Theseus and the Minotaur

The minotaur in Greek mythology is described as being half-bull, half-man, with a bull’s head and a man’s body. The Minotaur has inspired several twentieth-century artists like Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. But he definitely got an image makeover with Marvel Comics turning him into a superhero!

Poseidon, the sea god, had gifted a white bull to Minos, the King of Crete, as a sign of support. But instead of sacrificing it as agreed, the king, rather fascinated by the creature, chose to keep the bull. Poseidon was not amused, though, and sent Aphrodite, the goddess of love, to take revenge.

As a result, Pasiphae, Minos’s queen, fell in love with the bull (stranger things are known to have happened in Greek myths!) and soon a baby was born to her—half-man, half-bull—who came to be known as the Minotaur. King Minos, deeply embarrassed by this whole sordid episode, chose to hide the creature, who soon developed a taste for human flesh.

The king asked his master craftsman Daedalus to build a complicated labyrinth to house the Minotaur. Now that the monster was safely locked away, the king could forget about him. There were his meals to worry about but that problem soon solved itself.

After a victory at war with King Aegeus of Athens, Minos demanded that every year, Athens send seven young boys and seven young girls to Crete to feed the Minotaur. Aegeus had no choice but to agree and thus, the problem of food for the monster in the maze was solved.

But clearly, this was not a happy situation for everyone. Every year, the entire city of Athens wept as they sent their children to be fodder. Their king was helpless and could only sigh in despair. Now, the king had a young son by the name of Theseus, who was growing up to be hero material. He was ready for some action! ‘Father! We can’t let our children be fed to someone’s monster. It’s time you took matters into your hands and saved your people!’

‘But how?’ asked his father. ‘We had a deal with Crete! You may not remember it but we lost to them miserably.’

‘Well, let me go with these children to be on the Minotaur’s menu. I’ll put an end to all of this by killing the creature!’ said Prince Theseus. Soon, he set sail for Crete. The ship carrying the Athenians had black sails and as they left the shore, our hero called to his father, ‘Do not be worried. I’ll come back victorious. And when we return, we’ll change our sails to white!’

When they arrived at Crete, they were received by King Minos himself. His beautiful daughter Ariadne, who was with him, saw young Theseus and soon fell in love with him. (This was most definitely what one would call love at first sight.) That night, the young people from Athens were allowed to rest. The monster’s feeding was to be carried out the next day. Late that night, Ariadne came to meet Theseus. ‘I can help you,’ she told him.

She handed him a ball of golden thread. ‘You’ll never be able to find your way out of the labyrinth where the Minotaur is kept. Mark your path as you go along with this thread so that you can follow it all the way back.’

‘Oh, thank you, princess. You are very kind!’ replied Theseus, who had not expected help from the enemy.

‘I’m happy to help you,’ smiled Ariadne shyly as she handed him a sword. ‘You know what to do with this, of course!’

As he put away the ball of thread and the sword for his mission the next day, Ariadne put a hand on his arm and whispered, ‘When you leave here after killing the Minotaur, for I know you will, will you take me away with you?’

‘Sure, if that’s your wish,’ replied Theseus, a little surprised. As you can see, he hadn’t noticed anything unusual about her offer to help.

The next day, Theseus and his people were led to the labyrinth where the Minotaur was imprisoned. A grim-faced guard pushed them inside the labyrinth and firmly shut the door.

Theseus set to work immediately. He tied the thread to the knob of the door. ‘Do not be frightened! Just make sure this thread doesn’t come off the knob. This will help me find my way back after I’m done with that monster,’ whispered Theseus to the young prisoners.

As he went deeper and deeper into the darkness of the labyrinth, Theseus unwound the golden thread Ariadne, the Princess of Crete, had given him. He did not how far he had gone, for the maze seemed to go on forever. ‘Keep going down but never to your left,’ he remembered Ariadne’s words. She had probably had a word with Daedalus, the master craftsman who made the labyrinth, thought Theseus. He already had in his hand his sword, which he had kept hidden in his tunic when the guards came to get them.

How will I find the Minotaur before he finds me? thought Theuseus as he went further and further into the labyrinth. Suddenly, he heard loud snores coming from ahead. Ah! Looks like the fellow needs his beauty sleep. Theseus smiled in the dark. But the smallest of sounds could wake the beast from his slumber. As he neared, the Minotaur rose with a horrible cry and came towards him.

Half-bull, half-human, the Minotaur towered over Theseus, his eyes blood-red, his horns shaking menacingly. As the beast bent down to pick him up, Theseus caught one of his horns and twisted his head from side to side. The Minotaur roared in anger but Theseus did not let go as the great beast tried to push him back. Theseus took the sword he had tucked into the belt of his tunic while he grappled with the Minotaur and thrust it deep into its neck.

‘Ahhhhhhhh . . .’ The creature fell to the ground with a loud cry. The Minotaur was dead! Theseus fumbled in the dark for the ball of thread. Holding its end, he found his way back to the door where the others were waiting for him. ‘Quick! Let’s go,’ he whispered. Princess Ariadne opened the door, looking relieved. ‘I’m coming with you!’ she told Theseus as the group made their way to the ship waiting for them. ‘Of course! You’re most welcome,’ replied Theseus, wondering how he would explain this complication back in Athens. They set sail under the cover of darkness.

On their way, they stopped at the island of Naxos where a magical breeze put them all to sleep. In his dream, Theseus saw Dionysus come to him and claim Ariadne. She’s my promised bride, he said to him. Theseus awoke from the dream and found the princess deep in slumber. Without waking her, he set sail again with his people, leaving Ariadne behind. I don’t want to mess with gods, he said to himself. So what if Dionysus was just a god of wine?

Overcome by confusion and guilt perhaps, Theseus forgot to change the ship’s black sails to white as he had promised his father, in the event of their victory.

King Aegeus who, meanwhile, was waiting at a cliff for his son’s return saw the ship come in. Seeing the black sails, the king assumed his son and the others were dead. Full of grief, he threw himself off the cliff to the sea below and drowned. Was this punishment for Theseus leaving Ariadne in the lurch? In any case, Ariadne found Dionysus on waking up and soon married him and lived happily ever after as a goddess.