[Greek heroic] Aegeus, an Athenian king, was the son of Pandion and the brother of Pallas, Nisos, and Lykos. He is best known as being the father of the hero Theseus. After Pandion died, the four brothers wrested control of Athens from the sons of Metion, who had driven Pandion from power. Though they divided the government in four, Aegeus became king. He took Meta as his wife, then Chalciope, daughter of Rhexenor. Neither woman bore him an heir, so Aegeus began to fear losing his power. To solve this dilemma, Aegeus traveled to Delphi for advice from the Pythia. She gave him a cryptic prophesy in answer to his question: "Do not loosen the bulging mouth of the wineskin until you have reached the height of Athens." On his way back to Athens, Aegeus rested a night at the town of Troezen. The king of Troezen, Pittheus, had a reputation for wisdom, so Aegeus asked him what he thought of the strange prophesy. Pittheus understood it completely; he caused Aegeus to become drunk, then introduc...
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