MINOTAUR (Minotauros) - Bull-Headed Man of Greek Mythology Bull of Minos Theseus and the Minotaur, Athenian black-figure kylix C6th B.C., Toledo Museum of Art THE MINOTAUROS (Minotaur) was a bull-headed monster born to Queen Pasiphae of Krete (Crete) after she coupled with a bull. The creature resided in the twisting maze of the labyrinth where it was offfered a regular sacrifice of youths and maidens to satisfy its cannibalistic hunger. The beast was eventually slain by the hero Theseus. The Minotauros' proper name Asterion, "the starry one," suggests he might have been associated with the constellation Tauros. FAMILY OF THE MINOTAUR PARENTS THE KRETAN BULL & PASIPHAE (Apollodorus 3.8, Callimachus Hymn 4.311, Diodorus Siculus 4.77.1, Philostratus Elder 1.16, Hyginus Fab.

40, Ovid Metamorphoses 8.130, Virgil Aeneid 6.24, Suidas) ENCYCLOPEDIA MINOTAURUS (Minôtauros), a monster with a human body and a bull's head, or, according to others, with the body of an ox and a human head; is said to have been the offspring of the intercourse of Pasiphaë with the bull sent from the sea to Minos, who shut him up in the Cnossian labyrinth, and fed him with the bodies of the youths and maidens whom the Athenians at fixed times were obliged to send to Minos as tribute. The monster was slain by Theseus. It was often represented by ancient artists either alone in the labyrinth, or engaged in the struggle with Theseus. (Paus. i. 24. § 2, 27, in fin. iii. 18. § 7; Apollod. iii. 1. § 4, 15. § 8.) Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.

ALTERNATE NAMES Theseus and the Minotaur, Athenian red-figure kylix C6th B.C., Musée du Louvre Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3. 8 - 11 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) : "Minos aspired to the throne [of Krete (Crete)], but was rebuffed. He claimed, however, that he had received the sovereignty from the gods, and to prove it he said that whatever he prayed for would come about. So while sacrificing to Poseidon, he prayed for a bull to appear from the depths of the sea, and promised to sacrifice it upon its appearance. And Poseidon did send up to him a splendid bull. Thus Minos received the rule, but he sent the bull to his herds and sacrificed another . . . Poseidon was angry that the bull was not sacrificed, and turned it wild. He also devised that Pasiphae should develop a lust for it. In her passion for the bull she took on as her accomplice an architect named Daidalos (Daedalus) . . . He built a woden cow on wheels, . . .

skinned a real cow, and sewed the contraption into the skin, and then, after placing Pasiphae inside, set it in a meadow where the bull normally grazed. The bull came up and had intercourse with it, as if with a real cow. Pasiphae gave birth to Asterios (Asterius), who was called Minotauros (Minotaur). He had the face of a bull, but was otherwise human. Minos, following certain oracular instructions, kept him confined and under guard in the labyrinth. This labyrinth, which Daidalos built, was a ‘cage with convoluted flextions that disorders debouchment.’" Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3. 213 : "The god [i.e. the oracle of Delphoi (Delphi)] told them [the Athenians] to give Minos [king of Krete (Crete)] whatever retribution he should chose . . . He ordered them to send seven young men and seven girls, unarmed, to be served as food to the Minotauros (Minotaur).

The Minotauros was kept in a labyrinth, from which there was no escape after one entered, for it closed off its imperceivable exit with convoluted flexions. It had been constructed by Daidalos (Daedalus)." Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca E1. 7 - 1. 9 : "Theseus was on the list of the third tribute to the Minotauros (Minotaur)--some day he volunteered--. . . [Ariadne] pleaded with Daidalos (Daedalus) to tell her the way out of the labyrinth. Following his instructions, she gave Theseus a ball of thread as he entered. He fastened this to the door and let it trail behind him as he went in. He came across the Minotauros in the furthest section of the labyrinth, killed him with jabs of his fist, and then made his way out again by pulling himself along the thread." Callimachus, Hymn 4 to Delos 311 ff (trans.

Mair) (Greek poet C3rd B.C.) : "[Theseus] escaped the cruel bellowing and the wild [Minotauros (Minotaur)] son of Pasiphae and the coiled habitation of the crooked labyrinth." Strabo, Geography 10. 4. 8 (trans. Jones) (Greek geographer C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) : "[Minos] was tyrannical, harsh, and an exactor of tribute, representing in tragedy the story of the Minotauros (Minotaur) and the Labyrinth, and the adventures of Theseus and Daidalos (Daedalus)." Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 24. 1 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) : "[On the Akropolis (Acropolis) in Athens] is represented the fight which legend says Theseus fought with the so-called Tauros (Bull) of Minos [the Minotauros], whether this was a man or a beast of nature he is said to have been in the accepted story.

For even in our time women have given birth to far more extraordinary monsters than this." Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 27. 10 : "Minos sailed against Athens with a fleet, not believing that the Athenians were innocent of the death of Androgeos (Androgeus) [killed by the Marathonian Bull], and sorely harassed them until it was agreed that he should take seven maidens and seven boys for the Minotauros (Minotaur) that was said to dwell in the Labyrinth at Knossos." Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 31. 1 : "In the market-place of Troizenos (Troezen) [in Argolis] is a temple of Artemis Soteira (Saviour), with images of the goddess. It was said that the temple was founded and the name Soteria (Saviour) given by Theseus when he returned from Krete after overcoming Asterion [the Minotauros (Minotaur)] the son of Minos." Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 18.

10 - 16 : "[Amongst the scenes depicted on the throne of Apollon at Amyklai (Amyclae) :] I cannot say why Bathykles (Bathycles) has represented the Bull of Minos bound, and being led along alive by Theseus . . . There is represented the fight between . . . Theseus and the Bull of Minos (Tauron ton Mino) [the Minotauros]." Labyrinth of the Minotaur, Greco-Roman mosaic from Villa on the Via Cadolini C1st A.D., Archaeological Museum of Cremona Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4. 61. 4 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek historian C1st B.C.) : "[Minos demands compensation from the Athenians for the murder of his son Androgeus :] Minos commanded them that they give seven youths and as many maidens every nine years to the Minotauros (Minotaur) for him to devour, for as long as the monster should live. And when the Athenians gave them, the inhabitants of Attika (Attica) were rid of their evils and Minos ceased warring on Athens . . .

Theseus after conversing with her [Ariadne, daughter of Minos] and securing her assistance, both slew the Minotauros and got safely away, since he had learned from her the way out of the labyrinth." Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4. 77. 1 : "Pasiphae, the wife of Minos, became enamoured of the bull [the Cretan Bull], and Daidalos (Daedalus), by fashioning a contrivance in the shape of a cow, assisted Pasiphae to gratify her passion. In explanation of this the myths offer the following account: before this time it had been the custom of Minos annually to dedicate to Poseidon the fairest bull born in his herds and to sacrifice it to the god; but at the time in question there was born a bull of extraordinary beauty and he sacrificed another from among those which were inferior, whereupon Poseidon becoming angry at Minos, caused his wife Pasiphae to become enamoured of the bull.

