The Myth of Greek Hero Theseus – King Minos – The Labyrinth and the Minotaur

 

 

The most famous labyrinth in Greek mythology is the one commissioned by King Minos of Crete.

It was designed by the architect Daedalus, at the Palace of Knossos, located on Kephala hill, a few kilometers from Heraklion, said to have originally consisted of as many as 1,300 rooms spread over three acres of land containing many magnificent mosaics and frescoes of Minoan civilization.

 

 

 

The labyrinth acted as a rather clever and intricate sort of bullpen, in which to enclose the Minotaur, that would eventually be slain by the hero Theseus and from where he would then escape, with the aid of a ball of thread given to him by King Minos’ daughter, Princess Ariadne.

 

Symbolism of the Labyrinth

 

 

It is believed by many historians that the path of the labyrinth symbolizes the human journey from sin to redemption and has a close association with the Greek key pattern, or meander symbol.

 

 

In Ancient Greece, the unbroken, interlocking pattern of the Meander (Meandros), or Greek Key, was one of the most important symbols; it symbolized infinity, unity and the eternal flow of life through reproduction.

The long, continuous line, repeatedly folding back on itself, which resembles the perpetual flow of water, or waves, represents the eternal movement of Life.

 

Maze

 

 

The term labyrinth is generally synonymous with the word maze but usually portrays a closed, curved surface which can which be drawn or swept out in a single movement.

However, unlike the labyrinth, which has only one entry and exit point; a maze has many potential beginnings and endings.

The pathways and walls of a maze are most traditionally fixed; however, puzzles where the walls and paths can change, are also classified as mazes.

 

The Minotaur

 

 

The myth of the Minotaur comes about after Minos, king of Crete, thought a good way to show his subjects just how important and worthy he was as their king and how esteemed his was in the eyes of the gods, was to sacrifice a bull.

Therefore he asked Poseidon, god of the sea, to give him a large white bull.

Poseidon complied; however, when Minos saw the bull, he loved it so much; he decided to keep it for himself and sacrifices another bull instead.

 This enraged Poseidon so much that in retaliation and with a bit of help from Aphrodite, he made Minos’ wife, Pasiphae, fall head over heels in love with the bull.

 

 

Pasiphae now had a problem, how was she to relieve herself of this mad desire she felt for the bull, which was driving her crazy?

 Beside herself with lust she begged for help from Daedalus, a skillful architect and craftsman, regarded as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power (also the father of Icarus).

 After having a big think, Daedalus built a hollow, wooden cow, upholstered it with real cow hide and told Pasiphae to jump inside.

 In this way she could mate with the bull.

Pasiphae was in such frenzy she didn’t need to be told twice!

 

 

As a result of this union, Pasiphae gave birth to the Minotaur, a wild creature with the body of a man and the head and tail of a bull.

 Again Daedalus came to the rescue and on the orders of Minos built a labyrinth underneath the palace at Knossos,

where the Minotaur was to be to be imprisoned.

 

 

Minos – King of Crete

and

Theseus – Son of Aegeus King of Athens

 

 

 At this time relations between Athens and Crete were not at their best and to make matters worse, Androgeus, son of king Minos of Crete, was unfailingly the champion the Panathenaic Games, held every four years in Athens from 566 BC to the 3rd century AD.

In a fit of jealousy the Athenian participants of the games assassinated Androgeus.

Upon hearing of the death of his son, Androgeus, King Minos instantly launched an attack on Athens but gave the city a chance of peace if Athens handed over the culprits.

Unfortunately Aegeus, King of Athens, had no idea of who the assassins were and so Minos, who was not in the mood for war, suggested something else.

He would agree to peace if every nine years (the number varies depending on which version of the myth you’re reading) Athens sent seven male and seven female youths to Crete, to be sacrificed to the Minotaur locked up in the labyrinth at Knossos.

 

 

Athens reluctantly agreed but after the third time of shipping out fourteen youths to Crete, only for them to be devoured by the dreadful creature with the body of a man and the head and tail of a bull, Theseus had had enough.

He himself would go as one of the youths to be shipped out and he would and slay the Minotaur!

On hearing of Theseus’ decision, Aegeus, understandably, feared for his son’s life.

 To diminish his father’s fears, Theseus told him him he would sail out with black sails and after slaughtering the Minotaur, to show that he was still alive and well, would make the homeward journey with white flags flying.

 

Theseus and Ariadne

 

 

Upon arriving in Crete, Theseus met up with his cousin and daughter of King Minos, Princess Ariadne and for both of them it was love at first sight!

Promising Theseus she would help him find and slay the Minotaur, Ariadne sought assistance from Daedalus.

Daedalus showed Ariadne the way to the labyrinth and advised her to give Theseus a ball of thread to unwind when he ventured into the labyrinth and to follow it on his return journey in order to find his way out.

This later became known in the myth as “Ariadne’s thread”.

 

 

Theseus entered the labyrinth, unwinding the thread behind him, found and slayed the Minotaur and then followed the thread back the way he had come, to Ariadne who was eagerly awaiting him.

 

 

The two of them made a run for it, back to Athens, stopping off at the island of Naxos on the way.

 

Theseus Leaves Behind Ariadne

 

 

 At this point in the story things become a bit muddled.

As we often find with Greek myths, passed down by word of mouth, there are many different versions of the same myth, so it is with the myth of Theseus and the Cretan labyrinth.

Some say Theseus abandoned Ariadne purposely on the island of Naxos, others that she fell asleep and Theseus forgot her there.

Then there is the story that Dionysus, god of music and wine, forced Theseus to leave Ariadne there so that he could marry her himself or that when Dionysus saw Ariadne so upset, he felt so sorry for her that he decided to put an end to her misery by marrying her himself.

 

 

No matter which version you prefer the myth ends in tragedy.

On discovering that Ariadne was not aboard the boat for Athens, Theseus, in his upset and panic, forgot to change the black sails for white ones.

Back in Sounion, Aegeus, beside himself with worry, was devastated to spot his son’s returning ship, carried along by the winds which were filling its black sails.

No, this could not be, the sails were meant to be white and in a rush of emotion, believing his son to be dead, Aegeus threw himself off the cliffs and perished in the sea below.

That sea was named after him and became the Aegean Sea.

 

The Punishment of Daedalus

 

 

After learning of how Daedalus had given his daughter Ariadne a ball of string to help his enemy, Theseus, defeat the Minotaur and escape from the labyrinth, King Minos had Daedalus and his son Icarus, imprisoned in a tower above his palace in Knossos.

Daedalus saw that the only way of escape was by flying off the top of the tower and over the palace towards freedom.

He put together two pairs of wings made from feathers stuck together with wax and taught Icarus how to fly.

 

Learning to Fly

A Cautionary Tale

 

 

After cautioning Icarus, on no account was he to fly too close to the sun, as it would melt the wax holding the wings together, nor was he to fly too close to the sea, as the water would cause the wings to become wet and heavy, father and son took off on their flight to freedom.

Icarus however, ignored his father’s warning and soared higher and higher until the hot rays of the sun began to melt the wax that was holding his wings together.

As one by one the feathers fell away, Icarus desperately flapped his arms about, in order to remain airborne but to no avail, he tumbled into the sea below and drowned.

 

 

The story warns us of the dangers of hubris, or excessive pride, when not taking heed of good advice.

Today, the sea into which Icarus fell is called the Icarian Sea and the nearby island, Icaria.

 

Related Post:

 

How the Aegean Sea of Greece Got its Name