Appearance
The Minotaur, as the Greeks imagined him, had the body of a man and the head and tail of a bull. His body – particularly the animal parts – was covered in brown hair, and his horns were wickedly sharp, with span wider then a man’s outstretched arms. It seems likely that he measured around 10 ft (3m) high). Pasiphaë nursed him in his infancy, but he grew and became ferocious.
History
"Minotaur" is Greek for "Bull of Minos". The bull was known in Crete as Asterion, a name shared with Minos's foster father.
After ascending to the throne of Crete, Minos had to fight his brothers for his right over the throne. He prayed to Poseidon, the God of the Sea, to send him a white bull, which he would sacrifice in honor of Poseidon. The white bull was to be a gesture from the gods, approving his right over the throne of Crete. Poseidon sent him a beautiful white-bull, but mesmerized by its beauty, Minos decided to keep it and instead sacrificed a different bull, thus calling upon Poseidon's wrath.
Poseidon made Minos' wife, Pasiphae fall madly in love with the white bull. She ordered the Athenian inventor Daedalus to make a wooden cow, which would be hollow from inside. Daedalus made a masterpiece and covered it with a hide of a cow. Pasiphae got inside the cow, after which it was set in the meadows. Assuming it to be a real cow, the bull was lured into copulation with her. Eventually, Pasiphae gave birth to Minotaur. When King Minos came to know about his wife's illicit affair, he imprisoned Daedalus for misusing his skills.
King Minos, after getting advice from the Oracle at Delphi, had Daedalus construct a gigantic labyrinth to hold his stepson, the Minotaur, feeding him 14 young men and women exated as tribute from the Athenians. Its location was near Minos' palace in Knossos. The historical site of Knossos is usually identified as the site of the labyrinth. Theseus eventually killed The Minotaur.
Adventures
king187: Theseus killing the Minotaur. Painting by William Russell Flint (1880-1969). Charles Kingsley, Grekiska Hjältesagor (1924, Swedish Edition of The Heroes). Paintings (watercolors) from 1911.)
When many young men and women had thus been destroyed by the Minotaur in the Labyrinth, Theseus (who later became king of Athens) was numbered among those who were sent as the third tribute to the Minotaur. It was then that Ariadne, daughter of Minos, fell in love with Theseus, and obtaining the secret to the Labyrinth from Daedalus, disclosed the way out to him. Theseus killed the Minotaur after finding him in the last part of the Labyrinth; and with Ariadne's help, he found his way out, fled from Crete, and came to Naxos with her.
Relationships
Some believe that this bull could be the Marathonian Bull, which killed Androgeus, son of Minos . The Marathonian Bull was killed, or mastered, by Theseus.
Symbols
Labyrinth – Bull – Horn – Labrys
Labrys - The term labyrinth is derived from labrys.
The labrys was resurrected as a female symbol in the 1970s by a number of lesbian and feminist organizations. It's popularity grew when articles about its origins were published in feminist literature of the time. Today, the labrys has been superseded by other symbols, but can still be seen adorning jewelry and women's specialty stores.
EvolutionThe mark consists of a rectangular alcohol label with a white background, the background contains many stylized depictions of minotaurs outlined in the color black and with yellow, blue and red irregular circular blotches that form a pattern on the background, the term ADA plus the stylized design of a bull head in the color gold and inside of a black rectangle, the term MINOTAURO is in gold and inside of a black rectangle.
The Minotaur also can be seen on the logo of a Greek company. List of sports that can be associated to the minotaur:
- Rugby
- Australian Football
- Chest Game
- Baseball
- Hockey
Sources
http://tiny.cc/5iyyj (minot imag)
http://tiny.cc/h9mqd
Great research - well done.
ReplyDeletePlease create a list of sports that the Minotaur may be associated with and why.
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