And by means of the ingenuity of Daidalos Pasiphae had intercourse with the bull and gave birth to the Minotauros (Minotaur), famed in the myth. This creature, they say, was of double form, the upper parts of the body as far as the shoulders being those of a bull and the remaining parts those of a man. As a place in which to keep this monstrous thing Daidalos, the story goes, built a labyrinth, the passage-ways of which were so winding that those unfamiliar with them had difficulty in making their way out; in this labyrinth the Minotaur was maintained and here it devoured the seven youths and seven maidens which were sent to it from Athens, as we have already related." Plutarch, Life of Theseus 15. 1 & 17. 3 & 19. 1 (trans. Perrin) (Greek historian C1st to C2nd A.D.) : "[The young Theseus arrives in Athens :] Not long afterwards there came from Krete (Crete) for the third time the collectors of the tribute . . .

an agreement to send him [Minos] every nine years a tribute of seven youths and as many maidens. And the most dramatic version of the story declares that these young men and women, on being brought to Krete, were destroyed by the Minotauros (Minotaur) in the Labyrinth, or else wandered about at their own will and, being unable to find an exit, perished there; and that the Minotauros, as Euripides says, was ‘A mingled form and hybrid birth of monstrous shape’, and that ‘Two different natures, man and bull, were joined in him’ . . . . Hellanikos (Hellanicus) . . . says the agreement was that the Athenians should furnish the ship, and that the youths should embark and sail with him carrying no warlike weapon, and that if the Minotauros was killed the penalty should cease.

On the two former occasions, then, no hope of safety was entertained, and therefore they sent the ship with a black sail, convinced that their youth were going to certain destruction; but now Theseus encouraged his father and loudly boasted that he would master the Minotauros, so that he gave the pilot another sail, a white one, ordering him, if he returned with Theseus safe, to hoist the white sail, but otherwise to sail with the black one, and so indicate the affliction . . . When he reached Krete on his voyage, most historians and poets tell us that he got from Ariadne, who had fallen in love with him, the famous thread, and that having been instructed by her how to make his way through the intricacies of the Labyrinth, he slew the Minotauros and sailed off with Ariadne and the youths." Philostratus the Elder, Imagines 1. 16 (trans.

Fairbanks) (Greek rhetorician C3rd A.D.) : "[Description of an ancient Greek painting :] Pasiphae is in love with the bull and begs Daidalos (Daedalus) to devise some lure for the creature; and he is fashioning a hollow cow like a cow of the herd to which the bull is accustomed. What their union brought forth is shown by the form of the Minotauros (Minotaur), strangely composite in its nature." Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana 4. 34 (trans. Conybeare) (Greek biography C1st to C2nd A.D.) : "[Apollonios of Tyana] sailed to Knossos (Cnossus) [in Krete (Crete)], where a labyrinth is shown, which, I believe, once on a time, contained the Minotauros (Minotaur)." Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 40 - 43 (trans.

Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) : "Pasiphae, daughter of Sol [Helios] and wife of Minos, for several years did not make offerings to the goddess Venus. Because of this Venus inspired in her an unnatural love for a bull. At the time when Daedalus came there as an exile, he asked her to help him. For her he made a wooden heifer, and put in it the hide of a real heifer, and in this she lay with the bull. From this intercourse she bore the Minotaur, with bull's head but human body. Then Daedalus made for the Minotaur a labyrinth with an undiscoverable exit in which it was confined. When Minos found out the affair he cast Daedalus into prson, but Pasiphae freed him from his chains . . . After he [Minos] conquered the Athenians their revenues became his; he decreed, moreover that each year they should send seven of their children as food for the Minotaur. After Theseus had come from Troezene, and had learned what a calamity afflicted the state, of his own accord he promised to go against the Minotaur . . .

When Theseus came to Crete, Ariadne, Minos' daughter, loved him so much that she betrayed her brother and saved the stranger, or she showed Theseus the way out of the Labyrinth. When Theseus had entered and killed the Minotaur, by Ariadne's advise he got out by unwinding the thread. Ariadne, because she had been loyal to him, he took away, intending to marry her." Theseus and the slain Minotaur, Greco-Roman fresco from Pompeii C1st A.D., Naples National Archaeological Museum Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 38 : "He [Theseus] killed the Minotaur in the town of Cnossus." Ovid, Metamorphoses 8. 130 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) : "That adulteress [Pasiphae] who in a cow of wood beguiled a savage bull and bore a monster [the Minotaur] in her womb! . . .

His [Minos'] dynasty's disgrace has grown; the monstrous beast [Minotauros] hybrid beast declared the queen's obscene adultery. To rid his precincts of this shame the king planned to confine him shut away within blind walls of intricate complexity. The structure was designed by Daedalus, that famous architect. Appearances were all confused; he led the eye astray by a mazy multitude of winding ways . . . Daedalus in countless corridors built bafflement, and hardly could himself make his way out, so puzzling was the maze. Within this labyrinth Minos shut fast the beast, half bull, half man, and fed him twice on Attic blood, lot-chosen each nine years, until the third choice mastered him. The door, so difficult, which none of those before could find again, by Ariadne's aid was found, the thread that traced the way rewound." Ovid, Heroides 2. 67 ff (trans. Showerman) (Roman poetry C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) : "With record of his [Theseus'] deeds. When men shall have read of . . . the mingled form of bull and man [i.e.

the Minotaur]." Ovid, Heroides 4. 59 ff : "[Theseus] the faithless son of Aegeus followed the guiding thread, and escaped from the winding house through the aid my sister [Ariadne] gave." Ovid, Heroides 4. 113 ff : "The bones of my [Phaedra's] brother [the Minotaur] he [Theseus] crushed with his triple-knotted club and scattered o'er the ground; my sister [Ariadne] he left at the mercy of wild beasts." Ovid, Heroides 10. 99 ff : "[Ariadne laments after being abandoned by Theseus on Naxos :] O, that Androgeos (Androgeus) [Ariadne's brother] were still alive, and that thou, O Cecropian land [Athens], hadst not been made to atone for thy impious deeds with the doom of thy children! [I.e.

the children sent to Krete (Crete) to feed the Minotaur.] And would that thy upraised right hand, O Theseus, had not slain with knotty club him [the Minotauros] that was man in part, and in part bull; and I had not given thee the thread to show the way of thy return--thread oft caught up again and passed through the hands led on by it. I marvel not--ah, no!--if victory was thine, and the monster smote with his length the Cretan earth. His horn could not have pierced that iron heart of thine." Ovid, Heroides 10. 125 ff : "You [Theseus] will go to the haven of Cecrops; but when you have been received back home, and have stood in pride before your thronging followers, gloriously telling the death of the man-and-bull [the Minotaur], and of the halls of rock cut out in winding ways, tell, too, of me [Ariadne], abandoned on a solitary shore." Virgil, Aeneid 6. 24 (trans.

