The Minotaur: Sacrifice In Grecian Myth

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The Minotaur, commonly displayed in Grecian mythology as a half-man-half-bull creature, depicted with the head of a bull and the large body of a man. This menacing creature would usually have been shown with large axes, spears, halberds or swords to slay the humans that entered into the labyrinth, where this creature resided. The story goes that the king of Crete; Minos, was struggling with being ruler, so he prayed to the god Poseidon, to help him. One day, a beautiful, white, perfect calf was born. King Minos love this calf so much, but every year the god Poseidon demanded a sacrifice from King Minos. Not any old sacrifice, but his best bull. King Minos saw the white bull’s beauty and, because of the beast’s beauty, he spared it; sacrificing one of his own bulls instead. …show more content…

As a youth, the Minotaur seemed calm enough, but soon demanded humans as sustenance and became ferocious. Because King Minos feared the Minotaur, he got the advice of the oracle at Delphi, and with that advice, he asked Daedalus to construct a large labyrinth and placed the Minotaur inside of the middle. Now, King Minos had made a contract with Athens. This contract stated that Athens would not have war waged upon it, but they would have to send seven young men and seven young women to be sent into the Minotaur’s labyrinth. The Minotaur’s labyrinth was near Minos’ palace in Knossos. Every seventh or ninth year (some sources even say every year), seven Athenian youths and seven maidens, drawn by lots, be sent to the Minotaur's labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur itself. At the time that the third sacrifice advanced, Theseus volunteered that he would slay the mighty

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