The Minotaur

Greek mythology · monsters · ancient stories

Head of a bull. The Minotaur was a strange creature with the head and tail of a powerful bull attached to the body of a man, making it neither fully human nor fully animal.

Trapped in a maze. King Minos locked the Minotaur inside the Labyrinth, an incredibly complicated maze designed by the architect Daedalus, where no one could escape once they entered.

Terrible sacrifice. Every nine years, Athens had to send fourteen of its young people to the Labyrinth as food for the Minotaur as punishment from King Minos.

Golden thread saves the day. The hero Theseus defeated the Minotaur by following a golden thread given to him by Ariadne, the King's daughter, which helped him find his way back out of the confusing maze.