The King Must Die is a 1958 bildungsroman and historical novel by Mary Renault that traces the early life and adventures of Theseus, a hero in Greek mythology. It is set in locations throughout Ancient Greece: Troizen, Corinth, Eleusis, Athens, Knossos in Crete, and Naxos. Renault wrote a sequel, The Bull from the Sea, in 1962. A primary theme of the book is the contrast between the advanced but enervated civilisation of Minoan Crete and the assertive developing societies of mainland Greece. Source: Wikipedia (en)