May 20, 2023 · The disturbing story of the Minotaur began when Poseidon, the god of the sea, sent a snow-white bull to the Cretan king Minos as a sign of his divine favor. Minos was supposed to sacrifice this bull—the Cretan Bull, as it was usually called—but the king was so taken by its perfection that he decided to add it to his royal herd instead.

May 16, 2023 · Theseus unravelled the thread as he moved through the Labyrinth, killed the Minotaur, and found his way out of the Labyrinth by following the thread back to the exit. Theseus and Ariadne then escaped from Crete with the other tributes. Detail of the Aison cup showing Theseus slaying the Minotaur in the presence of Athena (c. 435–415 BC).

May 23, 2023 · Ariadne Helps Theseus Defeat the Minotaur. The hero Theseus was sent to Crete as an offering for the Minotaur. But Ariadne fell in love with him at first sight and resolved to help him defeat the monster. Before Theseus entered the Labyrinth—the Minotaur’s maze-like lair—Ariadne gave him a ball of thread.

Sep 7, 2023 · Daedalus was a craftsman from Athens who designed the famous Labyrinth—the prison of the Minotaur—and other marvelous creations for the Cretan king Minos. He and his son Icarus were imprisoned by Minos, but they managed to escape on wings that Daedalus had built.

Jul 3, 2023 · In Pythian Ode 10, Pindar also relayed a story in which Perseus travelled to the Hyperboreans, a mythical people with mystical knowledge, on his way to kill Medusa. Athenian tragedy: Several Athenian tragedians (of whom the most famous were Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides) wrote plays about Perseus and his adventures, though none of these ...

Mar 1, 2023 · Odysseus continues his story in the following books. He tells of further adventures with Aeolus (the lord of the winds), the man-eating Laestrygonians, and the sorceress Circe. Circe initially transforms several of Odysseus’ men into swine, but she eventually restores them to their original form and even grants hospitality to Odysseus and his ...

Jan 27, 2023 · The bull was so beautiful, in fact, that Minos’ queen, Pasiphae, fell in love with it. From their union was born a son: the half-man, half-bull Minotaur. When Minos failed to sacrifice the Cretan Bull to Poseidon, the god grew angry and made the creature go wild. Eventually, Heracles was sent to capture the bull as one of his Twelve Labors.

Jul 14, 2023 · In one story, invented in the fifth century BCE by the philosopher Prodicus, the young Heracles was approached by the goddesses Virtue and Vice while tending the cattle. The two goddesses offered Heracles a choice between a pleasant but undistinguished life and a hard but glorious life. Heracles chose the latter.

Mar 22, 2023 · The Chimera was a monster with a hybrid body: part lion, part snake, and part goat. The hero Bellerophon tracked the Chimera to its remote mountain lair and killed it with the help of his winged steed Pegasus.

Mar 11, 2023 · Medusa, one of the three monstrous Gorgons, was a snake-haired female who turned anybody who looked upon her to stone. She was finally killed by the hero Perseus, who used her severed head as a weapon against his enemies.