Post by kartadolofonos on Dec 16, 2007 14:23:27 GMT -5
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (Greek: Ìéíüôáõñïò, Minótauros) was a creature that was said to be part man and part bull.[1] It dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction built for King Minos of Crete and designed by the architect Daedalus to hold the Minotaur. He and his son Icarus were ordered to build it.
A historical explanation of the myth refers to the time when Crete was the main political and cultural potency in the Aegean Sea. As the fledgling Athens (and probably other continental Greek cities) was under tribute to Crete, it can be assumed that such tribute included young men and women for sacrifice. This ceremony was performed by a priest disguised with a bull head or mask, thus explaining the imagery of the Minotaur. It may also be that this priest was son to Minos.
The historical site of Knossos is usually identified as the site of the labyrinth. The Minotaur was killed by Theseus.
"Minotaur" is Greek for "Bull of Minos". The bull was known in Crete as Asterion, a name shared with Minos's foster father.
The literary myth satisfied a Hellenic interpretation of Minoan myth and ritual. According to this, before Minos became king, he asked the Greek god Poseidon for a sign, to assure him that he, and not his brother, was to receive the throne (other accounts say that he boasted that the gods wanted him to be king). Poseidon agreed to send a white bull as a sign, on condition Minos would sacrifice the bull to the god in return. Indeed, a bull of unmatched beauty came out of the sea. King Minos, after seeing it, found it so beautiful that he instead sacrificed another bull, hoping that Poseidon would not notice. Poseidon was enraged when he realized what had been done, so he caused Minos's wife, Pasiphaë, to be overcome with a fit of madness in which she conceived a passion for the bull. Pasiphaë tried to seduce the bull without success, then she requested some help from Daedalus the greatest artificer from Crete. [Pasiphaë went to Daedalus for assistance, and Daedalus devised a way to satisfy her. He constructed a hollow wooden cow covered with cowhide for Pasiphaë to hide in and allow the bull to mount her. As a result of this union Pasiphaë gave birth to the Minotaur (the Bull of Minos), who some say bore the proper name Asterius (the "Starry One"). In some accounts, the white bull went on to become the Cretan Bull captured by Heracles as one of his labours.
The Minotaur, as the Greeks imagined him, had the body of a man and the head and tail of a bull.[2] Pasiphaë nursed him in his infancy, but he grew and became ferocious. Minos, after getting advice from the Oracle at Delphi, had Daedalus construct a gigantic labyrinth to hold the Minotaur. Its location was near Minos' palace in Knossos.
Now it happened that Androgeus, son of Minos, had been killed by the Athenians, who were jealous of the victories he had won at the Panathenaic festival. Others say he was killed at Marathon, Greece by the Cretan bull, his mother's former taurine lover, which Aegeus, king of Athens, had commanded him to slay. The common tradition is that Minos waged war to avenge the death of his son, and won. However, Catullus, in his account of the Minotaur's birth,[3] refers to another version in which Athens was "compelled by the cruel plague to pay penalties for the killing of Androgeon." In this version, the Athenians are made to ask Minos what they can do to stop a terrible plague that has come upon them, and he was thus given power to make demands of them. In either case, Minos required that seven Athenian youths and seven maidens, drawn by lots, be sent every ninth year (some accounts say every year) to be devoured by the Minotaur.
When the third sacrifice came round, Theseus volunteered to go to slay the monster. He promised to his father, Aegeus, that he would put up a white sail on his journey back home if he was successful. Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, fell in love with Theseus and helped him get out of the labyrinth. In most accounts she gives him a ball of thread, allowing him to retrace his path. Theseus killed the Minotaur and led the other Athenians back out of the labyrinth.[4]
Theseus took Ariadne with him from Crete, but abandoned her enroute to Athens (Generally this is said to happen on the island of Naxos). According to Homer, she was killed by Artemis upon the testimony of Dionysus. However, later sources report that Theseus abandoned her as she slept on the island of Naxos, and there became the bride of Dionysus.
Minos, angry that Theseus was able to escape, imprisoned Daedalus and his son Icarus in a tall tower. They were able to escape by building wings for themselves with the feathers of birds that flew by, but Icarus died during the escape as he flew too high (in hope of seeing Apollo in his sun chariot) and the wax that held the feathers in the wing melted in the heat of the sun.
Theseus was the son of Aegeus and Aethra, king and queen of Athens, thus he was the heir of the throne. Among his exploits were the slayings of Perphetes, savage and gigantic son of Hepahestus, and of Procrustes. he was an argonaut with Jason. The witch Medea tried to poison him, but failed. he freed the people of Athens from the tribute of young people to Crete, where they were eaten by the Minotaur. When he went on this adventure, he told his father that if he sailed home with a white sail, he was successful. If the ship came back with a black sail, he had failed and was dead. however, Theseus forgot to change the sail from black to white, so his father killed himself when he saw the black sail on the horizon. On his return trip, Theseus forgot to change the black sails of mourning for white sails of success, so his father, overcome with grief, leapt off the clifftop from which he had kept watch for his son's return every day since Theseus had departed into the sea. The name of the "Aegean" sea is said to derive from this event.Theseus became king of Athens.
