Fear of Fate

Mythological Beasts

The Minotaur Story

Agamemon

The Gates of Hell

Bio

King Minos of Crete, living two generations before the Trojan War, broke a promise to the sea god Poseidon by keeping alive a white bull the god had given him to sacrifice. Poseidon sought revenge by having King Minos wife, Queen Pasiphae, fall in love with and cohabit with the bull. Their union spawned the Minotaur, half-bull, half-man.

Minos imprisoned the Minotaur in a great Labyrinth designed by the renowned sculptor and architect, Daedalus. When the once Minotaur escaped, Daedalus and his son Icarus were then imprisoned in the Labyrinth. Daedalus invented wings of wax to fly and escape. Icarus, wearing the wings, disobeyed his father, flew too close to the sun (Helios) and plunged to his death in the sea.

The Minotaur was recaptured and Ariadne helped Theseus, one of his intended victims, to kill the monster. Ariadne, the older daughter of Minos, provided Theseus with a ball of string to find his way back out of the Labyrinth, then fled with him on his ship. They stopped on the island of Naxos to spend the night, but, the next morning, Theseus abandoned her while she still slept on the shore.

Naxos was a favorite island of Bacchus, the god of wine, and he soon appeared and ravished her,