Cretan Bull
The magnificent bull sent by Poseidon to Minos that became the father of the Minotaur, later captured by Heracles as his seventh labour.
The Myth of Cretan Bull
Poseidon sent a beautiful white bull from the sea to King Minos of Crete, expecting Minos to sacrifice it. But Minos kept the bull and sacrificed an inferior animal, provoking Poseidon's wrath. The god caused Minos's wife Pasiphaë to fall in love with the bull, and with the help of Daedalus's wooden cow disguise, she conceived the Minotaur. The bull itself rampaged across Crete until Heracles was sent to capture it as his seventh labour by Eurystheus, following the command of Hera who sought to torment Heracles. He wrestled the bull into submission and carried it back to the Peloponnese. Eurystheus released it, and the bull wandered to Marathon in Attica, terrorising the countryside until Theseus captured it before his journey to Crete to face the Minotaur in the Labyrinth built by Daedalus.
Parents
Poseidon (sent from sea)
Symbols
Fun Fact
The constellation Taurus, identified with the Cretan Bull or the bull form of Zeus, gives its name to the zodiac sign, the Taurus Mountains in Turkey, the Ford Taurus, and the Lamborghini logo. Bull imagery from Minoan Crete — where athletes literally vaulted over charging bulls — became the foundation of Spanish bullfighting culture after spreading through the Mediterranean over millennia.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Cretan Bull
💭 conceptlabour
The seventh labour of Heracles: capturing the monstrous bull of Crete, either the one Poseidon sent or the father of the Minotaur.
Minotaur's Labyrinth
🐉 creatureBull-headed man of the Labyrinth
The Minotaur was a creature with the body of a man and the head of a bull, born from Pasiphaë's unnatural union with the Cretan Bull, imprisoned in the Labyrinth.
Ceryneian Hind
🐉 creaturelabour, sacred
A golden-antlered, bronze-hooved deer sacred to Artemis that Heracles pursued for an entire year as his third labour.
Calydonian Boar
🐉 creatureMonstrous boar sent by Artemis
The Calydonian Boar was a massive, destructive beast sent by Artemis to ravage Calydon after King Oeneus forgot to honour her in sacrifice.
Minotaur
🐉 creatureBull-headed monster of the Labyrinth
A monster with the body of a man and the head of a bull, imprisoned in the Labyrinth beneath Crete. The Minotaur was fed Athenian youths until Theseus slew it.
Pasiphaë
🗡 heroQueen of Crete, mother of the Minotaur
Pasiphaë was the queen of Crete whom Poseidon cursed with an unnatural desire for a bull — the mother of the Minotaur and a sorceress in her own right.
Nemean Lion
🐉 creatureInvulnerable beast of Nemea
The Nemean Lion was a monstrous lion with an impenetrable golden hide that no weapon could pierce — the first of Heracles' twelve labours.
Erymanthian Boar
🐉 creatureGiant boar of Mount Erymanthos
The Erymanthian Boar was a gigantic wild boar that ravaged the lands around Mount Erymanthos in Arcadia — the fourth labour of Heracles.
Io
🗡 herotransformation
Priestess of Hera transformed into a white cow by Zeus (or Hera), driven across the world by a gadfly until she reached Egypt.
Cattle of Geryon
💭 conceptlabour
The tenth labour of Heracles: stealing the red cattle of the three-bodied giant Geryon from the island of Erytheia at the western edge of the world.
Ophiotaurus
🐉 creaturehybrid creatures
A creature half bull and half serpent whose entrails, if burned, could grant power to overthrow the gods
Colchian Bulls
🐉 creatureautomata,fire
Fire-breathing bronze bulls belonging to Aeëtes, king of Colchis, which Jason was required to yoke as the first task in his quest for the Golden Fleece.