es grace to me, cause to come upon his
members in E-kur, high fever, severe wounds, that cannot be healed,
whose nature the physician does not understand, which he cannot treat
with dressing, which, like the bite of death, cannot be removed, until
they have sapped away his life.

May he lament the loss of his life-power, and may the great gods of
heaven and earth, the Anunnaki altogether inflict a curse and evil upon
the confines of the temple, the walls of this E-barra [the Sun temple of
Sippara], upon his dominion, his land, his warriors, his subjects and
his troops. May Bel curse him with the potent curses of his mouth that
cannot be altered, and may they come upon, him forthwith.

THESEUS FOUNDS ATHENS

B.C. 1235

PLUTARCH

The founding of the city of Athens, apart from the mythological
lore which ascribes its name to Athene, the goddess, is credited by
the Greeks to Sais, a native of Egypt. The real founder of Athens,
the one who made it a city and kingdom, was Theseus; an
unacknowledged illegitimate child. The usual myth surrounds his
birth and upbringing.

King AEgeus, of Attica, his father, had an intrigue with AEthra.
Before leaving, AEgeus informed her that he had hidden his sword and
sandals beneath a great stone, hollowed out to receive them. She
was charged that should a son be born to them and, on growing to
man's estate, be able to lift the stone, AEthra must send him to his
father, with these things under it, in all secrecy. These
happenings were in Troezen, in which place AEgeus had been
sojourning.

All came about as expected. Theseus, the son, lifted the stone,
took thence the deposit and departed for Attica, his father's home.
On his way Theseus had a number of adventures which proved his
prowess, not the least being his encounter with and defeat of
Periphetes, the "club-bearer," so called from the weapon he used.

Theseus had complied with the custom of his country by journeying
to Delphi and offering the first-fruits of his hair, then cut for
the first time. This first cutting of the hair was always an
occasion of solemnity among the Greeks, the hair being dedicated to
some god. It will be remembered that Homer speaks of this in the
_Iliad_.

One salient fact must be borne in mind in Grecian history, which is
that it was a settled maxim that ea