Minotaur

The Minotaur (Greek: Μινώταυρος) is a mythical creature in Greek mythology.

Minotaur bust, (National Archaeological Museum of Athens)

He is shown with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man. He lived at the center of the Cretan Labyrinth, which was a complicated maze-like construction.^[1] In this mythology, the labyrinth was designed by Daedalus and his son Icarus at the instructions of King Minos of Crete. The Minotaur was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus.

EtymologyEdit

The word minotaur derives from the Ancient Greek Μῑνώταυρος, a combination of the name Minos and the noun bull, which translated as The Bull of Minos. In Crete, the Minotaur was known by the name Asterion, a name shared with Minos' foster-father.^[2]

Other websitesEdit

Minotaur in Greek Myth source Greek texts and art.

ReferencesEdit

↑ See Kern, Through the Labyrinth, Prestel, 2000, Chapter 1, and Doob, The Idea of the Labyrinth, Cornell University Press, 1990, Chapter 2.
↑ Pausanias, description of Greece 2. 31. 1

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[1] See Kern, Through the Labyrinth, Prestel, 2000, Chapter 1, and Doob, The Idea of the Labyrinth, Cornell University Press, 1990, Chapter 2.

[2] Pausanias, description of Greece 2. 31. 1

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