An abandoned stone quarry on the Greek island of Crete, consisting of an intricate network of underground tunnels, may well turn out to be the legendary labyrinth of the Minotaur, the same monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man from ancient myths. According to legends, criminals were regularly brought to the Minotaur to devour. In addition, every nine years, seven Athenian youths and seven Athenian girls, sent by the Greeks as tribute to the king, were given to him to be devoured...

In the summer of 2009, an Anglo-Greek team of archaeologists carefully examined a quarry located near the ruins of the city of Gortyn in the south of the island. Scientists have concluded that these underground tunnels have much more reason to be called the labyrinth of the Minotaur than the Minoan palace at Knossos, located about 30 kilometers from the quarry.

Where did the Minotaur live?

For the last century - since archaeologists began to study Knossos - the myth of the Minotaur has been firmly associated only with the Palace of Knossos. Every year about 600 thousand tourists came there, to whom the guides told that the legendary King Minos once lived in the palace. It was on his orders that the labyrinth was built - a refuge for the Minotaur, the son of his wife Pasiphae and the bull.

However, historians now believe that the network of caves near Gortyna, the ancient Roman capital on Crete, has an equal chance with Knossos to be considered a contender for the title of Labyrinth. At least if we take seriously the idea that the myth of the Minotaur is about a real place and a real king.

Geographer Nicholas Howarth of Oxford, who led the expedition, said the connection between Gortyna and the Labyrinth may have been forgotten thanks to the famous theories of Sir Arthur Evans, the English archaeologist who excavated Knossos between 1900 and 1935 and developed the concept of the Minoan civilization.

Theseus's fight with the Minotaur, antique ceramics. OK. 500-450 BC e.

“People come to Knossos not only to see the remains of the ancient city excavated and restored by Evan, but also in search of the connection of this place with the mythical Age of Heroes. It is a shame that most visitors to Knossos have never even heard of other possible locations for the Labyrinth,” Howarth said.

Cave labyrinth of Gortyna

Researchers from Oxford worked together with specialists from the Hellenic Speleological Society. They discovered that black archaeologists had already been here before them, who wanted to blow up one of the caves in the hope of finding a hidden treasure room.

The caves are a 4-kilometer-long network of tunnels that run through large caverns and often end in dead-end rooms. Curious travelers have come to this labyrinth since the Middle Ages. But when archaeologists discovered Knossos at the end of the 19th century, the caves were abandoned. During World War II, the Nazis had an ammunition depot there.

According to Nicholas Howarth, when you enter these caves at Gortyna, you immediately feel that this is a dark and dangerous place where it is easy to get lost. Therefore, he is skeptical of Evans' hypothesis that the Palace of Knossos is the same Labyrinth. His considerable authority in scientific circles undoubtedly played a role in the stability of the English archaeologist’s version.

Third Labyrinth

In addition to Knossos and Gortyna, there is also a third possible location of the Labyrinth - a cave complex on the territory of mainland Greece in Skotino. According to Howarth, based on archaeological evidence, it would be very difficult to argue that the Labyrinth ever existed. All three of the above places can lay claim to the title of Labyrinth. But for now, the answer to the question: was the labyrinth fiction or reality remains open.

In ancient Greek literature, the legend of the Minotaur is one of the most famous and popular stories. This is the name of a bloodthirsty monster with a bull's head and a human body. It is unknown whether the events described above occurred. But the ruins of the Palace in which the Minotaur lived have been preserved. The main characters of the myth are depicted in numerous paintings, in the form of sculptures, depicted on vases, and literary works are dedicated to them. In Crete there are coins depicting the structure of the man-monster's dwelling. The myth of the Minotaur and his abode is evidence of the veneration of bulls on the island and the complex architecture of Cretan palaces.

