by Marilla Mulwane

Created on: February 19, 2010

The Minotaur is one of the most well-known creatures of Greek mythology. Ask anyone about the Minotaur and most likely the will tell you that it is a creature that has the head of a bull and the body of a man. However, few will be able to tell you how the Minotaur came into being and why it is so important to Greek mythology. Now, is someone asks you about the Minotaur, having read this article, you will have that answer.

-The parents of the Minotaur-

This story might be a bit disgusting, or humorous, to some people, depending on your own personality, but Greek mythology has some pretty strange stories. The Minotaur’s existence is one of those strange stories. The Minotaur’s mother was the Queen Pasiphae, wife to King Minos of Crete. However, despite the similar name, the king was not the father. No, the Minotaur’s father was a white bull. You see where this is going, right?

Before Minos was the king of Crete, he fought with his brothers for rule. He prayed to the sea god Poseidon for a white bull. Minos would use this bull as a sacrifice for Poseidon and as proof that the gods wished him to rule Crete over his brothers. Poseidon sent the white bull, but instead of sacrificing it, Minos decided to keep it. He sacrificed a regular bull instead, and Poseidon took this as an insult.

To get back at Minos, Poseidon put a spell on his wife, Pasiphae, so that she would have an undying passion for the white bull. There was nothing she wanted more than to be able to mate with the bull. Yeah, it is going there.

-The birth of the Minotaur-

Daedalus was the city’s inventor and architect. He first lived in Athens but then tossed his apprentice out a window and was banished. He was afraid the boy would become better than him, and he could not have that. He fit right in at Crete. Pasiphae asked Daedalus to help her make love to the white bull. So, Daedalus built a wooden cow and covered it with cow skin. He gave it mechanical parts so that it moved and acted like a cow. Pasiphae inside the wooden cow, and the white bull mated with it, and in turn, mated with Pasiphae.

She became pregnant from the strange coupling, and gave birth to the Minotaur.

-The Minotaur’s raging teenage hormones and Daedalus builds a labyrinth-

Pasiphae raised the Minotaur like a son, even breastfeeding it. As the Minotaur grew up, its animal side showed through more and it became destructive to the city. King Minos asked Daedalus to come up with a way to stop the Minotaur

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