Year 9
Unit 1 - Bronze Age Greece
Lesson 2 - Minoan Myths
A myth is a sacred story or narrative explaining how the world and humankind came to be in their present form. More generally the word myth can refer to any traditional story. The main characters in myths are usually gods or supernatural heroes. In the society in which it is told, a myth is usually regarded as a true account of the far distant past. They explain how the world gained its current form and how customs and institutions were established. In some ways therefore myths are similar to history. But they are also very different. Unlike history, myths need not be based on historical evidence of established facts. One of the most famous Greek myths concerns Theseus and the Minotaur
Once upon a time, King Minos of Crete refused to sacrifice a special bull to the Gods. This made the Gods furious. To get revenge on Minos, they made his wife give birth to a baby which was part human and part bull - a monster which was called a Minotaur. To make things worse, the little beast would eat nothing but humans. Poor Minos did not know quite what to do about this rapidly growing (and very hungry) son. So beneath his palace he built a dark maze called a labyrinth. There the terrible Minotaur was hidden away from the world.
Minos had another son who was a great athlete and who went off to Athens to take part in the games there. He won many prizes, but this did not do him much good. The nasty Athenian athletes were so jealous that they had the poor fellow murdered. When Minos heard of this he went crazy with rage (who could blame him - one son dead and the other a monster!) and sent a mighty army to Athens to seek revenge. He defeated the Athenians and then forced the King of Athens - Aegeus - to send him seven young men and seven young women every nine years. These poor teenagers were locked up in the maze where they were hunted, killed and eaten by the hungry minotaur.
Aegeus (the Athenian king) had a son called Theseus, who is the hero of our story. Theseus seems to have been very brave or else completely crazy- He persuaded his father to let him be taken to the labyrinth in Crete, where he promised he would kill the minotaur. Poor Aegeus was very upset, but he could not stop his son. Theseus promised that, if he succeeded in killing the Minotaur, he would return to Athens with white sails on his ship instead of the usual black ones. Aegeas said he would wait eagerly for the sight of these white sails.
When Theseus arrived at Knossos, everyone was impressed by his princely appearance. The daughter of the King of Crete, a princess called Ariadne, did what most princesses do in such stories: she fell instantly in love with Theseus. That evening, she drugged the soldiers guarding him and gave him a long and a short sword. She also gave him a coil of thread, (a clew) which would help him to find his way out of the 'labyrinth'.
Then she led him to the entrance of the maze, opened the door and let him in. Theseus tied one end of the thread to the entrance door of the labyrinth and made his way through the gloomy maze. The floor was covered in human bones -the remains of the many people eaten by the Minotaur. Heavy footsteps approached. Theseus hid and waited. Suddenly a huge, roaring giant appeared. He had the body of a man, the head of a bull and the long sharp teeth of a lion. Theseus was terrified, but he rushed out suddenly and slashed the back of the Minotaur's knees with the short sword. The monster collapsed to the ground in agony. Theseus stuck his long sword into the unfortunate Minotaur s heart, killing him instantly. He then began to hack the Minotaur' head from his body.
Theseus followed the thread to return to the entrance of the labyrinth. From there, Ariadne brought him to Minos and Theseus threw the head at the king's feet. The King was so impressed with Theseus' bravery that he allowed him to marry Ariadne and return with her to Athens. You might think that the story ended there with the happy couple sailing into the sunset. But no!
On the way to Athens, they visited the island of Naxos, where the princess mysteriously disappeared. Theseus left Naxos in such a state of shock that he completely forgot his promise to his father to change the sails in his ship to white ones. Old Aegeus was waiting on the sea cliffs, when he saw in the distance his son's returning ship. Its sails were black! With a terrible scream of despair, Aegeas threw himself from the rocky cliff.
Minos had another son who was a great athlete and who went off to Athens to take part in the games there. He won many prizes, but this did not do him much good. The nasty Athenian athletes were so jealous that they had the poor fellow murdered. When Minos heard of this he went crazy with rage (who could blame him - one son dead and the other a monster!) and sent a mighty army to Athens to seek revenge. He defeated the Athenians and then forced the King of Athens - Aegeus - to send him seven young men and seven young women every nine years. These poor teenagers were locked up in the maze where they were hunted, killed and eaten by the hungry minotaur.
