Under knossos, the minoan palace, on the island of crete lurks a creature in an inescapable maze. The creature is the minotaur. From where did this myth originate? This article will discuss where the myth originated and how Knossos, Crete, and the minotaur relate. the white bull The myth originated in ancient Greece. King Minos (one of three sons of Zeus and Europa) became king when his stepfather died. He claimed that it was the will of the gods that he be king. In order to prove that it was the will of the gods, he decided to sacrifice a bull to Poseidon and asked for another one to sacrifice to the other gods. Poseidon gave Minos a white bull that Minos decided to release because it was beautiful. When Poseidon realized Minos released the bull it angered him greatly. the birth of the minotaur. …show more content…
Crete is most known for being the place that hid the minotaur in an inescapable maze, or so Minos thought. Because of the minotaur Crete was known to the athenians as a place where young men and women were sent to be sacrificed. Crete is an important part of history to ancient Greece because of its own history. Crete was important to Greece because of its trading population. In 1700 bce Crete was hit by earthquakes which destroyed many structures. After the earthquakes hit the minoans rebuilt the structures. In 1500 bc more earthquakes hit this time taking not only the structures but also the minoans with it. There are many myths that involve Crete. Some of which include; the myth of Rhea hiding Zeus in a cave on Crete, the place here Hercules performed his seventh labor, and the one most people know; Theseus and the minotaur. Crete was influenced a lot by the by the world because many people would come to trade. Minos king of Crete was known as as the first king to build a navy. Because of this, king Minos was able to expand minoan territory and expand