Day-Lewis) (Roman epic C1st B.C.) : "Crete rising out of the waves; Pasiphae, cruelly fated to lust after a bull, and privily covered; the hybrid fruit of that monstrous union--the Minotaurus (Minotaur), a memento of her unnatural love." Propertius, Elegies 4. 4 (trans. Goold) (Roman elegy C1st B.C.) : "What marvel that the horns of a monster [the Minotaur] were betrayed by his sister [Ariadne], when the twisted path was revealed by the gathering of her thread." Seneca, Hercules Furens 121 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st A.D.) : "He [Daidalos (Daedalus)] should return, mighty in Attic cunning, who shut our monster [the Minotaur] in the dark labyrinth." Seneca, Phaedra 173 ff : "[Phaedra's nurse addresses her mistress :] ‘Why do monsters cease? Why does thy brother's [the Minotaur's] labyrinth stand empty?

Shall the world hear of strange prodigies, shall nature's laws give way, whenever a Cretan woman [i.e. such as Pasiphae] loves?’" Seneca, Phaedra 647 ff : "I love, those former looks of his [Theseus'] which once as a youth he had, when his first beard marked his smooth cheeks, when he looked on the dark home of the Cretan monster [the Minotaur], and gathered in the long thread o'er the winding way." Seneca, Phaedra 687 ff : "Thy monster-bearing mother [Pasiphae] . . . She did but pollute herself with her shameful lust, and yet her offspring by its two-shaped infamy [the Minotaur] displayed her crime, though long concealed, and by his fierce visage the hybrid child made clear his mother's guilt." Seneca, Phaedra 1170 ff : "What Cretan bull [the Minotauros], fierce, two-formed monster, filling the labyrinth of Daedalus with his huge bellowings, has torn thee asunder with his horns?" Nonnus, Dionysiaca 47.

434 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) : "[Dionysos addresses Ariadne :] ‘He [Theseus] shed the blood of the halfbull man [the Minotauros (Minotaur)] whose den was the earthdug labyrinth . . . But you know your thread was his saviour: for the man of Athens with his club would never have found victory in that contest without a rosy-red girl to help him.’" Suidas s.v. Aigaion pelagos (trans. Suda On Line) (Byzantine Greek Lexicon C10th A.D.) : "Theseus, the son of Aigeos (Aegeus) the king of Attika (Attica), ruled the Kretans (Cretans) and pursued the Minotauros (Minotaur) into the area of the labyrinthos (and killed him when he was hidden in a cavern. He took to wife the woman Ariadne, who had been born to Minos of Pasiphae, and thus he ruled Krete (Crete)." Suidas s.v.

En panti muthoi kai to Daidalou musos : "It is said that Pasiphae was in love with a bull and begged Daidalos (Daedalus) to make a wooden cow and rig it up and put her in it; and mounting her like a cow, the bull made her pregnant. From her the Minotauros (Minotaur) was born. Minos for certain reasons became angry with the Athenians and collected a tribute of seven virgins and an equal number of young men from them; they were thrown to the beast." ANCIENT GREEK & ROMAN ART Minotaur | Mythological Greek Minotaur | Mythical Minotaur Legends and Chronicles > Mythological Greek Creatures > Minotaur Minotaur - Mythological Greek Minotaur The mighty Greek Minotaur, part bull and part man, born of woman and bull with the body of a man and the head of bull that resided on the island of Crete in Greece. A fearsome sight the Minotaur was both strong and aggressive, who lived deep within a secret labyrinth, built by the architect and inventor Daedalus.

The Minotaur was hidden from sight, contained in the maze that only its create inceptor Deadalus, knew the intricate layout and structure of. Housed in his maze, the Minotaur was an outcast from the Cretians*, born in sin, and forced to be kept hidden, the Minotaur would feast on the flesh of humans sacrifices provided by its keeper King Minos of Crete. The horrible secret of the Minotaur birth was of significant important to King Minos, he needed to keep the beast a secret to protect the Minotaur’s mother, Queen Pasiphae, the wife no less of King Minos. With the shamed history of the of the Minotaur’s birth, the myth and secrecy surrounding his existence, and his fearsome appearance, and his penchant for human flesh the Minotaur was destined to be one of the most popular Greek mythical creatures. “It was my job to lead the subjects to the labyrinth, they had no idea what was to become them. At the same time I felt sorrow, guilt and remorse for my actions, the human sacrifices were wholly unaware of the fear that would encompass them in the next few hours.

We often heard the screams later on, when the Minotaur would start to stalk his prey in the deep recesses of the labyrinth. I could only hope that one day the Minotaur would be slain, but then I wondered, was it his fault he was born half man, half beast. Either way, I hoped I would never happen upon the beast in the labyrinth myself, and that is why I always did my job.” The features and appearance of the Minotaur The Mythical Greek Minotaur The appearance of the Minotaur was a blend of human and bull, the focal point of the might beast was of course the bull head which led into a human torso. The Minotaur’s neck was obviously larger than that of a normal man, large enough to support the size and weight of the bull head. Heavily muscled the Minotaur was a formidable foe for anyone, with more muscle mass and size than an ordinary man, the Minotaur was reported to be well over six feet tall. The final defining mark of the Minotaur was the bull tail, which many said allowed the Minotaur exceptional balance and poise.

The Mythology of the Minotaur When King Minos of Crete was in a power struggle with his siblings for the throne, he made a prayer to the powerful Greek God of the sea Posideon to bless him with a rare white bull, to show their favour for him. When Poseidon granted the wish and the majestic while bull walked forth from sea, Minos decided he should slay the rest of his bull herd and keep only the special white bull. Poseidon did not approve of this, and in turn cast a spell on King Minos wife, Queen Pasiphae, and forced her to fall in love with the bull. In turn Pasiphae with her love so strong for the bull turned to the inventor Deadalus to help her make love to the bull. Deadalus in his duty constructed a wooden cow body, for the Queen to lie in and the bull would make love too. Theseus and the Minotaur So with Queen Pasiphae pregnant, and of course when King Minos became aware of this decided there was only one option but to keep the birth hidden and the offspring hidden forever.

Again Deadalus was called forth to repent his past sin in the conception, and instructed to create a complex and deep labyrinth which would allow Pasiphae to give birth to the Minotaur. Here in the labyrinth on Crete, the Minotaur would live in secret, King Minos forced to feed the beast, would look for fourteen youths every few years to offer as a sacrifice to the beast. Anyone that was put into the labyrinth would never return, and the Minotaur lived on. Later Deadalus would implore King Minos to let him leave Crete, however the King feared that Deadalus would let the hidden secret of the Minotaur and the labyrinth loose. Deadauls was imprisoned by the King and with no escape he would construct wings for him and his son Icarus to escape Crete. When word of the next sacrifice was due for the Minotaur, a hero by the name of Theseus planned to end the sacrifices and slay the Minotaur. Theseus took the place of one of the sacrificial youths, that was to be fed to the Minotaur, and entered the labyrinth.

With the help of Kind Minos daughter who Theseus had fallen in love with, the hero was able to overcome the might Minotaur with his strength and fighting skill, and able to end the sacrifices. Thus the Minotaur was nor more, the mythological beast had been slain. Minotaur | MythOrTruth.Com - Mythical Creatures, Beasts and Facts associated with them. Minotaur The Minotaur is a mystical creature in the Greek Mythology. The story is set in a period around 13 century B.C. The word Minotaur literally means ‘the bull of Minos’. Minotaur According to the Greek mythology, it was a monster that had the lower body of a human being and the head of a bull. It was believed to have been living in the Cretan labyrinth and consumed the flesh from human sacrifices until it was killed by Theseus. It was the descendant of Pasiphae, a queen in the Minoan culture based in Crete and a white bull that the god Poseidon had sent to her husband, King Minos. The king had been given dominance of the oceans around Crete by the sea-god Poseidon.

