It can be tempting to examine the myth and think of it in historical terms. There is a certain intuitive plausibility in their myths where it could be argued that they capture an element of history and convey it through oral narratives. This is seen in a large number of myths, including Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and the myth of Theseus. But there are too many “others” in these myths to make them strictly historical. With the myth of Theseus, this “other” is too politically motivated for propaganda not to be part of its function. By analyzing the myth itself and how myth can be used as propaganda and applying it to this myth, it is clear that the Myth of Theseus is more than just an entertaining story or snapshot of history. According to Plutarch's Life of Theseus, the author makes a comparison between Theseus and Romulus, the founder of Rome (1). In it, Theseus was not born an Athenian, although he was the son of the Athenian king. When he reached adulthood, he had to travel to Athens, but chose to do so by land rather than by sea, which he believed was safer. For he has heard of the hero Heracles, and Theseus wishes to be as great a hero as him (6). On his way, he is credited with the deaths of Periphetes, the club-bearer, Sinis, the pine-bender, Crommyon's sow, Sciron, Cercyon and Demastas. In this way, he made the roads leading to Athens safer, free of banditry. But his most famous act is that of killing the Cretan Minotaur. Athens was to provide seven young men and seven young women every nine years as sacrifices to the kingdom of Crete, where they would be placed in a labyrinth with the fearsome Minotaur. If the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull creature, was killed, the sacrifices of Athens would end...... middle of paper ...... myths are told and some of the history of the city of Athens, it is certainly clear that the reason people told the myth of Theseus is more than just passing on historical information. Myths are entertaining to listen to and are an effective way to disseminate information. However, the information they contain may not be strictly true, but the ideas conveyed are. For Theseus, elevating him as a national hero gave later politicians a way to soften some tricky political decisions that might have upset the general population, but also a way to unite them under a central identity. For this reason, one of the main reasons the myth was told was for propaganda reasons and not history. Whether or not there was a disagreement between the Athenians and the Cretans is a moot point; the important thing here is who the Athenians were or who they aspired to be..