Theseus and the Theseus and the MinotaurMinotaur

Powerpoint By Philipp GaissertPowerpoint By Philipp Gaissert

Minotaur: The Birth of a Monster

• King Minos tried to trick Poseidon into taking an alternate sacrifice than his favorite bull.

• Poseidon cursed King Minos’ wife, Queen Pasiphae to fall in love with the bull.

• Daedalus built wooden cow for Pasiphae to have her needs satisfied

• Pasiphae gives birth to Minotaur, half bull, half man

The Sacrifice

• King Minos ordered for the monster to be trapped in a labyrinth constructed by Daedalus.

• Every year, 7 men and 7 women were led into the labyrinth and fed to the Minotaur

Theseus Son of Aegeus, King of Athens and Aethra, daughter of

the king of Troezen. Defeated Periphetes, son of Hephaestus, and

Procrustes, the Stretcher Sailed to Crete to stop the horrible sacrifice to the

Minotaur. Promised his father to sail back with white sails if he

had succeeded and lived.

CreteAthens

At Crete Theseus offered himself to the group of the sacrifice Ariadne, daughter of Minos, gave Theseus a sword to slay

the Minotaur, and a ball of golden thread, with which to find his way back

Theseus kills the Minotaur in the labyrinth, frees the offered youths, and escapes the island.

On the way home, Theseus leaves Ariadne on Naxos, lying that Athena had said to do so

When returning home, Theseus forgets to change the sail to white.

Seeing the black sail, King Aegeus commits suicide, thinking that his son Theseus had perished

Getting Through the Labyrinth

Biliography Minotaur http://waltm.net/minotaur.htm 12/10/05

Mythography| The Greek Creature the Minotaur in Myth and Art http://www.loggia.com/myth/minotaur.html 12/10/05

Mythography| The Greek Hero Theseus in Myth and Art http://www.loggia.com/myth/theseus.html 12/10/05