In return, he promised to sacrifice a bull in a show of gratitude knowing very well he did not have one. The sea-god then allowed one to appear, an incredible snow-white one. Instead, Minos kept it as a gift for himself instead of sacrificing it as promised. When Minos declined to sacrifice the beast, Poseidon ordered the love god Eros, to strike Pasiphae with a love for the white bull. She instructed Daedalus, the royal architect to build a hollow wooden cow, which she would enter to admire the great bull. From within it she conceived by the bull, which was later captured as one of the seven labors of Hercules and taken to Greece. After she delivered the Minotaur, the king ordered inventor and architect Daedalus to build a labyrinth so complex that breaking away from it with no help would be out of question. Poseidon The monster was detained in this labyrinth and fed on human sacrifices that the king forced Athens to send to him as tribute. The mythology suggests that it was the Greek hero Theseus that killed this beast. He wanted to stop the senseless human sacrifices offered by the king, offering himself as one of the victims.

On reaching Crete, the king’s daughter fell in love with him and offered him a ball of thread, which would help him to escape from the intricate maze. He tied the thread at the entrance and unwound it as he traveled in the maze in search of the monster. When he found the beast, he beat it to death and led the sacrificial lads and lasses out of the labyrinth by following the thread back to the entrance. The Nature of the Minotaur It was believed that the Minotaur was extraordinarily strong and hard piercingly sharp horns. It was a ferocious fighter always hungry for human flesh. On the flip side, it was a not very bright and it was always hungry and angry. Moreover, it was a bit top-heavy. Possible origins of the Myth The Minotaur may have also found roots in the ancient Egyptian culture where they represented their god using an image similar to that of the mystical creature called. In the Egyptian religion, it was called Apis, a sacred bull that was regarded as the incarnation of their god Osiris or of Ptah. This sacred bull was sometimes represented as half man, half bull.

Athenians being Delivered to the Minotaur in the Cretan Laby Hence, there might be a connection between Apis and the minotaur considering that the Greek territory under Alexander the great once covered Egypt. The myth may have also originated from Minoan culture, a Bronze Age civilization that preceded that of the Greeks, in the island of Crete. In the archeological discoveries by the British archeologist Sir Arthur Evans, there were paintings of bull-leaping on the walls of the palace at Knossos. Bull-leaping was a major sport in the Minoan culture. This may have given birth to the later Greek myth of the Minotaur. Ancient Egyptian culture – Apis Scientific Truths about the Minotaur The Greek culture and its numerous mythical creatures has continually fascinated our modern culture and continues to raise curiosity. The Minotaur myth has been the subject of many Hollywood movies and TV productions. As a result, people are starting to wonder whether there is some truth in this myth. There is no sufficient evidence to back up the claims behind this story. However, there is some little evidence that can be construed as facts that support the story.

In the modern culture, the Minotaur story is set at Knossos. However, the earlier accounts of the story placed the location of the labyrinth close to one of the major Minoan palaces of Phaistos, in the South Eastern Coast of Crete. The labyrinth still exists and can be visited. It still consists miles of below ground tunnels some of which were blown up during the Nazi domination of Greece and later when remaining explosives went off. These points to the fact that there is some truth in the myth of the Minotaur as the existence of complex and numerous underground tunnels near the site suggest. On the other hand, it is possible that this so-called labyrinth is just an ancient quarry. The excavation of Palace of Knossos, which is thought to have been occupied by the mythological ruler, King Minos, may serve as a pointer to the presence of some truth in the story. Minos is at the center stage of the myth, meaning that evidence of his existence may offer some proof to some truth in the myth. Theseus kills Minotaur The story may have also been true but over-exaggerated over hundreds of years to become a hybrid story.

In the Minoan culture, kings lived in two story houses that were larger than those of the common men. The story suggests that it occurred in the rule of king Minos, who had one of the largest, four-story palace. Therefore, it is possible that people may have referred to this house as a labyrinth. Moreover, bull-leaping was a major sport in this culture as previously mention. Hence, it is possible that the people saw a prince bull-leaping in the ‘labyrinth‘ and told the story over generations and might have been exaggerated to suggest a mystical creature. By criteria of elimination, it is a known scientific fact that bulls cannot breed with human beings. Maybe, the story of half a man, half a bull is just a metaphor for a certain person with incredible strength. The sharp horns may suggest his arrogance, stubbornness or rudeness. Therefore, the myth of the Minotaur may be in reference to a certain prince who was very strong, mean and unreasonable. Since bull-jumping was a major activity in the time, it is possible that such as prince was a major participant in this activity. It is also a well-known fact that the Ancient Greeks enjoyed gladiator contests that would often end in death.

Therefore, it is possible that the human sacrifices suggested in the story where gladiators offered to fight in the palace arena to fight till death. If the gladiator surrendered, it was a dishonorable act and was considered a coward. Such a prince may have developed the habit of killing such gladiators. Therefore, it is possible that the story is true, only that it was metaphorical and it is being incorrectly taken literally. It is no secret that the ancient Greek culture produced some of the most brilliant scholars and philosophers. Therefore, the story may have some deep philosophies surrounding it that need clever deciphering. Minotaur | Monsters & Creatures Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Monsters & Creatures Wiki The minotaur is a legendary magical creature that appears to be half man and half bull. Originating from Greek mythology, it has since become common in various forms of fantasy fiction. Greek legend Edit After he ascended the throne of Crete, Minos competed with his brothers to rule. Minos prayed to Poseidon to send him a snow-white bull, as a sign of support (the Cretan Bull). He was to kill the bull to show honour to Poseidon, but decided to keep it instead because of its beauty.

He thought Poseidon would not care if he kept the white bull and sacrificed one of his own. To punish Minos, Aphrodite made Pasiphaë, Minos' wife, fall deeply in love with the bull. Pasiphaë had the archetypal craftsman Daedalus make a hollow wooden cow, and climbed inside it in order to mate with the white bull. The offspring was the monstrous Minotaur. Pasiphaë nursed him in his infancy, but he grew and became ferocious, being the unnatural offspring of man and beast, he had no natural source of nourishment and thus devoured man for sustenance. Minos, after getting advice from the oracle at Delphi, had Daedalus construct a gigantic labyrinth to hold the Minotaur. Its location was near Minos' palace in Knossos.

Nowhere has the essence of the myth been expressed more succinctly than in the Heroides attributed to Ovid, where Pasiphaë's daughter complains of the curse of her unrequited love: "The bull's form disguised the god, Pasiphaë, my mother, a victim of the deluded bull, brought forth in travail her reproach and burden." Literalist and prurient readings that emphasize the machinery of actual copulation may, perhaps intentionally, obscure the mystic marriage of the god in bull form, a Minoan mythos alien to the Greeks. The Minotaur is commonly represented in Classical art with the body of a man and the head and tail of a bull. One of the figurations assumed by the river god Achelous in wooing Deianira is as a man with the head of a bull, according to Sophocles' Trachiniai. From Classical times through the Renaissance, the Minotaur appears at the centre of many depictions of the Labyrinth.

