|
Historiae Romanorum
|
MinosA mythical king of Crete. It is from him the Minoan Civilization, once a great seafaring civilization, gets its name. His wife was Pasiphae, his daughter Ariadne. He, along with Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon, was the son of Zeus and Europa. Europa moved to Crete, and married the king Asterius. Later, the three fell into a quarrel over the love of a boy. Minos drove the other two from Crete. In order to gain the kingship of Crete, Minos asked the god Poseidon for a sign: a bull rising up from the water, which he would then sacrifice to Poseidon. Poseidon granted this request and sent a bull. Having seen the sign, the people of Crete then made Minos their new king. Seeing how great the bull was, Minos did not sacrifice it, but put it among his cattle and sacrificed a lesser bull. Angry, Poseidon decided to exact a revenge. He caused Minos' wife, Pasiphae, to fall in love with the bull he had sent. In order to facilitate a union, Pasiphae asked Daedalus, the famed architect, for help. He constructed for her the body of a cow, into which Pasiphae could climb. In this way, she was able to have intercourse with the bull, and become pregnant by it. Pasiphae named her child Asterius, but he would forever be known as the Minotaur (the bull of Minos). This is because he had the body of a man, but the head of the bull. Instructed by oracles not to kill the child, Minos had Daedalus construct a labyrinth to contain the Minotaur. Minos' son, Androgeus, was living in Athens. An outstanding athlete, he won every event at the Panathenaic Games. Out of jealousy, Aegeus and the Athenians killed him. Seeking revenge, Minos and his powerful navy attacked. Neither side could defeat the other, but eventually a plague forced the Athenians to sue for peace. Minos demanded that the Athenians send him fourteen youths, seven girls and seven boys, as food for the Minotaur. When the third group of Athenians were sent, Theseus, the son of Aegeus, was among them. Aided by Minos' daughter Ariadne, Theseus killed the Minotaur and fled with Ariadne. Ariadne had received advice from Daedalus, and so Minos decided to punish him. He imprisoned both Daedalus and his son Icarus in the labyrinth. Daedalus constructed wings for himself, however, and he and his son Icarus flew away. Minos pursued Daedalus, using a clever ruse. He went to each land, asking the king if he could thread a spiraled shell. He knew that only Daedalus was clever enough to achieve this. When Minos arrived in Crete, he once again asked this question. The king of Crete took the shell to Daedalus, who threaded it using an ant tied to the thread. Knowing Daedalus was there, Minos demanded him. The king agreed, and said he would send for Daedalus. The king betrayed Minos, however, and he was killed while taking a bath at the court. Source(s):
|
|
This page was last updated on July 21, 2004. |