Mythology Monday: Procrustes

Sadly, today will be a short one with no painting by me because I have a test tomorrow. I was kind of looking forward to painting a bed with some bloody limbs next to it, so I might make one later on :)

This is the myth of Procustes the Stretcher.

Procrustes had a home near the road between Athens and Eleusis. Many people came along this road and Procrustes always invited every weary traveller into his home for a nice meal and some well deserved rest. He was even kind enough to let people sleep in his own bed! He probably had some kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder though, because he couldn't stand it if his guest didn't fit his bed exactly. So if the person was too small, they'd have to be stretched, and if he was too tall, Procrusted would just chop of all the parts that stuck out. And nobody ever did fit...
Eventually Theseus came along and wrestles Procrustes onto his own bed and killed him. It isn't told if he had to be stretched or "shortened" but on the picture below he seems to be sticking out quite a lot.

{Source}

I must say there are some very strange things about this myth though. First, as my teacher pointed out: the bed is Procrustes' own, so it should fit, right? Very weird indeed...

Secondly, they both appear to be very naked. If Procrusted was always unclothed when inviting his guests in, I really think they shouldn't be that surprised to find out he was a bit of a psychopath. And I don't even want to think about what Theseus has done with his clothes...

Oh well, so much to think about :) I'm heading back to my soliloquys, sonnets and consonances... Wish me luck!