Misdemeanor of Minos

According to ancient mythology, Asterion was one of the kings on the island of Crete. He married a charming woman, the beautiful Europe. Even before her marriage to Asterion, she was kidnapped by the mighty Zeus, one of the gods of Ancient Greece. As a result of her connection with Zeus, Europe became the mother of three beautiful young men: Minos, Rhadamanthus and Sapedon. Asterion had no children and adopted the sons of Europa and Zeus. It just so happened that the king died without having time to leave a will, which of his 3 sons would become the ruler of the island.

In the struggle for the right to take a place on the throne, Minos had an advantage, because the meaning of his name was “king”. He was supposed to become the next ruler of the island of Crete, but the task of taking the throne was not so easy. He needed to prove his right to his brothers.

Minos was confident in the support of the gods and said: with the help of prayers, he could persuade the inhabitants of Olympus to do whatever he wished.

Once again, making a sacrifice to the ruler of the seas, Poseidon, Minos prayed that a bull would emerge from the depths of the sea. The ruler promised to give the animal to Poseidon as a sacrifice. In response, Poseidon created a magnificent huge white handsome bull. After this incident, Minos took his place on the throne. Until now, no one had dared to challenge the gods, especially the mighty Poseidon, ruler of all the seas. The Minos brothers were expelled from the island of Crete.

Everything would have been fine, but the king broke his oath to Poseidon. The animal was unusually beautiful, he took pity on it and sacrificed another, the most ordinary bull from his herd. Poseidon, noticing the substitution, became angry with the ruler and sent a curse on his wife Pasiphae: she was possessed by an irresistible passion for the sea animal he had created.

Pasiphae and the bull

Queen Pasiphae, being in the passion that gripped her, could not understand how to reunite with the animal. She turned to the famous Athenian architect and inventor Daedalus for help. He heeded the queen's requests.

A talented inventor made a wooden cow, empty inside. On the outside, Daedalus covered it with real skin, and hid wheels in the cow’s hooves so that he could move it. When the cow was completely ready, he helped Pasiphae climb inside his invention and took the cow to the meadow where the handsome bull was.

As a result of the queen’s connection with the animal, after the allotted time, she had a son. It was an unusual child with the body of a man and the head of a bull. The queen gave him the name Asterius and took care of him while he was little. The birth of a man with an animal form served as a punishment for King Minos. He knew that he came from “unusual” parents: his wife and an animal that he did not want to sacrifice.

Asterius grew and soon turned into a creepy and terrible monster, which was not suitable for ordinary food, he wanted the blood and meat of people. Minos, after consulting with the Delphic oracle, ordered the architect Daedalus to start building a complex labyrinth as a home for Asterius. The labyrinth was unusual: anyone who went there could not return. The Minotaur lived inside him for the rest of his life.

Tribute to the Monster

Minos knew about Asterius's bloodthirstiness and made sure that people were regularly brought to him to serve as food. These were criminals who were sentenced to death. A man trapped in a labyrinth could not find a way out and was eaten by a monster.

At the same time, sports competitions were held in Athens. The son of Minos took part in them, his name was Androgeus. He became the winner, after which he died soon after. There are 2 versions about how Androgey died.

1. The people of Athens decided to kill him because they were jealous of his victories in competitions.
2. The king of Athens did not like the fact that Androgeus won, and he sent him to fight with an animal that no one had yet been able to defeat. In this duel Androgey laid down his head.

The ruler of the island of Crete, Minos, upon learning of the death of his son, fell into a rage. Androgeus was his only heir who was of human origin. He persecuted the inhabitants of Athens until they gave in to his demand to pay tribute every 9 years: to send 7 girls and 7 boys to the island of Crete as food for the Minotaur.

The most beautiful young people were chosen as victims. As a result of the murder of Androgeus, Athens suffered a terrible plague. King Aegeus turned to the Delphic oracle for advice, and he said: the only thing that could save them was tribute to King Minos. The people of Athens were forced to agree.

