Pasiphae
A daughter of Helios and wife of King Minos of Crete, whose divine lineage connected her to the sun and whose story intertwined with the Minotaur.
The Myth of Pasiphae
Pasiphae was a daughter of Helios the sun god and the Oceanid Perse, making her sister to the sorceresses Circe and Aeetes. She married Minos, king of Crete, and bore him several children including Ariadne and Phaedra. Her most infamous myth arose from Poseidon's anger at Minos: when the king refused to sacrifice a magnificent white bull sent by the sea god, Poseidon caused Pasiphae to fall in love with the animal. The master craftsman Daedalus built a hollow wooden cow in which Pasiphae could conceal herself, and from this union the Minotaur was born — a creature with a man's body and a bull's head, which Minos imprisoned in the Labyrinth. Ancient commentators debated how literally to read this myth: some saw it as an allegory for Cretan bull-worship, others as a tale about the consequences of breaking oaths to the gods. Pasiphae's name means "all-shining," connecting her to her solar father and contrasting poignantly with the dark secret of the Labyrinth. She was also credited with skills in sorcery inherited from her divine lineage.
Parents
Helios and Perse
Symbols
Fun Fact
Pasiphae's name means "all-shining" — she was literally a child of the sun, making the darkness of the Labyrinth that housed her monstrous offspring all the more symbolically charged.
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