Troezenians.
Depicting the historical important of this town, a stele was excavated there, under a coffee house, in 1959. This marble stele is known as the Decree of Themistocles and it actually orders all woman and children of Athens, right before the battle of Salamis in September 480 BC, to evacuate the city and find shelter in Troezen. This shows the strong connections of Athens and Troezen.
This connection probably begins with the myth of Theseus, famous hero and king of Athens, whose mother was from there. In fact, the myth says that Aegeus, king of Athens, married Aethra, princess of Troezen, and had a son, Theseus. However, when Aegeus asked his wife to come with him in Athens, Aethra refused.
Before leaving, Aegeus hid his sword under a huge stone and told Aethra that if their son could ever move the stone and get the sword, then he would be worthy to come find him in Athens and become king, which is indeed what happened in the end. Today, there is a stone in Troezen called "the stone of Theseus" to remind this story.
Another myth connected to Troezen is the myth of Hippolytus, son of Theseus. This myth is set in Troezen and it is considered as one of the most tragic ancient myths. The second wife of Theseus, Phaedra, fell in love with Hippolytus, her stepson.
When Hippolytus knew this, he was appalled. Phaedra committed suicide of her shame, but in the suicide note, she lied and accussed Hippolytus of having raped her. Theseus got angry, expelled his son from the city and as Hippolytus was leaving Troezen, his charioteer was overturned and the young man was killed. |
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