Was there a Minotaur? (8 photos)

Every fairy tale, legend or myth has a certain amount of truth. And the story of the bull-headed monster Minotaur thrown into the labyrinth is no exception.





Legend says that King Minos was born from Zeus himself and was a powerful and cruel ruler. But it was during his reign that Crete became strong and monolithic.



Minos

Poseidon ordered the king to sacrifice a luxurious snow-white bull to him. But Minos resisted, and the angry god clouded the mind of Minos’ wife Pasiphae. The woman was inflamed with passion for that same bull and gave birth to a boy from him.





Minotaur - sculptor Pedro Requejo

The child born from an unclean relationship was named Asterion and placed in a specially built labyrinth. Every year, as a tribute to the monster, 7 beautiful young men and women were sent to be torn to pieces. This lasted until the hero Theseus defeated him, and the thread of the king’s daughter Ariadne, who was in love with him, helped him find the way back from the labyrinth.

Origins of the legend



Theseus and the Minotaur

What is noteworthy is that the ancient Greeks, who were descendants of the Achaeans and Cretans, were skeptical about this legend. Considering that it appeared hundreds of years after the death of Minos, it therefore has nothing to do with reality.

For example, Plutarch believed that the Minotaur was the name of the cruel royal commander who got rid of prisoners in sophisticated and wild ways. Perhaps this is even a collective image, since the ancients, in principle, were not distinguished by their kindness.

Theories and evidence



Knossos palace

Gradually, historians began to question the existence of the labyrinth itself, along with the king, and the Minoan civilization. This continued until the beginning of the 20th century, when the British Arthur Evans discovered on the site of the Cretan capital of Knossos the remains of an ancient impressive structure, which, according to the description from myths, was very similar to that same labyrinth.



Knossos palace

What is most interesting is that the images of the mysterious bull-headed monster found on the dilapidated walls belonged to the same era as the structure itself. That is, the drawings were applied no later, as was believed.

Of course, it is naive to believe that a monster with a bull’s head really walked through the labyrinth. But if his image remained in history, it means that he served as a kind of symbol. But what?

The first version is a reflection of the personality of Minos himself. Who turned out to be a really strong ruler, which is why his subjects endowed him with supernatural abilities.



Egyptian god Apis

The second hypothesis states that during the era of the Minoan civilization there was a cult of worshiping the bull as a symbol of power. What is not uncommon is that such cults took place among the Egyptians, Phoenicians, ancient Jews, Slavs and other peoples. Human sacrifices to deities were not uncommon at that time. And the cult minister who performed the ceremony performed the sacrifice ceremony in a bull mask, which gave rise to the legend of the Minotaur.



Still from the film "Minotaur" 2006

Thus, mythology is not a direct reflection of ancient events, but also not an absolute fiction that has nothing in common with reality. Myths and legends are a symbolic reflection of reality. And you just need to correctly guess these symbols.