Defeating the Monster

Every 9 years, a ship with black sails fluttering left Athens. Girls and boys went on it to the terrible monster. Having learned about the Minotaur and the fate prepared for the victims, Theseus, the son of the ruler of Athens, decided to fight the terrible creature that brought so much grief to the Athenians. Theseus convinced his father that he would replace one of the young men and go to the monster’s lair. If he manages to win, then upon his return the ship will raise white sails. If it fails, the sails on the ship will remain black.

Upon the ship's arrival on the island, the girls and boys were sent to Minos. The ruler's daughter, Ariadne, fell in love with Theseus and gave him a ball of thread before he entered the labyrinth. The young man tied the end of the thread to the doors at the entrance. The magic ball, falling to the ground, became a guide for Theseus. He led him to a monster that looked truly terrible.

There are several options for how Theseus won:

• one of the sources says that he was so strong that he killed the monster with a blow of his fist;
• another version says that Theseus was helped to win by the sword of his father Aegeus;
• the mythological creature was strangled in his sleep.

Theseus was the one who killed the Minotaur. Taking with him the young people destined for the monster, he led them out, winding the thread back into a ball. Theseus was the first to escape the labyrinth. Ariadne was waiting for him near the exit and was very happy that he was able to return alive.

Return of Theseus

Theseus, the rescued Athenians and Ariadne boarded a ship and sailed to Athens. Before their departure, they damaged all the ships standing on the shore, because they were afraid of pursuit.

Theseus, along with his companions, stopped on the shore of Naxos on the way to their homeland. Plunging into sleep, he saw the god of wine Dionysus. He said that Ariadne was destined to be his wife and should stay. Waking up, sad Theseus immediately continued on his way, leaving Ariadne on the shore of Naxos. He did not dare to contradict the will of the gods. Dionysus married Ariadne.

Tesseus's ship quickly cut through the waves and rushed home with all sails. The young man was so saddened by the loss of his beloved that he completely forgot about his promise to his father. His ship was returning under black sails.

Aegeus stood on a high black rock. He peered into the sea in anticipation of the return of the heir. A ship appeared on the horizon. The king was delighted at first, but soon he was able to clearly see the color of the sails - black. According to the agreement, the color of the sails indicated the death of Tesseus, and Aegeus, out of grief, threw himself from the cliff into the depths of the sea. Soon the waves carried his body, devoid of life, to the sea coast. The Aegean Sea was named after him.

Having landed on the shore, Theseus went to make a sacrifice in gratitude to the gods. After which he learned that he caused the death of his father because he forgot to replace the sails with white ones. Having buried his father, Theseus became the new ruler of Athens.

The myth of the bull-headed Minotaur, who lives in a labyrinth and devours people, and of the brave Theseus, who defeated the monster and emerged unharmed from the labyrinth with the help of Ariadne’s thread.

Meaning of the name Minotaur

In Greek mythology, the Minotaur was a monster with the body of a man and the head and tail of a bull. The Minotaur was the fruit of the love of the Cretan queen Pasiphae, the wife of King Minos, and a bull sent by Poseidon himself. Due to the terrible appearance of the Minotaur, King Minos ordered the master Daedalus and his son Icarus to build a huge labyrinth in which the monster would hide from people. The Minotaur lived in a labyrinth, and the Athenians, as a ransom for the murdered son of Minos, had to annually send young men and women to be devoured by the monster. The Athenian hero Theseus managed to kill him.

The word Minotaur is made up of the ancient Greek name "Minos" and the noun "bull". Thus it means "bull of Minos." The Minotaur's real name was Asterius, from the ancient Greek "Asterion", meaning the bull constellation Taurus.