Ovid's Latin account of the Minotaur, which did not elaborate on which half was bull and which half man, was the most widely available during the Middle Ages, and several later versions show the reverse of the Classical configuration, a man's head and torso on a bull's body, reminiscent of a centaur . This alternative tradition survived into the Renaissance, and still figures in some modern depictions, such as Steele Savage's illustrations for Edith Hamilton's Mythology (1942). Theseus and the Minotaur Edit Androgeus, son of Minos, had been killed by the Athenians, who were jealous of the victories he had won at the Panathenaic festival. Others say he was killed at Marathon by the Cretan bull, his mother's former taurine lover, which Aegeus, king of Athens, had commanded him to slay. The common tradition is that Minos waged war to avenge the death of his son and won.

Catullus, in his account of the Minotaur's birth, refers to another version in which Athens was "compelled by the cruel plague to pay penalties for the killing of Androgeos." Aegeus must avert the plague caused by his crime by sending "young men at the same time as the best of unwed girls as a feast" to the Minotaur. Minos required that seven Athenian youths and seven maidens, drawn by lots, be sent every seventh or ninth year (some accounts say every year) to be devoured by the Minotaur. When the third sacrifice approached, Theseus volunteered to slay the monster. He promised to his father, Aegeus, that he would put up a white sail on his journey back home if he was successful and would have the crew put up black sails if he was killed. In Crete, Minos' daughter Ariadne fell madly in love with Theseus and helped him navigate the labyrinth. In most accounts she gave him a ball of thread, allowing him to retrace his path. Theseus killed the Minotaur with the sword of Aegeus and led the other Athenians back out of the labyrinth.

On the way home, Theseus abandoned Ariadne on the island of Naxos and continued. He neglected, however, to put up the white sail. King Aegeus, from his lookout on Cape Sounion, saw the black-sailed ship approach and, presuming his son dead, committed suicide by throwing himself into the sea that is since named after him. This act secured the throne for Theseus. Information and Images/Pictures of Greek Mythological Beasts and Creatures. Sidebar Beasts of Greek Mythology The many intriguing creatures and monsters of mythology play an intrical role in its fascinating appeal. Not included all of the mystical beasts have been added here, but most of the major ones. Argus The hundred-eyed character who was given by Hera the task of guarding Io, one of Zeus's many mistresses. Hermes lulled him to sleep and killed him. Hera, distraught, took his eyes and placed them on her favorite bird, the peacock. Calydonian Boar The huge boar sent by Artemis to ravage the land of Calydon due to the king's refusal to include her in his annual offerings.

The king, Oeneus, requested neighboring cities to help kill the boar, and many heroes - including Peleus and Meleager - participated. The maiden Atalanta wounded the beast, and Meleager finally killed it. Although it had been Atalanta who halted the monster, because she was a woman it was Meleager who was awarded the prize. Centaurs The race of half-men, half-horses creatures. They were the product of Ixion's weird lust for Hera. Zeus created a psuedo-Hera, Nemele ["cloud"], who gave birth to Ixion's son Centaurus. This very sick son mated with the horses of Mount Pelion to produce the Centaurs. Centaurs were wild, lusty, and brutal; however, their king was the wise and gentle Chiron who advised, among others, Achilles and Jason. Centaurs may have first have been a misinterpretation of the warriors which came from the East who rode on horseback, at the time foreign to the Hellenes. Chiron was the symbol of man eventually taming the horse, which became a great asset.

Cerberus The hound of Hades that guarded the entrance to the underworld. He is described with anywhere from two to fifty heads and was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna. Heracles stole Cerberus as one of his labors, and both Aeneas and Odysseus managed to bypass the gigantic dog. Orpheus, the grand musician, soothed the savage beast in order to retrieve his wife Eurydice. Charybdis Opposite the monster Scylla, Charybdis was a whirlpool at the northern end of the Straits of Messina which devoured ships. Chimaera A fire-breathing beast with a lion's head and body, a serpent for a tail, and a goat's head in the midsection. The chimaera may have represented fiery volcanic mountains where goats and lions dwelt and snakes innundated the foothills. It ravaged Mount Chimaera and was eventually killed by the hero Bellerophon, who shot lead in its mouth. The lead melted in its fiery breath and burnt its insides.

Cyclops According to Hesiod, the one-eyed sons of Gaia and iron-workers of Hephaestus who also made Zeus's thunderbolts. There are generally three, Brontes [Thunderer], Steropes [Lightener] and Arges [Bright]. The work of Cyclopes is commonly regarded as the explanation for volcanos, and Hephaestus's Roman counterpart, Vulcan [origin of the term "volcano"], certainly backs this notion up. The most famous Cyclop is Polyphemus, who was actually a son of Poseidon but often referred to as "Cyclops". Odysseus encounters him and eventually blinds the one eye. Echidna A half woman, half-serpent monster who ate men raw. The daughter of Phorcys and Ceto, she coupled with another half-snake, Typhon, and gave birth to Hydra, Cerberus, and Chimaera. Erinyes/Eumenides ["kindly ones"]/Furies [Latin name] The avenging spirits of the dead who relentlessly pursued wrong-doers.

Born of the blood of the castrated Uranus, they were, of course, hideous: black teeth, wrinkled faces, and pus-filled eyes. Giants They were the sons of Uranus from his castrated blood that appeared almost human except for the fact their legs ended as snakes' tails. They fought the gods at Gaia's insistence and were bound to win as long as they battled only deities. Zeus summoned Heracles, who was mortal [at the time], and the Giants were defeated. Gorgons/Medusa Daughters of Phorcys and Ceto, there were three, Medusa being the only mortal. All were once beautiful, but Athena caught Medusa and Poesidon in her temple doing—well, use your imagination!—and Athena transformed the sisters into hideous monsters whose gaze turned men into stone. Medusa was eventually killed by Perseus, and her head placed on Athena's shield. The underlying message is perhaps feminist in nature: the virgin goddess catching an unholy "sacrilege" having sex. The gorgon's gaze may be a metaphor for man becoming petrified and helpless in the presence of a beautiful [or once-beautiful] woman.

The Graiae Three sisters of the Gorgans who shared one eye between them. Best known as sentinels of the Gorgons, they are represented as old women and the name "graiae" actually means "the gray ones". Harpies Winged female demons often associated with Sirens. Most art has Harpies as winged women rather than bird-bodied. Like the sirens, there was originally two, but then another was added, bringing their number to three. Hesiod names them as Aello and Octpete, with Celaeno the later addition. Their names mean storm, swift-flier, and black cloud. They are best known as the tormenters of King Phineus, who was rescued by the Argonauts. They were also the mothers to Achilles's talking horses, Xanthus and Balius. Harpies could be the personification of the unfriendly sea and its accompanying bad weather. Hydra Hydra was a snake-like monster born of Echidna and Typhon, with nine grotesque heads. Heracles was sent to kill it for his Second Labor. The problem was, when he cut off one head, two grew back.

