 Procrustes is depicted with the bed into which any guest would be made to fit perfectly. |
Procrustes, or "one who stretches," (also known as Prokrustes or Damastes) was a robber in the myth of Theseus . He preyed on travellers along the road to Athens. He offered his victims hospitality on a magical bed that would fit any guest. He then either stretched the guests or cut off their limbs to make them fit perfectly into the bed. Theseus, travelling to Athens to claim his inheritance, encountered the thief. The hero cut off the evil-doer's head to make him fit into the bed in which many "guests" had died. |
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