A historical explanation of the myth refers to the time when Crete was the main political and cultural potency in the Aegean Sea. As the fledgling Athens (and probably other continental Greek cities) was under tribute to Crete, it can be assumed that such tribute included young men and women for sacrifice. This ceremony was performed by a priest disguised with a bull head or mask, thus explaining the imagery of the Minotaur. It may also be that this priest was son to Minos.
The historical site of Knossos is usually identified as the site of the labyrinth. The Minotaur was killed by Theseus.
"Minotaur" is Greek for "Bull of Minos". The bull was known in Crete as Asterion, a name shared with Minos's foster father.
The literary myth satisfied a Hellenic interpretation of Minoan myth and ritual. According to this, before Minos became king, he asked the Greek god Poseidon for a sign, to assure him that he, and not his brother, was to receive the throne (other accounts say that he boasted that the gods wanted him to be king). Poseidon agreed to send a white bull as a sign, on condition Minos would sacrifice the bull to the god in return. Indeed, a bull of unmatched beauty came out of the sea. King Minos, after seeing it, found it so beautiful that he instead sacrificed another bull, hoping that Poseidon would not notice. Poseidon was enraged when he realized what had been done, so he caused Minos's wife, Pasiphaë, to be overcome with a fit of madness in which she conceived a passion for the bull. Pasiphaë tried to seduce the bull without success, then she requested some help from Daedalus the greatest artificer from Crete. [Pasiphaë went to Daedalus for assistance, and Daedalus devised a way to satisfy her. He constructed a hollow wooden cow covered with cowhide for Pasiphaë to hide in and allow the bull to mount her. As a result of this union Pasiphaë gave birth to the Minotaur (the Bull of Minos), who some say bore the proper name Asterius (the "Starry One"). In some accounts, the white bull went on to become the Cretan Bull captured by Heracles as one of his labours.
The Minotaur, as the Greeks imagined him, had the body of a man and the head and tail of a bull.[2] Pasiphaë nursed him in his infancy, but he grew and became ferocious. Minos, after getting advice from the Oracle at Delphi, had Daedalus construct a gigantic labyrinth to hold the Minotaur. Its location was near Minos' palace in Knossos.
Now it happened that Androgeus, son of Minos, had been killed by the Athenians, who were jealous of the victories he had won at the Panathenaic festival. Others say he was killed at Marathon, Greece by the Cretan bull, his mother's former taurine lover, which Aegeus, king of Athens, had commanded him to slay. The common tradition is that Minos waged war to avenge the death of his son, and won. However, Catullus, in his account of the Minotaur's birth,[3] refers to another version in which Athens was "compelled by the cruel plague to pay penalties for the killing of Androgeon." In this version, the Athenians are made to ask Minos what they can do to stop a terrible plague that has come upon them, and he was thus given power to make demands of them. In either case, Minos required that seven Athenian youths and seven maidens, drawn by lots, be sent every ninth year (some accounts say every year) to be devoured by the Minotaur.
When the third sacrifice came round, Theseus volunteered to go to slay the monster. He promised to his father, Aegeus, that he would put up a white sail on his journey back home if he was successful. Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, fell in love with Theseus and helped him get out of the labyrinth. In most accounts she gives him a ball of thread, allowing him to retrace his path. Theseus killed the Minotaur and led the other Athenians back out of the labyrinth.[4]
Theseus took Ariadne with him from Crete, but abandoned her enroute to Athens (Generally this is said to happen on the island of Naxos). According to Homer, she was killed by Artemis upon the testimony of Dionysus. However, later sources report that Theseus abandoned her as she slept on the island of Naxos, and there became the bride of Dionysus.
Minos, angry that Theseus was able to escape, imprisoned Daedalus and his son Icarus in a tall tower. They were able to escape by building wings for themselves with the feathers of birds that flew by, but Icarus died during the escape as he flew too high (in hope of seeing Apollo in his sun chariot) and the wax that held the feathers in the wing melted in the heat of the sun.
Theseus was the son of Aegeus and Aethra, king and queen of Athens, thus he was the heir of the throne. Among his exploits were the slayings of Perphetes, savage and gigantic son of Hepahestus, and of Procrustes. he was an argonaut with Jason. The witch Medea tried to poison him, but failed. he freed the people of Athens from the tribute of young people to Crete, where they were eaten by the Minotaur. When he went on this adventure, he told his father that if he sailed home with a white sail, he was successful. If the ship came back with a black sail, he had failed and was dead. however, Theseus forgot to change the sail from black to white, so his father killed himself when he saw the black sail on the horizon. On his return trip, Theseus forgot to change the black sails of mourning for white sails of success, so his father, overcome with grief, leapt off the clifftop from which he had kept watch for his son's return every day since Theseus had departed into the sea. The name of the "Aegean" sea is said to derive from this event.Theseus became king of Athens.