Most people know the classical version of the myth of the Minotaur involving, the bull of Crete, Thesues and Diadalos’s labyrinth. There are, however, other versions of the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. In these, the Minotaur is not a mythical beast but a man
The Legend of the Minotaur
The most familiar version of the myth tells how King Minos of Crete, son of Zeus, was sent a white bull by his uncle, Poseidon. Poseidon’s intention was that Minos should sacrifice the bull to him. But the bull was too beautiful and so the king saved it for himself. In vengeance, Poseidon caused the king’s wife, Pasiphae to fall in love with the bull. She bribed the inventor Daidalos to construct a wooden model of a cow for her to hide inside and use to entice the animal. Her ruse worked and the result was the birth of the Minotaur, a monstrous half man, half bull.
The Minotaur, who was named Asterius or Asterion, was such a source of shame to his family that Minos had him shut up in a subterranean maze designed by Diadalos that was situated under his palace of knossos. Here, he lived off the blood of the king’s enemies.
Amongst those enemies were the people of Athens who Minos held responsible for the death of another of his sons, Androgeus, who was killed near the city by the same bull of Poseidon who had sired his half brother. In retribution for the death, Athens sent tribute of seven youths and seven maidens to Crete every nine years, for sacrifice in the labyrinth.
In order to stop the blood tribute, Thesues, son of Aegeus, King of Athens, chose to join the third shipment to Crete. On his arrival at the island, Ariadne, one of Mino’s daughters fell in love with him and agreed to help him kill the Minotaur, if he would marry her and take her back to Athens. She gave Thesues the key to the labyrinth, a magic ball of thread. When the end of the thread was tied to the lintel of the labyrinth door, it would unwind and guide the bearer to the centre of the maze. Thesues would find the Minotaur at the centre. He was to kill the creature with a sword as a sacrifice to Poseidon.
Thesues was successful in his task and he, Ariadne and the youths and maidens escaped Crete and set off back to Greece.
The Minotaur and Taurus
One alternative version of the myth suggests that the father of the Minotaur was no god but one of Mino’s general’s, a man named Tauros or Taurus. Taurus had an affair with Pasiphae. The resulting child was named Asterios but nicknamed Minatauros because of his resemblance to Minos. This child took to the mountains and became a wild man, living off wild animals and criminals until Thesues, with Mino’s blessing, took to the hills and killed him.
In another version, the labyrinth was a prison for youths and maidens who were to be sacrificed as part of Androgeus’s funeral games. Here, Tauros is actually the Minotaur by nature of his dominance of the games of the labyrinth. He remains the King’s general and Queen’s lover as well as undefeated champion of the games. In this version of the myth, Theseus challenges and, again with Mino’s blessing defeats him, ridding the king of a rival. In return, the tribute is cancelled and Ariadne is bestowed upon him with her father’s blessing.
The various myths could have underlying religious and historical inspiration.
Sources
The Greek Myths Volume I (1996) Robert Graves. The Folio Society: London.
Minoan Crete: From Myth to History (2001) Andonis Vasilakis. Adam editions: Athens
The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion (2003) Ed Simon Price and Emily Kearns. Oxford University Press: Oxford
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