958

bildungsroman In literary criticism, a ''Bildungsroman'' (, plural ''Bildungsromane'', ) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood ( coming of age), in which character change is impo ...

and

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

Mary Renault Eileen Mary Challans (4 September 1905 – 13 December 1983), known by her pen name Mary Renault ("She always pronounced it 'Ren-olt', though almost everyone would come to speak of her as if she were a French car." ), was an English writer best ...

that traces the early life and adventures of

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describe ...

, a hero in

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

. It is set in locations throughout

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

Troizen Troezen (; ancient Greek: Τροιζήν, modern Greek: Τροιζήνα ) is a small town and a former municipality in the northeastern Peloponnese, Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the munic ...

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...

Eleusis Elefsina ( el, Ελευσίνα ''Elefsina''), or Eleusis (; Ancient Greek: ''Eleusis'') is a suburban city and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in the West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is situated about northwest ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Knossos Knossos (also Cnossos, both pronounced ; grc, Κνωσός, Knōsós, ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and has been called Europe's oldest city. Settled as early as the Neolithic period, the na ...

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

, and

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abr ...

. Renault wrote a sequel, ''

The Bull from the Sea ''The Bull from the Sea'' is the sequel to Mary Renault's ''The King Must Die''. It continues the story of the Greek mythology, mythological hero Theseus after his return from Crete. Plot introduction The story is a retelling of the life of m ...

'', in 1962. A primary theme of the book is the contrast between the advanced but enervated civilisation of Minoan Crete and the assertive developing societies of mainland Greece.

Plot

The story is told by Theseus, looking back on his life from his vantage point as an adult.

Book One: Troizen

Theseus, growing up in Troizen, is the son of a priestess and an unknown man, although it is rumored that his father is

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...

. As a young child, Theseus is shocked when he sees the "King Horse", whom he considers a noble beast, ritually sacrificed to the gods. His grandfather King

Pittheus In Greek mythology, Pittheus (; grc, Πιτθεύς) was the king of Troezen, city in Argolis, which he had named after his brother Troezen. Biography Pittheus was a son of Pelops and Dia (maybe another name for Hippodamia), father of AethraD ...

explains that the King was traditionally killed with the Horse, and even now a true king of the Hellene people may need to make the ultimate sacrifice for his people. It is during the horse sacrifice that Theseus first hears a surging sea-sound in his ears, a sense that an earthquake will soon occur. Over the following years, Theseus serves at

's temple. He is sent to hide in the hills when Cretan ships come to Troizen to take away young boys and girls as tribute to Minos for the bull dancing in Crete. Theseus is frustrated because he is shorter and lighter than most Hellenes his age, but becomes a skilled wrestler through strategy and agility. When Theseus turns seventeen, his mother takes him to the sacred Grove of Zeus in the hills and explains that his father made her swear not to tell Theseus who he was until he could pry up a certain heavy stone. Theseus figures out how to move it using a lever, and finds a sword and sandals underneath. His grandfather explains that Theseus is the only son and heir of King

Aigeus In Greek mythology, Aegeus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰγεύς, Aigeús, also spelled Aegeas) was an archaic figure in the founding myth of Athens. The "goat-man" who gave his name to the Aegean Sea was the father of Theseus. He was also the founder of A ...

of Athens. Theseus decides to go to Athens via the bandit-infested land route: the

Isthmus of Corinth The Isthmus of Corinth (Greek: Ισθμός της Κορίνθου) is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the rest of the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth. The word "isthmus" comes from the Ancien ...

Book Two: Eleusis

In Eleusis, a matriarchical and non-Hellene society focused on worship of the Earth mother goddess, it is the custom to sacrifice their king each year. Entering Eleusis, Theseus is chosen to kill Kerkyon, the year-king, and replace him. He soon learns that the Queen rules in Eleusis. As King, he has no real power and will die in one year's time. He takes his retinue of Eleusinian youths on hunts to build their independence and camaraderie, killing the great sow Phaia and making war on brigands. The Queen, who correctly anticipates that Theseus is trying to overthrow the established order, tries to have him assassinated but fails. She is bitten by a venomous snake during a suicide attempt. Theseus allows her to leave Eleusis to die.

Book Three: Athens

Theseus finally goes to Athens. Aigeus, on the urging of his lover

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason an ...

, serves him poisoned wine but recognises Theseus's sword and realizes who he is just in time. When Medea's plot fails, she pronounces a curse on Theseus and vanishes from Athens. Aigeus proclaims Theseus his son and heir. When a Cretan ship comes to collect a yearly tribute of seven boys and seven girls from Athens, Theseus, feeling led by Poseidon, offers himself in one boy's place and becomes a Cretan slave.

