Minotaur | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Other names | Asterion |
Abode | Labyrinth, Crete |
Genealogy | |
Parents | Cretan Bull and Pasiphaë |
Siblings | Acacallis, Ariadne, Androgeus, Glaucus, Deucalion, Phaedra, Xenodice and Catreus |
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur[b] (Ancient Greek: Μινώταυρος, Minṓtauros), also known as Asterion, is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man[4](p 34) or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "part man and part bull".[c] He dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction[d] designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus, upon command of King Minos of Crete. According to tradition, the people of Athens were compelled by King Minos to choose fourteen young noble citizens (seven men and seven women) to be offered as sacrificial victims to the Minotaur in retribution for the death of Minos' son Androgeos. The Minotaur was eventually slain by the Athenian hero Theseus, who managed to navigate the labyrinth with the help of a thread offered to him by the King's daughter, Ariadne.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha>
tags or {{efn}}
templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
template or {{notelist}}
template (see the help page).
© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search