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What is the Minotaur?
The Minotaur is a creature from Greek
mythology that had the head of a bull
and the body of a man. As the legend explains,
King Minos of Crete received a beautiful
bull from the god Poseidon, which he was
meant to sacrifice to the God who gave
it to him. Enamored with the bull's beauty,
Minos sacrificed a different bull instead.
As a punishment, the goddess Aphrodite
made Minos' wife fall in love with the
bull, and she bore the bull what became
the Minotaur.
According to Greek mythology, the Minotaur
was housed in an enormous labyrinth that
Minos had constructed once the Minotaur
grew up and became ferocious. Fourteen
young Athenians, seven of each sex, were
said to be sent into the labyrinth at
intervals as sacrifices to and fodder
for the Minotaur. The Minotaur was slain
by the hero Theseus, who used a ball of
string given to him by his lover, Ariadne,
to guide himself and the sacrificial Athenians
from the labyrinth.
Despite the Minotaur's origin in a single
myth, it has more recently come to be
the inspiration behind minotaurs, a species
of creatures designed in the Minotaur's
likeness and popular in more modern fiction.
Foreign Names for the Minotaur
Afrikaans: Minotourus
Albanian: Minotauri
Azerbaijani: Minotavr
Basque: Minotauro
Breton: Minotaoros
Catalan: Minotaure
Corsican: Minotauru
Czech: Mínotaurus
Danish: Minotauros
Dutch: Minotaurus
Esperanto: Minotauro
Estonian: Minotauros
Finnish: Minotauros
French: Minotaure
Galician: Minotauro
German: Minotauros
Greek: Minotauros
Hungarian: Minótaurosz
Irish: Míonótár
Italian: Minotauro
Latin: Minotaurus
Lithuanian: Minotauras
Luxembourgish: Minotauros
Norwegian: Minotauros
Portuguese: Minotauro
Slovak: Minótauros
Slovenian: Minotaver
Spanish: Minotauro
Swedish: Minotauros
Tagalog: Minotauro
Turkish: Minotor
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Other Names: Asterion, the Minotauros,
Minos' bull
History: It is unknown exactly
when the myth of the Minotaur arose, as
it was likely spread by oral tradition
long before it was written down. The first
literary reference to the Minotaur was
written, at the latest, by the seventh
or eighth century, BCE. Since then, the
Minotaur has been a recurring subject
in classical art and literature, both
in reference and as the major subject
of a work. The Minotaur remains present
in much more modern art and literature.
Iconic Symbols: The Minotaur tends
to be associated with significant symbols
from the folklore surrounding it. It is
most widely associated with the labyrinth
given that it lived in the Cretan labyrinth.
The Minotaur is also associated with the
sword of Aegeus, with which Theseus slayed
it. It may also be associated with Ariadne's
thread, which she gave to Theseus to help
him escape the labyrinth after slaying
the Minotaur.
Meanings: The Minotaur, as the
result of a union of human and beast,
represents the meeting of opposites. Because
the Minotaur has the body of a human but
the head of a beast, it also represents
the governing of humans by their bestial
instincts. By extension, the Minotaur
also represents these instincts within
all humans.
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