Minos
heroMinos was the legendary king of Crete who ruled the first great maritime empire, commissioned the Labyrinth, and became a judge of the dead in the underworld.
The Myth
Son of Zeus and Europa, Minos demanded tribute from Athens: seven youths and seven maidens to feed the Minotaur. His wife Pasiphaë bore the Minotaur after Minos refused to sacrifice Poseidon's bull. He employed Daedalus to build the Labyrinth. When Daedalus helped Theseus escape, Minos pursued him to Sicily, where he was killed by King Cocalus's daughters with boiling water. After death, he became one of three judges of the dead alongside his brother Rhadamanthys and Aeacus.
Symbols
Fun Fact
Sir Arthur Evans named the entire Bronze Age Cretan civilisation "Minoan" after this king when he excavated Knossos in 1900.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
Aeacus
heroAeacus was the most pious mortal of his age, whose prayers could end drought and whose justice...
Ariadne
heroDaughter of King Minos who fell in love with Theseus and gave him the thread that allowed him to...
Athens
placeAthens was the city sacred to Athena, birthplace of democracy, philosophy, drama, and Western...
Daedalus
heroThe greatest inventor and craftsman of Greek mythology. Daedalus built the Labyrinth, crafted wings...
Deucalion
heroDeucalion survived Zeus's flood and repopulated the earth by throwing stones.
Europa
heroEuropa was the Phoenician princess whom Zeus, in the form of a white bull, carried across the sea...