Minotaur In Ancient Greek Mythology

King Minos had prayed to the god of the sea, Poseidon, for a magnificent gift and in return he received a pure white bull. But instead of sacrificing this beautiful creature back to Poseidon, Minos chose a different bull to die in its stead. Poseidon, who was angered by this, had Aphrodite, goddess of love, make Minos’ wife, Pasiphae, fall in love with the white bull. From this love came the Minotaur. This creature possessed the body of a man, the head of a bull, and a hunger for human flesh (Renault 1958). Minos trapped the Minotaur within a labyrinth where it survived on the flesh of those who entered the winding passageways of this

One may ask, who are the Minoans? Well they are considered by many Historians and Archeologists to be the first great European Civilization. Some people believed that this was the mythical land of Atlantis. They were located near the Aegean Sea and lands such as Greece, Troy and Asia Minor. One interesting fact is that these people never called themselves the Minoans. There wasn’t any name listed in the history books for these people but the Ancient Crete Civilization. They were known as the Crete Civilization because they lived on the island of Crete which is now part of Greece. It wasn’t until a 19th century British Archeologist, Sir Author Evans gave them the name, The Minoans. He gave them this name because he believed he had found the legendary palace of King Minos. There has been many civilization collapses over the World’s history, but most can be explained in great detail. There are some that are very mysterious and not definitively explained. The collapse of the Minoan people happens to be one of those mysterious collapses which ranks 3rd in the top ten most mysterious collapses of the world and is still to this day debated on what actually caused their demise. There are many factors that go into the collapse of a civilization, but this kind of catastrophe doesn’t just happen in a blink of an eye this is something that happens over a long period of time. This paper will touch on the climate and environment, the time period and culture, how they became

Ancient Greece became a very influential civilization. Founded by the Minoans who first moved to the island of Crete in around 2000 B.C and lasted to about 1400 B.C. The Minoans developed an advanced civilization and expressed their culture in their constructed palaces. Great monuments were reached at Greece’s Golden Age from around 500 B.C to 300 B.C. They created long lasting contributions in subjects such as Philosophy, Military, Health, and Government.

In the story between Theseus and the Minotaur, King Minos requested that seven boys and seven girls come to Crete from Athens every nine years so his son the Minotaur could feast (Gods, Heroes and Monsters, 4.11.). The Minotaur lived in the center of a very tricky maze called the labyrinth. Theseus didn’t like the idea of sending young children to Crete so he volunteered to go himself and defeat the Minotaur. Theseus says to his father “When it is time to send the next tribute, I will go as one of them and I vow that it is the last time the Minotaur will be fed with the flesh of any of our people (Myths and Legends, 2006)”. The bravery Theseus had to save his people is part of the reason why he is considered a mythological hero. He volunteered himself to defeat the creature not knowing if he was going to make it himself. He was confident and wise but the maze was confusing and anyone who goes in doesn’t necessary come back out. King Minos wasn’t worried because if he were to defeat his son, he wouldn’t find his way back out.

The Minotaur, meaning Minos bull, was “a monster of dire appearance, having the body of a powerful man and the head of a bull” (Seltman 98). Against his newfound father’s request, Theseus leaves Athens in hopes of returning victorious against the bull-headed beast. In a heroic fashion, Theseus leaps over the next step in Campbell’s hero journey and never refuses his call to adventure. The next step to any hero’s journey is an encounter with a super natural aid, but Theseus’ story takes a moral mentor to gather resources needed for the rest of his journey (Robertson 269). Theseus encounters his unlikely mentor upon arriving to Crete; Minos daughter, Ariadne, instructs Theseus to take a ball of linen with him into the labyrinth in order to trace back his steps after defeating the Minotaur (Martin 129). Crossing the threshold, Theseus ties one end of his ball of linen to the front door and journeys into the unconquerable maze and towards the beast (129). Theseus passes through his first trial of navigating the labyrinth inwards with ease straight into danger. Walking

The Minoan civilisation originated on the eastern Mediterranean island of Crete and was named by Sir Arthur Evans (1851-1941) after King Minos. The society saw the gradual development of a culture that was rich in artistic and technological achievement and whose influence reached far across the Mediterranean. The relationship between Thera and Minoan civilisation was shown through the similarities of their architecture, pottery, writings, frescoes, religion and