Aegeus (the Athenian king) had a son called Theseus, who is the hero of our story. Theseus seems to have been very brave or else completely crazy- He persuaded his father to let him be taken to the labyrinth in Crete, where he promised he would kill the minotaur. Poor Aegeus was very upset, but he could not stop his son. Theseus promised that, if he succeeded in killing the Minotaur, he would return to Athens with white sails on his ship instead of the usual black ones. Aegeas said he would wait eagerly for the sight of these white sails.
When Theseus arrived at Knossos, everyone was impressed by his princely appearance. The daughter of the King of Crete, a princess called Ariadne, did what most princesses do in such stories: she fell instantly in love with Theseus. That evening, she drugged the soldiers guarding him and gave him a long and a short sword. She also gave him a coil of thread, (a clew) which would help him to find his way out of the 'labyrinth'.
Then she led him to the entrance of the maze, opened the door and let him in. Theseus tied one end of the thread to the entrance door of the labyrinth and made his way through the gloomy maze. The floor was covered in human bones -the remains of the many people eaten by the Minotaur. Heavy footsteps approached. Theseus hid and waited. Suddenly a huge, roaring giant appeared. He had the body of a man, the head of a bull and the long sharp teeth of a lion. Theseus was terrified, but he rushed out suddenly and slashed the back of the Minotaur's knees with the short sword. The monster collapsed to the ground in agony. Theseus stuck his long sword into the unfortunate Minotaur s heart, killing him instantly. He then began to hack the Minotaur' head from his body.
Theseus followed the thread to return to the entrance of the labyrinth. From there, Ariadne brought him to Minos and Theseus threw the head at the king's feet. The King was so impressed with Theseus' bravery that he allowed him to marry Ariadne and return with her to Athens. You might think that the story ended there with the happy couple sailing into the sunset. But no!
On the way to Athens, they visited the island of Naxos, where the princess mysteriously disappeared. Theseus left Naxos in such a state of shock that he completely forgot his promise to his father to change the sails in his ship to white ones. Old Aegeus was waiting on the sea cliffs, when he saw in the distance his son's returning ship. Its sails were black! With a terrible scream of despair, Aegeas threw himself from the rocky cliff.
Can there be any truth in the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur?
Where the word 'Minoan' came from, myths and history.
King Minos was associated in Greek myth with the labyrinth, the British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans identified Minos with the site at Knossos. We do not know for certain if there was actually such a person as Minos or if all Cretan kings were called ‘Minos’ (just as all the ancient Egyptian rulers were called ‘Pharaoh’). The legend or myth below tells how Minos came to be born. Of course it is not true. But, like most legends, it makes interesting reading.
King Minos was associated in Greek myth with the labyrinth, the British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans identified Minos with the site at Knossos. We do not know for certain if there was actually such a person as Minos or if all Cretan kings were called ‘Minos’ (just as all the ancient Egyptian rulers were called ‘Pharaoh’). The legend or myth below tells how Minos came to be born. Of course it is not true. But, like most legends, it makes interesting reading.
Three facts:
Bulls were very important to Minoan culture and many images and statues of bull’s heads have been found.
The palace at Knossos contained so many rooms and passages that it must have been easy to get lost. (see model below)
The palace was decorated with images of the double-headed axe or labrys . Therefore the palace could be called ‘the palace of the labrys’ or labyrinth.
Bulls were very important to Minoan culture and many images and statues of bull’s heads have been found.
The palace at Knossos contained so many rooms and passages that it must have been easy to get lost. (see model below)
The palace was decorated with images of the double-headed axe or labrys . Therefore the palace could be called ‘the palace of the labrys’ or labyrinth.
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Images above taken at the Heraklion Archeological Museum in October 2023.
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The Legend of Minos' birth
Long, long ago there lived a princess called Europa. She was so beautiful that Zeus, the leader of all the Gods, fell madly in love with her. Zeus was already married to a Goddess. But that did not stop him having love affairs with anyone he fancied- So the God turned himself into a big bull and carried Europa away. With the princess clinging to his back, he swam all the way across the sea from mainland Greece to Crete. Zeus and Europa later had three sons. One of these was Minos. |
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Activities
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