Walls+-+Minotaur

=THE MINOTAUR=



==In Greek Mythology, the Minotaur was a man with the head of a bull (see depiction above). He is known in this current day and age thanks to the Roman poet, [|Ovid] and The Heroides. It is said that the Minotaur was kept in a Labyrinth, created by Icarus and Daedalus, where people were brought to be his food. Later, the Minotaur was killed by Theseus.==

Birth:
King Minos wanted to rule Crete. So Minos prayed to Poseidon for a white bull, so tat Minos could kill the bull and demonstrate his loyalty to Poseidon Minos kept the white bull, also known as the Cretan Bull, because he thought it was beautiful. Instead, Minos decided to sacrifice another bull. Aphrodite punished Minos for this by making Minos's wife Pasiphae fall in love with the white bull. Pasiphae came to Daedalus the craftmaker and ased his to make a hollowed-out wooden cow. She climbed into the hollowed-out wooden cow and mated with the white bull. Their offspring was the Minotaur.

The Story of Theseus and the Minotaur's Death:
Tradition has it that Minos's son, Androgeus, was killed by the Atheninan's during the Panathenaic Games, a festival and series of athletic competition similiar to the Olympics. Minos went to war with Athens and won. The avenge his son's death Minos began bringing women and children by boat to the Minotaur's labyrinth to be eaten. Theseus volunteered to go as a sacrifice in attempt to slay the Minotaur. He told his father that he place a white sail on his boat to signify success in killing the Minotaur or a black sail to signify his death. Minos's daughter, Adriadne helped Theseus by giving him a ball of twine so that once he killed the Minotaur, he and others could find their way out of the maze. Theseus found the Minotaur and they fought. A fight followed, with Theseus being the victor. A link to a short video depiciting the battle can be found below.

[]

In Contemporary Culture:
There have been Horror Films such as Minotaur (2006) loosely based on the story of the Minotaur. There is also a rock band named Mintaur. They are a metal rock group.

Works Cited

Linddemans, Micha F. "Minotaur." //Encyclopedia Mythica: Mythology, Folklore, and Religion.// MMIX Encyclopedia Mythica, 03 Mar. 1997. Web. 06 Jan. 2012. .

"Myth: Theseus and the Minotaur - Ancient Greece for Kids." //Ancient Greece for Kids - Myths, Gods, Wars, People, School, Pets, Vases, Columns, Democracy, Games, Geography, Ore//. Web. 06 Jan. 2012. .

Pictures // Minotaur1 //. Digital image. //The Oracle and The Muse//. Blogger, 18 Nov. 2010. Web. 6 Jan. 2012. .

Videos "Clash of the Gods." //Clash of the Gods//. The History Channel. H. //Youtube.com//. Google, 16 Nov. 2009. Web. 6 Jan. 2012. .