When looking at the architectural plans of the palace there appears to be no logical order to its arrangement. With no central axis, the rooms seem as if they were placed in random spots making the navigation of the palace confusing. The maze-like design of the complex (Fig. 7) lead Evans to think the palace complex was the labyrinth. When examining the ground floor of the palace, Evans discovered a meander pattern decorating the floor. The pattern only ran in one direction, towards the center of the palace. The center was an open courtyard where the ritual sport of bull leaping most likely took place. The myth states that the battle of Theseus and the Minotaur took place in the center of the Labyrinth, making a connection the central court of Minos’ palace. “The labyrinth, whose linear form is the meander [pattern], represents a difficult passage; it was confusing [and] hard to follow… but eventually lead back to the

The Minotaur, half man half bull, lived in Crete. Trapped in a labyrinth, constructed by the great Daedalus, the king of Crete, King Minos, demanded a tribute of seven boys and seven girls from Athens to satisfy the Minotaur’s savage hunger. But one year, Minos was deceived, for a new hero arose, Theseus, son of Aegeus, Prince of Athens. He won over the heart of Minos’s daughter, Ariadne, and used her ball of string to venture into the labyrinth to slay the Minotaur. After a hard-fought grapple within the lair of the minotaur, the beast fell to the sword of Aegeus, which Theseus had smuggled into the maze. Using the string, he found his way back out. The Labyrinth went underground, void of life, never to be seen again.

Civilization flourished during the Neolithic period (7,000-3,000 BCE) (Orfeas Organisation-Greece, n.d.). The Bronze Age (3,000-1,100 BCE.), “saw major advances in social, economic, and technological advances that made Greece the hub of activity in the Mediterranean” (History of Greece: Bronze Age, n.d.). During this time period, there were three different civilizations that identified people at this time. These three civilizations were called the Cycladic civilization which was developed in the Aegean Islands; the Minoans which occupied Crete; and the Helladic which was the civilization of the Greek midland (History of Greece: Bronze Age, n.d.). The Helladic civilization was also called the “Age of Hero’s”, during the Mycenaean era. The Helladic civilization was the source of the mythological heroes such as Hercules, and epics such as the Odyssey (History of Greece: Bronze Age, n.d.). The considered first most advanced civilization in Europe was the Minoans (History of Greece: Bronze Age, n.d.). The Mycenaean philosophy (para. 2) “had a great deal of influence with its legends and Greek language on what later became the splendor of Classical Greece” (History of Greece: Bronze Age, n.d.). The culture that outlasted the Cyclades and the Minoans where the Mycenaeans. They had lengthened their impact over the mainland, Aegean Islands, Crete and the shore of Asia Minor by the end of the 10th c.

Overall, I enjoyed the reading. I admire how the author put his readers into a different perspective on this Greek myth. To see how the minotaur lived in the labyrinth before Theseus came

The Minoans were a civilization who flourished from 3000 BCE until 1100 BCE on the island of Crete, were greatly influenced by the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Syrians and the Anatolians (Britannica Encyclopedia). This civilization made major contributions to Western European development in the areas of language, architecture and art. It was the famous archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans who made the astounding discoveries at Knossos in the early 1900’s that introduced to the world the fascinating and wonderful sophistication of these early Greeks (Britannica Encyclopedia). The history of the island has been molded by its proximity to the Aegean Sea. Its geographical location gave it control over the sea and the lucrative trade routes. The Minoans traded with Egypt, the Levant, the Aegean, and beyond to Italy, and Sicily.

Several monsters such as the Minotaur, Medusa, and centaurs appear to be partially human. These monsters have human characteristics because the gods decided to create them that way. The Minotaur has the head of a bull with the body of a man. He was born as the offspring of Minos’ wife and a beautiful white bull sent by Poseidon (Hamilton 157). Poseidon forced Minos’ wife to love the bull. Their offspring was the

In Greek Mythology, a demi-god is a half man, half-deity who possess god-like powers and abilities but can die. Among the demi-gods of Greece, Theseus, the son of Poseidon and Aethra, is the best example of a demigod because of his undying love for his mother, his god-like intelligence, and his dedication to save the people of Athens by killing the Minotaur. In the myth, Theseus’ love for his mother was very strong as he willingly sacrificed his life to keep her and the youths of Athens safe from Crete. King Minos, the King of Crete, threatened to make Aethra, Theseus mother, his slave and condemn seven male and seven female youths of Athens to death every nine years.

The Minotaur is a troubled creature whose sole job is to kill and torture. The acts of inhumanity he participates in can be seen as barbaric and gruesome. There are many people in this world who commit such heinous crimes. Crimes like rape, murder, and any crime against a child. All of these crimes are committed because someone had to face a decision.

the animals, and the 50/50 body composition of the animals-Minotaur is half human and half