Related to both plot diagram and types of literary conflict, the ”Hero’s Journey” is a recurring pattern of stages many heroes undergo over the course of their stories. Joseph Campbell, an American mythologist, writer, and lecturer, articulated this cycle after researching and reviewing numerous myths and stories from a variety of time periods and regions of the world. He found that they all share fundamental principles. This spawned the Hero’s Journey, also known as the Monomyth. The most basic version has 12 steps, while more detailed versions can have up to 17.
Theseus has a complex story, and the example storyboard only looks at the story of Theseus and the Minotaur. Theseus' life story also follows the Hero's Journey structure from leaving his childhood home to becoming the heir of Aegeus. Consider assigning one Hero's Journey to each half of the class, or do the first Hero's Journey together and the second independently.
| STAGE | SUMMARY |
|---|---|
| Ordinary World | Theseus is the son of Aegeus, king of Athens. |
| Call to Adventure | He learns that after a war with Crete, Athens must pay tribute to Minos in Crete by sending young Athenians to be devoured in the Labyrinth every nine years. |
| Refusal | Theseus does not refuse the call. He volunteers to join the Athenian youths who are to go to Crete. |
| Mentor / Helper | His father plays the role of a mentor who worries about Theseus. Aegeas makes him promise he will show his mission was successful by sailing home with white sails. |
| Crossing the Threshold | Our hero leaves Athens and crosses the sea to the island of Crete. |
| Test / Allies / Enemies | Ariadne falls in love with Theseus and decides to help him. At the suggestion of Daedalus, the creator of the Labyrinth, Ariadne provides him with a sword and spool of thread to find his way back through the Labyrinth. |
| Approach | Theseus enters the Labyrinth. He must travel through the complex maze devised by Daedalus. |
| Ordeal | Theseus battles with and slays the Minotaur. He uses the thread to make his way out of the Labyrinth. |
| Reward | Theseus rescues the young Athenians and takes Ariadne on the boat bound for Greece. |
| Road Back | The ship makes a stop at the island of Naxos, and Ariadne is left behind. |
| Atonement | Atonement doesn't fit well with Theseus' story. If anything, this is the opposite of atonement. Theseus forgets to change the sail from black to white to show he had survived. In grief, his father commits suicide. |
| Return | Theseus returns to Athens to find that his father has died. He is now the new king of Athens. |
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Student Instructions
Use the story of Theseus and map it to the narrative structure of the Hero's Journey.
Design an inclusive project by offering multiple format options (visual storyboards, written narratives, digital presentations) so every student can showcase understanding in a way that suits their strengths.
Divide the stages into small, focused tasks (e.g., one stage per day or group) to help students grasp each part and reduce overwhelm.
Encourage students to identify personal experiences that mirror Hero’s Journey stages, fostering engagement and deeper understanding of literary structure.
Challenge students to retell Theseus’s story from a different perspective (e.g., Ariadne or the Minotaur), reinforcing comprehension and critical thinking.
Organize peer review sessions where students share their projects and offer constructive feedback, promoting collaboration and revision skills.
The Hero's Journey in Theseus’s story is a classic narrative structure where Theseus moves through stages like Call to Adventure, Crossing the Threshold, Ordeal, and Return. He leaves Athens, faces the Labyrinth and the Minotaur, and returns home transformed, fitting Joseph Campbell’s monomyth framework.
Theseus fits the Hero’s Journey by experiencing the Ordinary World (Athens), Call to Adventure (volunteering for Crete), gaining a mentor (his father), facing trials (the Labyrinth), and ultimately returning as king—mirroring the hero’s journey steps.
The main steps are: Ordinary World, Call to Adventure, Mentor, Crossing the Threshold, Tests, Approach, Ordeal, Reward, Road Back, Return. Theseus’s journey to defeat the Minotaur follows these stages closely.
Teachers can have students map Theseus’s story to the Hero’s Journey by identifying each stage, discussing character development, and comparing with other myths. This helps students understand narrative structure and analyze classic literature.
Unlike some heroes, Theseus does not refuse his call and his story has a tragic twist—his father’s death due to a forgotten signal. This variation makes Theseus’s journey unique and a rich example for analysis.