The Bull from the Sea
Mary Renault
 Theseus returns to Athens along with the other Athenian bull-leapers. His father, Aigeus, has committed suicide, which leaves the kingdom to the young Theseus. He soon meets Pirithoos, the rebellious pirate king of the Lapiths, and the two go on several adventures. Pirithoos talks Theseus out of going to Crete to meet his bride-to-be, Phaedra, and instead the two journey to Euxine, home of the Amazons. There, Theseus falls in love with Hippolyta the leader of the Amazons, and after defeating her in single combat, takes her home to Athens with him. She is boyish and athletic, and in additional ways a personification of qualities that he admires in himself -- physical fearlessness, pride in 'kingship', etc. Hippolyta bears Theseus a son, Hippolytus, and continues to fight and hunt alongside him. Theseus, feeling pressure from his advisors, agrees to marry the Cretan princess Phaedra. Hippolyta advises him to make this marriage, regarding herself now as his vassal who must serve his interests. Phaedra bears him a son, Akamas, but continues living in Crete; in Athens, Hippolyta is queen in all but name, and unsurprisingly, Phaedra remains jealous of her, for Theseus treats Phaedra with cold insensitivity, making no secret of his preference for Hippolyta. When the Scythians (allied with the Amazons) attack Athens, Hippolyta helps defend the Acropolis and is killed in battle, sacrificing herself in his place. Years pass. Theseus finally invites Phaedra to Greece, but it is too late to repair relations between them. She meets the now-grown Hippolytus and conceives an unrequited passion for him. After being unable to secure his affection, she convinces Theseus that he attempted to rape her. Theseus curses Hippolytus, but quickly realizes that his wife is the real culprit. His realization comes too late: Hippolytus, fleeing his father's wrath, crashes his chariot during an earthquake and is killed. Theseus kills his wife (making it look like suicide) by throttling her slowly and spends the rest of his days alone. He expresses no contrition for this murder for the remainder of the novel but seems to have been rendered embittered and hopeless. The final section of the book deals with Theseus' decline and final years. On another roving expedition, he suffers a stroke. At last, having become old and frail from years and illness, he throws himself off a cliff while visiting the king of Skyros, fulfilling the titular motif of sacrifice in The King Must Die.