Heracles's nephew Iolaus managed to counteract this by using firebrands to kill the stumps. However, the nineth head was immortal, but Heracles managed to disable this by burying it deep in the earth. He dipped his arrows in Hydra's blood, which was venomously poisoned. Ladon The most famous Greek dragon which guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides, daughters of Atlas. Often described as "sleepy-eyed", he should not be thought of as evil, merely as a beast doing his duty. He is associated with the constellation Draco. Minotaur The product of Queen Pasiphae's strange lust for the Cretan Bull. The Minotaur was half-man, half bull and is often depicted with a man's body and bull's head, though there are representations of it with a bull's trunk and man's head and torso. King Minos was so appalled at the offspring that he had the master craftsman Daedalus build an enormous labyrinth for it to hide in. The creature fed upon seven youths and seven maidens sent annually from Athens. The hero Theseus, aided by Minos's daughter Ariadne, slew the monster with its own horn.

The Minotaur is perhaps an allegory created by the Athenians for Knossos [Crete] who always harvested a strange fascination for bulls. Nemean Lion The child of Selene, the goddess of the moon. After she gave birth to it she dropped it to the earth in horror. It fell in the city of Nemea. When Selene became enraged by the local people for refusing her godhead, she set the monster loose on the village. Heracles flayed the beast for his First Labor and wore the pelt as a cloak. Pegasus The beautiful celebrated winged horse of mythology, he was ironically the offspring of Medusa when Perseus decapitated her. Wild and free, he was tamed by the hero Bellerophon with the aid of the famed golden bridle. Winged animals are not of Greek origins, and, like the Sphinx, the myth of Pegasus is probably foreign—most likely it migrated from the East. Phoenix The beautiful bird of ancient Assyrian, Greek, and Egyptian legend, and one of my favorites because of its inferences to resurrection and rebirth. Click here for more details and picture. Python The serpent belonging to mother earth at her temple in Delphi.

The god Apollo slew the beast and claimed the sanctuary for himself. Scylla Scylla was a rival of the witch Circe for the love of Glaucus. Circe transformed the maiden into an enormous monster with six dog-heads around her waist. She was transported to the cliffs of the Straits of Messina and devoured sailors who attempted to avoid Charybdis Sirens Mesmerizing voices; they are possibly associated with mermaids and the lure of the sea. They would entice sailors with their captivating songs, then eat them raw. Homer writes of two; later the number was three, and eventually myth claimed nine. They committed suicide when a sweeter voice, that of Orpheus, failed to lure any of the Argonauts to their lair. Sphinx Generally associated with Egypt, the half-bird, half-woman creature made its appearance in Greek mythology as the scourge of Thebes. It dwelt at the mountain entrance and asked travellers a riddle, and if the they failed, she would eat them.

Oedipus was asked the riddle, "What has four legs in the morn, two in the afternoon, and three at sunset?" The answer was man: he is a baby who crawls, an upright adult, and an elder with a cane. Demoralized, the sphinx hurled herself to her death. Typhon [Serpents represented the earth, and quite possibly all these half-snake creatures are metaphors for man's battle to dominate the earth.] But back to Typhon: he was the half-man, half snake son of Gaia and Tartarus. He was summoned by Gaia [mother earth] to avenge the defeat of the Titans by the Olympians. Hesiod describes him with a hundred heads, and the gods, upon seeing the monster, fled; only Zeus stood his ground. Typhon cut the sinews from Zeus's hands and feet and threw him into a cave. Hermes and Pan revived the king of gods and mended his wounds. The Fates had weakened Typhon with mortal food, and Zeus managed to dispose of Typhon by crushing him under Mount Etna. Copyright © thehellenictimes. All Rights Reserved.

Minos Minos by Ron Leadbetter The legendary king of Crete, son of Zeus and the Phoenician princess Europa . Minos and his two brothers, Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon, were raised in the royal palace of Cnossus. Minos married Pasiphae , daughter of the sun-god Helios . Some of their children were Phaedra, Ariadne, and Andregeos. In mythology, a dispute over the sovereignty of Crete led Minos to ask Poseidon for help. He asked the god to send an offering as a sign of his true kingship. The god of the sea sent a gleaming pure white bull, which emerged miraculously from the waves. This confirmed to all concerned that Minos was their true king. However, as soon as King Minos saw this magnificent beast he refused to sacrifice it to Poseidon, and replaced it with another. Poseidon in retaliation sent Pasiphae into uncontrollable lust for this huge beast. So much so that she had the urge to mate with this huge animal. To do this she requested the help of Daedalus , a craftsman and inventor, who built a hollow wooden cow.

Pasiphae hid inside, the amorous bull mounted the wooden cow and as a result Pasiphae conceived its child, or rather a creature which was half man and half bull, which became known as the Minotaur (Minotauros, "the bull of Minos"). King Minos ordered Daedalus to construct a palace to hide the Minotaur, and Daedalus built Labyrinth. Because of his meddling Minos imprisoned Daedalus and his son Icarus inside a tower. They escaped by making wings from wax and feathers, but Icarus was killed when he flew to close to the sun. When Androgeos, the son of King Minos, attended the games in Athens he was victorious in all events, but was murdered through envy by other contestants. Minos then attacked Athens to avenge the death of Androgeos, and, after gaining control of the city he granted Athens peace, but with one condition: that every nine years Athens should send seven of their finest young men and young maidens to Crete, as sacrifice to the Minotaur.

When the hero Theseus heard about this practice, he volunteered to be one of the victims, killing the Minotaur, and freeing Athens from this grizzly duty. Another legend of which King Minos is part, is that of King Nisus of Megara, who to protect his city had to keep a lock of red hair hidden in his own white hair. King Minos besieged Megara, but Nisus knew that all would be well, as long as the lock of red hair was still in place. However, Scylla the daughter of Nisus fell in love with Minos, and to prove her love for him she cut the lock of red hair from her fathers head, which killed Nisus, and Magara fell. When Minos found out that Scylla had been responsible for her father's death he killed her. She was reincarnated as a seabird, to be pursued by her father Nisus, who had been turned into a sea eagle. Sir Arthur Evans a British archaeologist gave the name "Minoan" to the Cretan civilization, from King Minos' name, (A.D. 1900).

Even the name Minos, may not have been the king's real name (and is not Greek in origin) and could have been a hereditary title of Minoan rulers. Article details: Minotaur Minotaur (MIN-uh-tawr) The Minotaur was a monster, half-man, half-bull, that devoured sacrificial victims thrown into the Labyrinth. Born of Queen Pasiphae's god-inflicted infatuation with a bull, the Minotaur was eventually killed by Theseus. The monster is generally depicted as having the head of a bull and the body of a man. But in the Middle Ages, artists portrayed a man's head and torso on a bull's body. Here's how the Minotaur figured into the complete legend of Theseus: It was by lifting a boulder that Theseus, grandson of the king of Troezen, first proved himself a hero. Theseus was sixteen at the time. He had been raised by his grandfather and his mother, Princess Aethra. One day the princess called Theseus to her side. It was time, she said, that he learned of his father, who was ruler of a mighty kingdom.

