When the third time of sacrifice came, the Athenian hero Theseus volunteered to go, and, with the help of Ariadne, daughter of
After a while, the brave youth finally found Minotaur in his lair. Their ensued a long and fierce battle which came to an end when Theseus killed the monster with the sword Ariadne had given him.
The Athenian Prince Theseus was the hero who slayed the Minotaur. Theseus was the brave, strong and fearless son of King Aegeus, and he was born and raised in the city of Athens.
Prince Theseus said that he was going to go with them and kill the Minotaur, to save these children and all the ones who might be sent in the future. His dad, King Aegeus, begged him not to go. Aegeus was afraid that the Minotaur would get Theseus too!
The Legend of Theseus and the Minotaur
The legend of the Minotaur begins with King Minos, one of three sons of Zeus and Europa. Europa and her human-husband, the King of Crete, Asterion, raised their boys together (Minos, Sapedon, and Rhadamanthus). When Asterion died, his sons fought over the throne.
Another famous son of Zeus is the great hero Hercules, who we might all know as the iconic totem of masculinity and power. He was born a demigod, as his mother was the mortal woman Alcmene. Even from infancy Hercules showed great promise, strangling two snakes sent to his cradle by Zeus's jealous wife Hera.
The God Zeus fell in love with Europa and wanted to take her away from her family to live with him. One day while Europa was wandering amongst her father's herds of cattle she saw a white bull. She was not aware that Zeus had turned himself into the bull in order to trick her.
Meet Perseus, a demigod of Greek mythology who was famous for killing Medusa by cutting off her head, which he displays in one hand. Medusa had live, hissing snakes for hair, and anyone who looked at her face instantly turned to stone.
Who was Achilles? In Greek mythology, Achilles was the strongest warrior and hero in the Greek army during the Trojan War. He was the son of Peleus, king of the Myrmidons, and Thetis, a sea nymph.
Ariadne, in Greek mythology, daughter of Pasiphae and the Cretan king Minos. She fell in love with the Athenian hero Theseus and, with a thread or glittering jewels, helped him escape the Labyrinth after he slew the Minotaur, a beast half bull and half man that Minos kept in the Labyrinth.
Theseus left Ariadne sleeping on the island of Naxos and returned to Athens without her. Different versions of the myth give various reasons for Theseus abandoning her, from sheer egotism to Theseus being compelled to give her up to Dionysus.
Medusa was the only Gorgon who was mortal; hence her slayer, Perseus, was able to kill her by cutting off her head. From the blood that spurted from her neck sprang Chrysaor and Pegasus, her two sons by Poseidon.
As soon as the hero cut off one head, however, two more appeared in its place. With the help of a companion, Hercules finally killed the creature by cauterizing the necks with a burning torch. Giulio Romano showed Hercules resting triumphant, with the hydra heads strewn around his feet.
When Minos offended Poseidon, the sea god cursed Pasiphae with a mad passion for a white bull. With the help of Daedalus, who built a wooden cow in which she could disguise herself, Pasiphae mated with the creature and then gave birth to the fearsome Minotaur.
Theseus is sometimes described as the son of Aegeus, King of Athens, and sometimes as the son of the god Poseidon. He was raised by his mother, Aethra, and, upon discovering his connection to Aegeus, travels overland to Athens, having many adventures on the way.
The Minotaur Was Not Naturally Evil
Although the Minotaur lived on human flesh, according to Greek mythology he was not born evil. His mother raised him with watchful and tender care, and it was only as he grew older that he became a threat to Greek society.
Hestia in Greek Mythology
Hestia was regarded as one of the kindest and most compassionate amongst all the Gods. Perhaps the first example of a benign God or Goddess. Generally speaking, Hestia has a low key role in Greek Mythology.
Adonis is famous for being the most handsome mortal man on Earth. His good looks rivaled that of the gods. Aphrodite fell in love with Adonis.
Nyx is older and more powerful than Zeus. Not much is known about Nyx. In the most famous myth featuring Nyx, Zeus is too afraid to enter Nyx's cave for fear of angering her.
Poseidon warned Kratos that Olympus' destruction meant the world's destruction. The Ghost of Sparta did not react and told him to prepare for his own death, Kratos proceeded to brutally beat on the sea god, before finally finishing Poseidon by gouging out his uncle's eyes with his thumbs and snapping his neck.
So, when Poseidon raped Medusa she became pregnant. When her head was chopped off by Perseus, her children came to be. Pegasus and Chrysaor sprung from the severed neck of Medusa. Pegasus is also one of the most famous characters in Greek mythology, the winged white horse.
Kratos fought Zeus furiously and managed to deliver several powerful blows, as he stated he would kill Zeus for his actions. Enraged at his defiance, Zeus unleashed his full might on the vengeful warrior in the form of a deadly electrical storm. Kratos stabs Zeus with the Blade of Olympus.
Lycaon, the king of Arcadia, also offered his son's roasted flesh to Zeus. It was atrocious behavior to serve human flesh to him, as Zeus had a dislike for humans in general.
Amalthaea, in Greek (originally Cretan) mythology, the foster mother of Zeus, king of the gods. She is sometimes represented as the goat that suckled the infant god in a cave in Crete, sometimes as a nymph who fed him the milk of a goat.
So when Zeus decreed that man must present a portion of each animal they scarified to the gods Prometheus decided to trick Zeus. He created two piles, one with the bones wrapped in juicy fat, the other with the good meat hidden in the hide. He then bade Zeus to pick.