In Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

, Pittheus was a son of Pelops

Pelops

In Greek mythology, Pelops , was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus. He was the founder of the House of Atreus through his son of that name....

, father of Aethra

Aethra

In Greek mythology, Aethra or Aithra was a name applied to four different individuals:-Mother of Theseus:...

, and grandfather of Theseus

Theseus

For other uses, see Theseus Theseus was the mythical founder-king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, both of whom Aethra had slept with in one night. Theseus was a founder-hero, like Perseus, Cadmus, or Heracles, all of whom battled and overcame foes that were...

. He was the King of Troezen

Troezen

Troezen is a small town and a former municipality in the northeastern Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Troizinia, of which it is a municipal unit....

, which he had named after his brother Troezen

Troezen (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Troezen was one of the children of Pelops and Hippodamia, eponym of the city Troezen.Troezen and his brother Pittheus were said to have come from Pisatis to King Aetius, son of Anthas and grandson of Poseidon and Alcyone, who reigned over the cities of Hyperea and Anthea, and to...

. When Aegeus

Aegeus

In Greek mythology, Aegeus , also Aigeus, Aegeas or Aigeas , was an archaic figure in the founding myth of Athens. The "goat-man" who gave his name to the Aegean Sea was, next to Poseidon, the father of Theseus, the founder of Athenian institutions and one of the kings of Athens.-His reign:Upon the...

 asked Pittheus for advice as to how to understand an oracle he received in response to his inquiry whether or not he was going to ever have children, Pittheus got him drunk and Aegeus ended up spending the night with Aethra. Aethra had laid with Poseidon

Poseidon

Poseidon was the god of the sea, and, as "Earth-Shaker," of the earthquakes in Greek mythology. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon...

 earlier that evening, so when Theseus was born he became Aegeus' stepson.

After he had finished his labours, Heracles

Heracles

Heracles ,born Alcaeus or Alcides , was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus...

 came to visit Pittheus. He laid his lion-skin down on a couch where it sat in a most life-like fashion. A little while later Theseus, who was seven years old at this time, came into the room with some of his schoolmates. When the other children saw the skin of the Nemean lion

Nemean Lion

The Nemean lion was a vicious monster in Greek mythology that lived at Nemea. It was eventually killed by Heracles. It could not be killed with mortal weapons because its golden fur was impervious to attack...

, they ran from it in terror, thinking that it was alive. However, Theseus remained in the room, grabbed a sword from a nearby guard, and attacked the lion-skin.