Knossos and the Minotaur
Crete and the Minoan city of Knossos have been immortalized by stories told in Greek mythology. Zeus, it is said, was born in Crete, on Mount Ida. He was born to Rhea, the Earth mother. He was raised in the Ideon cave on the island, hidden away from his father Cronus, whose reign was under threat by Zeus’ existence, so he had youthful guards to protect him, and was fed a diet of milk and honey by tending nymphs. Zeus had a son, Minos, and he became the King of Knossos, Crete. When Minos aspired to the throne Crete, He was rebuffed by the people. Minos claimed he had received the sovereignty as a gift from the gods. To prove this he told the people whatever he prayed to the gods for would be given. So when he was making sacrifice to Poseidon (god of the seas). He prayed for a bull to come from the depths of the sea. He promised Poseidon that he would return the bull by sacrificing it in Poseidon’s honour. And so Poseidon sent forth from the sea, a splendid bull. Minos seeing such a wonderful creature decided to keep the bull with his herds. And he sacrificed a different bull to Poseidon. This angered Poseidon, so he turned the bull wild. Poseidon also devised that Pasiphae (Minos' wife) should fall deeply in love with the bull. Such was her passion for the bull, Pasiphae asked Daidalus who was an architect, to help her. Daedalus built a wooden hollow cow. He then sewed together cow hides and covered the contraption with them, Pasiphae climbed inside and waited in the meadow where the wild bull grazed. The bull mounted the contraption with Pasiphae hidden inside as if it were a real cow. Pasiphae gave birth to The Minotaur’s proper name Asterion, "the starry one," suggests he was associated with the constellation Taurus. He had the face of a bull, but was otherwise human Following instructions from the oracle at Delphi, king Minos, kept the Minotaur confined and under guard in a labyrinth from which there was no escape after one entered, for it closed off its unperceivable exit with convoluted flexions. This was also designed and constructed by Daedalus. King Minos had a son, Androgeus, according to the myth; he was a strong, athletic youth. He was sent to represent Crete in the Athenian games and was successful in winning many events. The King of Athens murdered Androgeus out of jealousy. When Minos heard about the death of his son, he was enraged and deployed the mighty Cretan fleet. The fleet took Athens and instead of destroying the city, Minos decreed that every nine years Athens was obligated to send him seven young men and seven virgin women. King Minos threw them into a labyrinth where they were sacrificed to the Minotaur. Theseus, the Athenian King’s son, volunteered to be one of the seven sacrificial young men of the third tribute to the Minotaur’s with the intention of killing the Minotaur and ending the suffering of Athens. Ariadne, daughter of King Minos, fell in love with Theseus and pleaded with Daidalus to tell her the way out of the labyrinth. Following his instructions, Ariadne gave Theseus a ball of thread, as he entered. He fastened this to the door and let it trail behind. Theseus came across the Minotaur’s in the furthest section of the labyrinth, killed him with jabs of his fist, and then made his way out again by pulling himself along the thread. Theseus escaped the cruel bellowing of the wild son of Pasiphae and the coiled habitation of the crooked labyrinth. Killing the Minotaur ended the suffering of Athens. Theseus told his father if he succeeded in his mission of killing the Minotaur, on his return he would raise white sails instead of the black sails on his ship. But in the excitement of his victory, Theseus forgot to change the sails on the ship from black to white. The King of Athens looked for his sons return and saw the black sails. Thinking that his son’s plan failed and believing that Theseus was dead, the king of Athens threw himself off the top of a cliff into the sea and died.
|