This was news to Theseus, who had been under the impression that his father was one of the gods. "Before I divulge his identity," said the princess, "you must meet the challenge your father has set you." Years ago, the king had hefted a mighty stone. Underneath he had placed something for his son to find - if he could lift the weight. Aethra guided Theseus to a forest clearing, in the midst of which was a boulder. Theseus proceeded to lift the stone easily, or so the myth-tellers generally assume. But like most myths, this one is vague about the details. According to one theory, Theseus would have had trouble with a task involving brute strength. This theory was advanced by Mary Renault in her novel The King Must Die. It is based on the tradition that Theseus invented "scientific" wrestling. This is the discipline by which even a lightweight can beat a stronger adversary by fancy footwork, trick holds and using the opponent's momentum to advantage. Theseus would have had little cause to invent such tactics if he'd been capable of beating his adversaries by sheer physical strength. Therefore one may deduce that the hero was a lightweight.

So when it came to lifting boulders, Theseus was at a disadvantage. Resourcefulness, another heroic trait, must have come to his aid. He would have looked for some mechanical means to multiply his physical strength. Beneath the stone Theseus found certain tokens left by his father. His name, Aethra now revealed, was King Aegeus of Athens. Prompted by a sense of heroic destiny, Theseus set out forthwith to meet this parent he had never known. He determined to journey to Athens by land, although his mother argued for the safer route by sea. And in fact the landward route proved to be infested by an unusual number of villains, thugs and thieves. Theseus quickly adopted the credo of doing unto these bad guys what they were in the habit of doing to others. Setting out from Troezen, his birthplace, the first community of any size through which he passed was Epidaurus. Here he was waylaid by the ruffian Periphetes. Periphetes was nicknamed Corynetes or "Club-Man", after his weapon of choice, a stout length of wood wrapped in bronze to magnify its impact upon the skulls of his victims.

Theseus merely snatched this implement from Periphetes and did him in with it. Some say that this incident was manufactured to account for depictions of Theseus carrying a club like his cousin Heracles, one of a number of instances on Theseus's part of heroic imitation. The next malefactor who received a dose of his own medicine was a fellow named Sinis, who used to ask passers-by to help him bend two pine trees to the ground. Why the wayfarers should have wanted to help in this activity is not disclosed. Presumably Sinis was persuasive. Once he had bent the trees, he tied his helper's wrists - one to each tree. Then he took a break. When the strain became too much, the victim had to let go, which caused the trees to snap upright and scatter portions of anatomy in all directions. Theseus turned the tables on Sinis by tying his wrists to a couple of bent pines, then letting nature and fatigue take their course. Then, not far from Athens, Theseus encountered Sciron. This famous brigand operated along the tall cliffs which to this day are named after him. He had a special tub in which he made each passing stranger wash his feet.

While they were engaged in this sanitary activity, Sciron kicked them over a cliff into the ocean below, where they were devoured by a man-eating turtle. Theseus turned the tables on Sciron, just as he had turned them on Pine-Bender. Perhaps the most interesting of Theseus's challenges on the road to adventure came in the form of an evildoer called Procrustes, whose name means "he who stretches." This Procrustes kept a house by the side of the road where he offered hospitality to passing strangers. They were invited in for a pleasant meal and a night's rest in his very special bed. If the guest asked what was so special about it, Procrustes replied, "Why, it has the amazing property that its length exactly matches whomsoever lies upon it." What Procrustes didn't volunteer was the method by which this "one-size-fits-all" was achieved, namely as soon as the guest lay down Procrustes went to work upon him, stretching him on the rack if he was too short for the bed and chopping off his legs if he was too long.

Theseus lived up to his do-unto-others credo, fatally adjusting Procrustes to fit his own bed. When at last Theseus arrived in Athens to meet his father King Aegeus for the first time, the encounter was far from heartwarming. Theseus did not reveal his identity at first but was hailed as a hero by the Athenians, for he had rid the highway of its terrors. In honor of his exploits, he was invited to the palace for a banquet. Serving as hostess was his father's new wife, Medea. This was the same Medea who had helped Jason harvest a crop of armed warriors and steal the Golden Fleece out from under the nose of the dragon that guarded it. Jason had eventually abandoned Medea, and she had grown understandably bitter. Now she sized up Theseus and decided that he was a threat to her own son's prospects of ruling Athens after King Aegeus. In fact, Medea's magic disclosed the identity of Theseus. Years before, she had aided Aegeus, who was desperate for an heir. It was Medea's power that ensured the birth of Theseus to Princess Aethra of Troezen.

Though he left instructions with Aethra should a child be born, Aegeus had either forgotten the incident or despaired of a birth. Now Medea played on the king's insecurity. Surely the stranger at the banquet was too popular for the good of the throne. With the people behind him, he might well seize it for himself. Medea persuaded King Aegeus to serve Theseus poisoned wine. And the hero, unawares, would have drunk it had he not paused first to carve his dinner. This, at any rate, is the prosaic version of the myth. Romantics claim that Theseus drew his sword not to mince his boar's meat but because he had chosen the dramatic moment to reveal his identity. In any case, Aegeus recognized the pattern on the sword's hilt. This was his own weapon, which he had left under a rock for his son to discover. Aegeus dashed the poisoned cup to the ground. Medea, meanwhile, stormed out and made her escape in a chariot pulled by dragons. Theseus was now the recognized heir to the kingdom of Athens.

Thus he was on hand when King Minos of Crete arrived to collect his periodic tribute of young men and maidens to be sacrificed to the Minotaur. Because his son had died while in the safekeeping of the Athenians, Minos exerted the power of the Cretan navy to enforce this onerous demand. The Minotaur was a monster, half-man, half-bull, that lived in the center of a maze called the Labyrinth. It had been born to Minos's wife Pasiphae as a punishment from the gods. Minos had been challenged to prove that he was of divine parentage, so he called on the sea god Poseidon to send him a sign. The god obliged, and a beautiful white bull emerged from the sea. Minos liked it so much that he neglected to sacrifice it to the gods, as he should have done. As a punishment, Poseidon caused the king's wife to fall in love with the bull. She had the master craftsman Daedalus build her a hollow cow in which to approach the beast. As a result, the Minotaur was born. The monster is generally depicted as having the head of a bull and the body of a man.

But in the Middle Ages, artists portrayed a man's head and torso on a bull's body. Some say that Theseus expressed his solidarity with his fellow citizens of Athens by volunteering to be one of the victims. Others maintain that Minos noticed the handsome young prince and chose him to be sacrificed. In any case, Theseus became one of the fated fourteen who embarked with the Cretan fleet. The sea upon which they sailed was the domain of Poseidon, who together with his brothers Zeus and Hades were the three most powerful gods of the Greek pantheon. They divided up creation, Zeus taking Mount Olympus and the sky, Hades the Underworld and Poseidon the sea. But there were other deities of the watery depths, notably the "old man of the sea", the god Nereus, with his fifty daughters, the Nereids. When Theseus was en route to Crete, he encountered one of these divinities. As the tribute ship drew near to harbor, King Minos made rude advances to one of the Athenian maidens and Theseus sprang to her defense, claiming this was his duty as a son of Poseidon.

