MINOS

Minos is a figure in Greek mythology, the legendary king of Crete. He is usually described as the son of Zeus and Europa, and a ruler whose authority extended over the island and its seas. In some traditions he shares or succeeds his brothers, and after death he is said to become one of the judges of the dead, along with Rhadamanthus and Aeacus.

Among his most enduring myths is the tale of the white bull. Poseidon granted Minos a magnificent bull to sacrifice to the god, but Minos kept the animal for himself. In punishment, Poseidon caused Minos’s wife Pasiphae to fall in love with the bull, resulting in the birth of the Minotaur. To contain the creature, Minos commissioned Daedalus to design the Labyrinth at Knossos. He also required Athens to send youths as tribute to be devoured by the Minotaur, a practice that ended when Theseus, aided by Minos’s daughter Ariadne, killed the monster and escaped the labyrinth with the other captives.

In later myth, Minos’s role extends into the underworld; after death he is traditionally listed as a judge of the dead, affirming his association with law and justice. Ariadne’s aid to Theseus and the broader antithesis of Minos’s rule have made him a central figure in the stories of Crete, the Minotaur, and the labyrinth, shaping enduring images of kingship, law, and punishment in ancient Greek literature.