King Minos and the bull from the sea

King Minos was one of three sons from the union of the god Zeus and Europa. Zeus took on different forms: snake, bull, eagle, swan. When he was in the form of a bull, he seduced Europe. Asterion, the king of Crete, took Europa as his wife along with the sons of Zeus and raised the boys as his own. When Asterion died, he did not have time to bequeath which of his sons should reign on the throne: Minos, Sarpedon or Rhadamanthus. The name Minos actually means king, and he was destined to become the king of Crete. But Minos' rise to power was difficult, as he had to get ahead of his brothers' rivals. Minos claimed that he was chosen by the gods to rule and had their support. He boasted that he could prove it and prayed to the gods. One fine day, Minos prayed and promised that he would sacrifice a bull. Poseidon sent him a magnificent bull from the sea, which confirmed Minos' claim to kingship. No one dared to challenge the favor of the gods, and especially the mighty Poseidon, who rules all the seas. Minos expelled his brothers from Crete and took the throne. The three brothers united again in the afterlife, becoming judges in Hell. Their task became to judge the dead and determine their placement in hell based on their merits during life.

King Minos did not fulfill his promise to sacrifice the bull sent by Poseidon to the gods, but sacrificed an ordinary bull. He kept the majestic bull with him. For his arrogance, Poseidon punished him by instilling in the wife of King Minos Pasiphae a passion for a bull that came out of the sea. According to another version, Poseidon, outraged by the arrogance and disrespect of Minos, went to Aphrodite, and she cursed Pasiphae, rewarding her with a passion for a bull.

Pasiphae and the birth of the Minotaur

Queen Pasiphae of Crete, suffering from a passion for a bull, turned to the master Daedalus and his son Icarus for help. Daedalus built her a wooden cow, which he covered with the skin of a real cow, and attached wheels to it. Queen Pasiphae climbed inside a wooden cow and was taken to a meadow where the bull was grazing. There she united with a bull, and from this union the Minotaur, a man with the head and tail of a bull, was born. The queen named him Asterius (from the constellation of the bull Taurus). As the boy began to grow up, horns grew on his head and his face turned into a bull's muzzle. Seeing this, Minos realized that he was punished by the gods through the fate of his wife, but he left Pasiphae, and made Daedalus and Icarus slaves for their help to the queen. When Asterius grew up, Pasiphae was no longer able to feed him; he needed another source of food, since he was neither a man nor a beast. He started eating people. On the advice of the oracle, King Minos had to hide it from people. He ordered Daedalus and Icarus to build a huge labyrinth, placed his son in it and named him the Minotaur.

Death of Androgeus and tribute from the Athenians

While the labyrinth was being built, Minos learned that his and Pasiphae’s son, Androgeus, had been killed by the Athenians. Minos blamed the Athenians for the death of his only son and the destruction of his family line. He began to pursue them until they agreed to pay tribute for the death of their son. Minos demanded that the Athenians annually send seven girls and seven boys as tribute, who would be sent into the labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur. Some sources say that the most beautiful men and only virgin girls were selected. The murder of Androgeus sent a cruel plague to Athens. After consulting the Delphic Oracle, the Athenian king Aegeus learned that only by sending tribute to Minos to Crete could Athens be saved. Then the Athenians agreed.

Death of the Minotaur

The son of King Aegean, Theseus, voluntarily asked for the third batch of tribute. He assured his father and all of Athens that he would kill the Minotaur. The young man promised that on the way home he would raise white sails if he became the winner, and if the monster killed him, the crew would return under black sails. When Theseus arrived in Crete, he immediately attracted the attention of the Minotaur's half-sister Ariadne, daughter of King Minos and Phaedra. Ariadne fell in love with Theseus and rushed to Daedalus so that he could tell her how to get out of the labyrinth. Following Daedalus' instructions, she handed Theseus a ball of long thread before he entered the labyrinth. Theseus tied the end of Ariadne's thread to the front door and went into the labyrinth. He found the Minotaur in the far corner and defeated him in battle. According to some versions, he killed him with his fist, according to others, with the sword of Aegeus. Thanks to Ariadne's gift, Theseus and the other victims were able to escape from the labyrinth. Theseus simply followed Ariadne's thread until he came to the door. Fearing the wrath of Minos, Theseus, along with other Athenians, Ariadne and Phaedra, quickly sailed to Athens.

