The Myth of Theseus and the Minotaur
Half-man, Half-bull, the Minotaur is Mythology’s Greatest Monster
Oct 9, 2009
The tale of Theseus and the Minotaur weaves together the ancient Greek kingdoms of Crete and Athens. Theseus, son of King Aegeus of Athens, slew the monster kept by the King of Crete.
Birth of the Minotaur
Poseidon, God of the Seas and brother to mighty Zeus, had given a beautiful white bull to Minos, King of Crete. Minos was to sacrifice the bull to Poseidon, but he did not because it was so beautiful. Angered, Poseidon caused Pasiphaë, the queen, to fall in love with the bull. The result of their union was a half-bull, half-man called the Minotaur. Although Pasiphaë cared for it when it was little, the beast soon became brutal and uncontrollable.
The Minotaur and the Maze
Minos asked Daedalus, the famous architect, to design a lair for the horrid monster. Daedalus designed and built a massive labyrinth near the royal palace at Knossos and the Minotaur went to live inside. The maze was so complex that no one could ever find their way through it.
Tribute: to Feed a Monster
Monsters need to eat, and Minos had a plan. He was at war with Athens and winning. As part of the terms of the peace between the two kingdoms, Minos demanded Athens provide seven young men and seven maidens every year. These young men and women were taken to Knossos and thrown in with the Monotaur. Between the might of the beast and the confusion of the maze, none of them ever made it out.
Theseus the Hero
By then, Theseus, son of King Aegeus of Athens, had made a name for himself as a great hero by killing all of the highwaymen on the roads around Athens. Theseus volunteered to be one of the seven youths sent that year to the Minotaur, and his father reluctantly agreed. When Theseus arrived in Crete, the daughter of Minos, Ariadne, fell in love with him.
Through the Minotaur’s Maze
Ariadne asked Dedalus to help Theseus. Dedalus told the young man that the only way to navigate the maze was to tie a thread to the door when he was let in and play it out as he went. Theseus did so, and found the Minotaur, slew the beast with his father’s sword, and led the surviving Athenians out by following the thread back to the exit.
Ariadne and Dionysus
Theseus had promised Ariadne that he would take her back to Athens with him after the Minotaur was dead. However, Dionysus, God of wine and revelry, fell in love with Ariadne and took her away. Theseus, upset by the kidnapping of his lover by a God, forgot to hoist white sails upon his return to Athens. This was supposed to tell his father that he was alive. Aegeus, thinking his son dead, threw himself off a wall. Theseus succeeded him as King of Athens, where he earned a reputation as a tough and ruthless ruler.
Some believe that the myth dates to the time when Athens was a vassal of Crete. Young men and women may well have been part of the tribute, and Cretan priests may have sacrificed them while wearing bull masks.
Source:
Hendricks, Rhoda A. Classical Gods and Heroes. New York: Morrow Quill Paperbacks, 1974.
More Monsters from Greek Legend:
Odysseus and Polyphemus the Cyclops
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