(Theseus, of course, also claimed to be the son of King Aegeus, but a true hero could be inconsistent in such matters.) Minos suggested that if Theseus's divine parentage were anything but a figment of his imagination, the gods of the sea would sponsor him. So Minos threw his signet ring overboard and challenged Theseus to dive in and find it. This Theseus did, being abetted indeed by the deities of the depths. Not only did he retrieve the ring from the underwater palace into which it had fallen, but he was given a jewelled crown by one of the Nereids, either Thetis or Amphitrite. It was not long after he arrived in Crete that the hero encountered Princess Ariadne, daughter of King Minos. She fell in love with him at first sight. It was Ariadne who gave Theseus a clew which she had obtained from Daedalus. In some versions of the myth it was an ordinary clew, a simple ball of thread. It was to prove invaluable in his quest to survive the terrors of the Labyrinth.

The maze had been so cleverly and intricately contrived by the master builder Daedalus that once thrown inside, a victim could never find the way out again. Sooner or later, he or she would round a corner and come face to face with the all-devouring Minotaur. This was the fate which awaited Theseus. It is clear from the myth that the Labyrinth was a maze from which none could escape because it was so diabolically meandering. Hence the Minotaur was not just its monster but its prisoner. But how exactly this worked as a practical matter with regard to the victims is less clear. Some versions of the myth have it that they were "enclosed" in the Labyrinth, as if it were a box. But surely if the procedure were simply to push the victims in and then slam the door behind them, they would have cowered by the entrance rather than proceed into the terrors of the maze. Even if the guards threatened them with swords, it seems likely that some would have preferred the known death to being devoured alive by a monster. Nor could the guards have escorted the victims deep into the maze without getting lost themselves, or risking a run-in with the Minotaur.

Maybe Daedalus built a roof over his invention, so that the victims could be dropped through a trap door into the very center. But perhaps on the whole it's better not to inquire too closely into the mechanics of the mythological. When Theseus first entered the maze he tied off one end of the ball of thread which Ariadne had given him, and he played out the thread as he advanced deeper and deeper into the labyrinthine passages. Many artists have depicted Theseus killing the Minotaur with his sword or club, but it is hard to see how he could have concealed such bulky weapons in his clothing. More probable are the versions of the tale which have him coming upon the Minotaur as it slept and then, in properly heroic fashion, beating it to death with his bare fists. Then he followed the thread back to the entrance. Otherwise he would have died of starvation before making his escape. Theseus now eloped with Ariadne, pausing only long enough to put holes in the bottom of her father's ships so that he could not pursue. But Theseus soon abandoned the princess, either because he was bewitched by a god or because he had fallen in love with her sister Phaedra.

Some say that he left Ariadne on the island of Naxos, but others maintain that such was his haste that he left her on the small island of Dia, within sight of the harbor from which they had sailed. The deserted and pining Ariadne has been a favorite theme of artists down through the ages. As the ship bearing Theseus and his liberated fellow Athenians approached the promontory on which King Aegeus watched daily for his return, Theseus forgot the signal which he had prearranged with his father. The vessel's sails were to be black only if the expedition concluded as on all previous occasions, with the death of the hostages. In the exultation of triumph, or in anguish over the loss of Ariadne, Theseus neglected to hoist a sail of a different hue, and King Aegeus threw himself from the heights in despair. Theseus was now both king and bona fide hero, but this did not put an end to his adventuring. On one occasion he visited the Amazons, mythological warrior women who lived on the shores of the Black Sea. The Amazons were renowned horseback riders and especially skilled with the bow.

They lived apart from men and only met with them on occasion to produce children for their tribe. Some say that Theseus had encountered the Amazons before, on another post-Minotaur adventure in the company of Heracles. Heracles had been challenged to bring back the belt of the Amazon queen. The queen, for all her reputation of man-hating, had willingly given it to him. But the goddess Hera, who despised Heracles, stirred up trouble. A great battle ensued in which many Amazons were killed. Now Theseus visited the Amazons on his own. Their leader, fearless and hospitable, came aboard his ship with a gift. Theseus immediately put to sea and kidnapped her. Unfortunately, the dubious nature of this achievement was matched if not exceeded in another of the hero's quests. It was the custom in early Greek historical times for the younger sons of noble houses to embark, in the fine sailing months of autumn, upon the honorable occupation of piracy. When Theseus received word that one such pirate and his crew were making off with the royal Athenian herds at Marathon, he raced to the seaside plain. He grabbed the miscreant by the scruff and spun him around to give him what for.

But the moment king and pirate laid eyes upon one another, their enmity was forgotten. "You've caught me fair and square," said Peirithous, for this was the pirate's name, and he was of the royal house of the Thessalian Lapiths. "Name your punishment and it shall be done," said he, "for I like the looks of you." The admiration being mutual, Theseus named as penance an oath of perpetual friendship, and the two clasped hands upon it. And so, in the fullness of time, when Theseus decided to carry off young Helen of Sparta, Peirithous agreed to lend a hand. This was the same Helen whose face would "launch a thousand ships" when, as Helen of Troy, the lover and captive of the Trojan Paris, she caused the allies of her husband Menelaus to wage the Trojan War to bring her home. At the time of Theseus's contemplated abduction, however, she was a mere lass of thirteen. And Theseus, having succeeded in spiriting her off with Peirithous's assistance, left her with his mother for safekeeping while he went about his business and she grew of marriageable age.

But before this had come to pass she was rescued by her brothers, the hero twins, Castor and Pollux, whose conjoined starry constellation still brightens the night sky between fellow heroes Orion and Perseus. One day not long after this escapade, Peirithous drew Theseus aside and spoke to him earnestly. "Remember when I agreed to help you with Helen?" he inquired, "and you pledged to help me in turn in any little outing of a similar nature?" Theseus nodded and muttered yes. "Good," responded Peirithous. "Spoken like a true pal. Well, I've picked my little exploit. I've decided to make off with Persephone, wife of Hades, King of the Dead." Theseus was speechless at the very idea of this sacrilege, but a pledge is a pledge. And so the two set off for the Underworld via one of the convenient caverns leading thereto. And at length they fetched up before the throne of Hades. Lacking any false modesty, Peirithous boldly stated his business, adding that he was sure the god would concede that Persephone would be happier with himself. Hades feigned consent.

"Very well," he said. "If you love her that much and you're sure the feeling's mutual, you may have Persephone. But first, join me in a cordial. Please, take a seat." He gestured at a bench nearby, and the two heroes, little thinking it was bewitched, seated themselves upon it. And here they stuck like glue. Meanwhile, Hades loosed a flock of torments upon them in the form of serpents and Furies and the fangs of the hellhound Cerberus, not to mention the infamous water of Tartarus that recedes as parched lips draw near. And here the two heroes would be stuck today, were it not that Heracles happened to be passing by in furtherance of one of his Labors. Seeing his cousin Theseus's plight he freed him with one heroic yank, leaving only a small portion of his hindparts adhering to the bench. But Heracles couldn't or wouldn't free Peirithous. And so Theseus's pal pays for eternity the price of his heroic audacity.

Question: In Greek mythology, who slayed the half-man, half beast Minotaur, which was kept in a labyrinth on the island of Crete?
Answer: Theseus