"The Bull from the Sea" picks up from the moment "The King Must Die" ended, when Theseus returns from the destruction of Minoan Crete to learn that his father has committed suicide in his despair over his son's fate, and he is now king of Athens. The first chapters in the book seem fairly tame in comparison with the non-stop action of its predecessor, but the action picks up considerably with Theseus' invasion of Scythia and his battle with the Amazons and their queen Hippolyta, who turns out to be his soulmate and the one love of his life. When Hippolyta is killed in battle, Theseus is left with the legacy of their love, their son Hippolytos, and his other son, Akamas, by his wife Phaedra who he married strictly for policy, the sister of his first love Ariadne whom he abandoned at the end of "The King Must Die". Theseus's disillusionment in his sons and his betrayal by Phaedra reflect the growing cynicism of an aging king and shows us a sharply different Theseus than the intrepid young man of the first book.
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