Book Four: Crete

In Crete, Theseus and the other tributes – under the group name of Cranes – become bull-dancers. They survive for months without a single member dying, which is unheard of. Theseus becomes the lover of

Ariadne Ariadne (; grc-gre, Ἀριάδνη; la, Ariadne) was a Cretan princess in Greek mythology. She was mostly associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of the Minotaur and Theseus. She is best known for having ...

, the princess, who is treated as the Goddess on earth. They meet secretly in the tunnels beneath Knossos Palace, which is called the Labyrinth. Theseus dreams of conquering Crete, which has become an indolent and corrupt civilisation. The king,

Minos In Greek mythology, Minos (; grc-gre, Μίνως, ) was a King of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every nine years, he made King Aegeus pick seven young boys and seven young girls to be sent to Daedalus's creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten ...

, is wasting away from leprosy due to the machinations of his brutish stepson Asterion, whose title is

Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "pa ...

. Asterion is gathering power to take the throne, which will include marrying Ariadne, his half-sister. Theseus meets the dying Minos and kills him at his request, promising to marry Ariadne. Theseus senses a major approaching earthquake. As the quake strikes, he leads the bull-dancers in a revolt. Asterion is already taking part in the ritual to make himself the new Minos, wearing a bull mask. Theseus interrupts the ritual and kills him in combat. Seeing that Asterion had already been anointed with oil, Theseus puts on the mask and sacrifices the King.

Book Five: Naxos

The Cranes, plus Ariadne—whom Theseus intends to marry—set sail for Greece. They land on the island of Dia, whose capital city is Naxos. The people welcome Ariadne as the Goddess on earth, and she takes part in their rituals to

Dionysos In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

in which they sacrifice their king. Afterwards, Theseus finds her asleep drenched in the king’s blood and realizes her brutal part in the sacrifice. Appalled, he gathers his companions and sets sail before she wakes up. As they travel home, Theseus remembers Aigeus's request that he paint his sails white. He is concerned that Aigeus will read the white sail as a sign to sacrifice himself. He asks Poseidon for a sign, and reads it to mean that he should do nothing, never anticipating that Aigeus will throw himself to his death when he sees the black sails.

Characters

: The protagonist. King of Eleusis and son of King Aigeus of Athens, he is an aggressive leader who combines touchy pride with a drive for social and cultural change. He compensates for his small, light build with agility and ingenuity. He has a strong sense of destiny, duty, and a belief that he is guided by his god Poseidon. Though only seventeen for most of the novel, he is also a skilled warrior, hunter, bull-dancer, and lover. He can instinctively sense earthquakes, a sensation which leaves him disoriented, and which he believes is a gift from Poseidon.

: The beautiful young daughter of King Minos. High Priestess by right of birth, she is revered as a goddess incarnate by the native Cretans. Gentle and timid at first, she falls in love with Theseus and helps him escape from Crete. When Theseus sees her capacity for violence inherited from the "rotten blood" of a decadent dynasty, he is sickened and loses his love for her.

Asterion In Greek mythology, Asterion (Greek: , gen.: , literally "starry") or Asterius () may refer to the following figures: * Asterion, one of the Potamoi. * Asterius, one of the Giants. * Asterion, an attendant of the starry-god Astraeus. * Aster ...

: The Minotauros. He is heir to King Minos of Crete, though actually the product of adultery between Minos' queen and an Assyrian bull-dancer. Crude, ruthless and clever, Asterion has succeeded in isolating his nominal father, the dying Minos, and is positioning himself to take the throne. Asterion regards Theseus as a "mainland savage" but, desiring the best of everything, purchases him as a bull- dancer in the way that he might buy a horse with stamina and speed.

: the title given to the rulers of

Minoan Crete The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450B ...

during the thousand-year history of an advanced and sophisticated civilisation centred on the vast palace (Labyrinth) of Knossos. On the eve of the great earthquake that destroys the Labyrinth, the last Minos is a sick man who is losing power to his hated heir Asterion. Using Ariadne as an intermediary, Minos enters into an alliance with Theseus.

: The King of Athens and Theseus's father. A valiant and virile man in his younger days, he is in his fifties, tired and cynical by the time Theseus meets him. His people are troublesome, his nobles powerful, and he is worn out from decades of endeavouring to keep the peace and retain his authority. Theseus respects Aigeus but cannot admire him, for he is over-cautious. Persephone: The 27-year-old queen of Eleusis, whom no one is permitted to name. Beautiful, sexually skilled, and devoted to the earth goddess, she follows the custom of making Theseus kill her current husband and King so that he can become the next one-year king and marry her. But he turns out to be more than she bargained for, empowering himself and the downtrodden men of Eleusis, finally using his personal and political skills to persuade the men to impose their rule on the women instead. Four times she attempts to kill him or have him killed, and attempts suicide when she fails. Her ultimate fate is not known. Amyntor: An Eleusinian bull-dancer, Theseus's right-hand among the Cranes in Crete. A big, black-haired, hawk-nosed teenager, he is too heavy for bull-leaping, so he serves to catch the leaper as he or she descends. Theseus trusts him and he loves/admires Theseus more than any other person. Pittheus: The King of Troizen and Theseus's grandfather. Theseus looks up to him. Aithra: The 33-year-old high priestess of Troizen, Theseus's mother, and Pittheus's daughter. There is tension between her natural affection for Theseus and her role as a servant of the Earth Goddess.

