Minotaur

Minotaur bust, (National Archaeological Museum of Athens)

The Minotaur (Greek: Μινώταυρος), also called Asterion, is a mythical creature in Greek mythology.

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 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.

Etymology

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.

Minotaur Media

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  Pasiphaë and baby Minotaur, Attic red-figure kylix found at Etruscan Vulci. Italy. Currently at the Cabinet des Médailles, Paris

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  Tondo showing the victory of Theseus over the Minotaur in the presence of Athena from c. 435 BC

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  Theseus dragging the Minotaur out of the Labyrinth, red-figure kylix from c. 440–430 BC

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  Statue of the Minotaur (Roman copy of an original by Myron), National Archaeological Museum, Athens

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  Theseus wrestling with the Minotaur in the presence of Ariadne, c. 550–540 BC

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  Photographed at the Getty Villa in Malibu, California.

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  Dante and Virgil meet the Minotaur, illustration by Gustave Doré

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  William Blake's image of the Minotaur to illustrate Inferno XII

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  Edward Burne-Jones's illustration of Theseus and the Minotaur in the Labyrinth, 1861

Other websites

• Minotaur in Greek Myth source Greek texts and art.