The way home

Theseus left Ariadne on the island of Naxos on his way home. The god Dionysus forced Theseus to abandon Ariadne because he liked her. As a result, Ariadne became the wife of Dionysus, and Theseus sailed home, and, saddened, forgot to change the sails to white. Theseus's father, King Aegeus, seeing the black sails from afar, killed himself out of grief by jumping from a cliff into the sea. Theseus became the new king of Athens, and named the Aegean Sea after his father.

Depictions of myth in art

The myth of Theseus and the Minotaur was widely reflected in images on ancient ceramics. Most scenes show Theseus fighting the Minotaur. The myth itself embodied the struggle between human and non-human, natural and unnatural. There are Cretan coins whose reverse side depicts the construction of a labyrinth. The myth of the labyrinth and the Minotaur testifies to the veneration of bulls in Crete and the architectural complexity of Cretan palaces.

The culture of Ancient Greece contains many fascinating stories, unique stories and instructive legends. The truthfulness and reliability of the ancient legend about the murder of the Minotaur does not have specific written confirmation. However, the ruins of the monster’s former palace have been preserved; they are more than 4 thousand years old. This place is of great interest to people who want to touch the mysterious story of liberation, love and grief.

Origin of the monster

The Minotaur is described as a monster more than 2 m tall. It has the head of a bull and a human body. He ate human flesh.

The myth of the Minotaur tells that his parents are not ordinary mortals. Mother Pasiphae, daughter of Helios and queen of the island of Crete (she is often confused with Pasithea, but she was a Nereid, and these are different characters), father is a bull (according to some legends, Poseidon himself became it). Pasiphae was the wife of Minos, son of Zeus and Europa, who fought with his brothers Rhadamanthus and Sapedon for the throne. Minos asked the gods for help, promising to present them with a generous sacrifice in return. Everything worked out as Minos wished, he confirmed his intentions and ascended to the kingdom.

Legend has it that Poseidon sent the king a strong bull to sacrifice, which came straight out of the sea waters. But the son of Zeus did not keep his promise. The bull turned out to be very beautiful, so he decided to trick Poseidon and replaced the donated animal with an ordinary one.

However, it was impossible to deceive the gods, so Poseidon became aware of Minos' cunning. For this he decided to punish him. inspired Pasiphae, the wife of Minos, with an irresistible desire for the bull. For copulation with a bull, a special design similar to a cow was invented. It was empty from the inside, so the girl could easily fit in it.

Pasiphae seduced the bull and after a while gave birth to an unusual man. The boy was named Asterius, which means “starry.” Initially, the child was no different from others. But as he grew, his body began to change, turning him into a monster.

Minos did not condemn his wife, because he understood that everything that happened was his fault. But he didn’t want to see the child either. And then Daedalus and Icarus came to his aid. He set them the task of building a structure where they could contain a monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man. They created the Knossos labyrinth.

Knowing the bloodthirstiness of the beast, the king sent those sentenced to death for any crimes to Cross. But after the inhabitants of Athens killed Androgeus, the son of the king of Crete, he demanded payment from the inhabitants of the capital in revenge. Therefore, any mention of a bull caused a feeling of fear among the inhabitants of ancient Athens. To meet the needs of the animal, it is necessary:

1. Pay tribute every 9 years.
2. Choose 7 girls and 7 boys and send them into the labyrinth. Their origin did not play any role.

The Story of Theseus

Theseus is the same hero who killed the Minotaur. He is one of 14 victims who were sent as tribute to the monster. He was born and lived in the royal chambers. The young hero came from the family of Aegeus, who ruled in Athens. His mother's name was Erfa, she was the princess of Tezera.