: King Aigeus's lover, she wants the Athenian throne for her two sons. Acting in collaboration with Persephone she persuades Aigeus to attempt to poison Theseus in return for the lifting of a curse. Aigeus is not at this stage aware that Theseus is his son. Xanthos: The cold-hearted, red-haired, pale-faced brother of Queen Persephone of Eleusis, and the chief general of the Eleusinians. On his sister's orders, he tries to have Theseus assassinated. Theseus then kills him in single combat. Pylas: The prince of Megara. Theseus meets him on the boar hunt in the hills between Eleusis and Megara. Only a few years older than Theseus, he nevertheless respects the other's prowess and intelligence, and joins him to assault the bandit strongholds in the Isthmus. He dies of a wound received in battle. The Corinthian: The best bull-dancer in Crete—until he lays down his life in the ring for a comrade soon after the Cranes arrive. Theseus idolises him because he is such a consummate bull-dancer. Chryse, Helike, Melantho, Thebe, Nephele, Rhene, Pylia: The seven female Cranes. Iros, Hippon, Menesthes, Telamon, Phormion: The five male Cranes (apart from Theseus and Amyntor). Lukos: a Cretan officer who commands a detachment of African warriors in the service of King Minos. Sent to collect the tribute of fourteen youths and maidens from Athens, Lukos serves as an example of the polished and sophisticated courtiers of the Labyrinth in contrast to the crude but energetic values of mainland Greece. Kerkyon: The 20-year-old, strongly built year-king of Eleusis. The name 'Kerkyon' is given to all year-kings: his real name is not given. Theseus kills him in a wrestling match. Thalestris: A skilled Amazonian bull-dancer and valiant warrior. Simo: A small boy who mocks Theseus's fatherlessness in Troizen.

Phaedra Phaedra may refer to: Mythology * Phaedra (mythology), Cretan princess, daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, wife of Theseus Arts and entertainment * ''Phaedra'' (Alexandre Cabanel), an 1880 painting Film * ''Phaedra'' (film), a 1962 film by ...

: Theseus' later wife; now a child, she idolises him as a handsome bull dancer.

Analysis

The book was lauded by critics, with Renault's believable historical setting being particularly well-received. Removing the fantastical elements of monsters and the appearances of gods, Renault constructed an archaeologically and anthropologically plausible story that might have developed into the myth. However, other critics have viewed Renault's depiction of ancient Crete as based on flawed theories and taking significant imaginative liberties.

Adaptations and references

''The King Must Die'' and ''

'' were adapted into an 11-part

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

serial, entitled ''The King Must Die,'' broadcast from June through August 1983.

Poul Anderson Poul William Anderson (November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until the 21st century. Anderson wrote also historical novels. His awards include seven Hugo Awards and ...

's novel '' The Dancer from Atlantis'' covers the same period, but from a pro-Cretan point of view - Theseus being the book's villain, a barbarian pirate and cruel destroyer of Cretan civilisation. In one passage the protagonist - a

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...

ler from the 20th Century who had read and liked Renault's book - reflects on how different the actual Theseus is from the way she depicted him. In

Richard Adams Richard George Adams (9 May 1920 – 24 December 2016) was an English novelist and writer of the books ''Watership Down'', ''Maia'', ''Shardik'' and ''The Plague Dogs''. He studied modern history at university before serving in the British Army ...

's book ''

Watership Down ''Watership Down'' is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Berkshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natural ...

'', the 25th chapter (entitled "The Raid") begins with this epigraph quoted from Renault's book: "He went consenting, or else he was no king... It was no man's place to say to him, 'It is time to make the offering.'"

Suzanne Collins Suzanne Collins (born August 10, 1962) is an American author and television writer. She is known as the author of the book series ''The Underland Chronicles'' and ''The Hunger Games''. Early life Suzanne Collins was born on August 10, 1962, in ...

credited ''The King Must Die'' as one inspiration for ''

The Hunger Games ''The Hunger Games'' is a series of young adult dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins. The first three novels are part of a trilogy following teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen, and the fourth book is a prequel set ...

'', with the concept of boys and girls taken by lottery to perform in a deadly competition for the elites' entertainment.