Aegeus was not involved in raising Theseus; he was constantly away from his family. For a long time the young man lived with his mother in her homeland. Before leaving his family and leaving for Athens, Aegeus hid the sword and sandals - it was a kind of gift to Theseus. Wanting to see his parent, a sixteen-year-old young man leaves his monastery (Tezera lands) and goes to Athens. Along the way he performs various feats.

Defeating the Minotaur

Theseus had to visit the home of the Minotaur, so he was determined to complete the monstrous string of human sacrifices so that people who lived in constant fear for their children could breathe freely.

One fact contributed to the success of the operation. Minos gave birth to more children, and he had a daughter, Ariadne. Seeing the young man, the girl fell in love, the feeling turned out to be mutual, so they began a strong relationship. She knew that danger awaited the son of the Athenian king in the labyrinth, so she gave her beloved a magic thread. She helped any traveler find the right way out. Knowing this, Ariadne gave it to Theseus so that he could navigate while inside the labyrinth.

Theseus did everything as the girl taught him. He took the end of the thread and tied it to the door, and to indicate the way, he let the ball fall to the floor, followed it and reached the beast’s lair. Entering it, he found a sleeping monster. There are 3 versions of how the young man defeated the Minotaur.

1. Strangled him with his bare hands.
2. Killed the beast with one blow of his fist.
3. He killed him with a sword that was left to him by his father.

Having learned the news that the son of Aegeus had killed the Minotaur and emerged from the place where the beast was imprisoned, people rejoiced. The winner understood that he simply could no longer exist without his beautiful beloved Ariadne. Therefore, leaving the island, he kidnapped the girl.

On the way, the girl dies in the depths of the sea. People assumed that this was the work of Poseidon, who in this way decided to take revenge on Theseus for the murder of the Minotaur. The son of Aegeus was so saddened by the news of the girl’s death that he forgot to change the flag from black to white. As a sign of successful completion of the case.

As soon as King Aegeus saw the black sign, he concluded that his son had lost the fight with the monster and died. Therefore, without waiting for anyone, he rushed into the depths of the sea and drowned. In memory of this, the sea was named Aegean.

After the young man dealt with the monster, no man set foot in the labyrinth. People remembered all the horror and fear caused by the Minotaur.

Rationalistic versions of the myth

Author	Content
Philochorus and Eusebius	Ancient stories described a slightly different version of the appearance of the Cretan Minotaur. In their writings they indicated that the birth of a man with a bull's head was an allegory. According to them, the Minotaur was an ordinary person, whose original name was Taurus. His homeland is the island of Crete, where he served under King Minos. Taurus was famous for its particular cruelty. Athens was under the rule of the islanders, so they had to pay tribute not only in gold, but also in people. King Minos decided to hold a competition where Taurus had to fight with the strongest Athenian youths. The myth says that Theseus also appeared among the young men and was able to defeat Taurus. In honor of this, the inhabitants of Athens were exempt from paying taxes.
Plutarch	The author pointed out that the labyrinth of Daedalus, which was called Knossos, was an average prison. Every year the Cretan king held competitions in honor of his deceased son Androgeus. The winner received Athenian slaves into his own possession. But before that they were kept within the walls of the labyrinth. According to myths, Taurus was the first to win the competition. But he was known to be a cruel and rude master. To protect his people, Theseus went out to duel with him.
Daemon	According to this, Taurus is a famous Cretan commander who served King Minos. He and his warriors entered into battle with Theseus's fleet, but were defeated. In this battle he died at the hands of the son of Aegeus.

Modern historians believe that the legend of the Minotaur carries a metaphor about the clash and struggle of the inhabitants of the mainland with the “peoples of the sea”, who revered bulls.

The image of the Minotaur in other works

Authors of literary works often take as a basis. It is rich in colorful and original characters. The Minotaur is one of those. In literature, the image of a beast that looks like a man with the head of a bull can be found in the works:

• "House of Asteria"
• "Labyrinth of the Minotaur."
• "The Divine Comedy".
• "Helm of Terror. Creatiff about Theseus and the Minotaur."