Pasiphaë

Pasiphaë was a prominent figure in Greek mythology, primarily known as the queen of Crete and the wife of King Minos. She was the daughter of the sun god Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse. Together, Minos and Pasiphaë had several children, including the fearsome Minotaur, Ariadne, and Phaedra.

Her most famous myth involves her illicit love for a divine bull. Poseidon, the god of the sea, had gifted Minos a magnificent white bull, but Minos refused to sacrifice it as promised. In retaliation, Poseidon caused Pasiphaë to fall deeply in love with the bull. Devising a plan, Pasiphaë, with the help of the craftsman Daedalus, constructed a wooden cow disguised as a real one. She then hid inside this effigy, and the bull mated with her.

The offspring of this union was the Minotaur, a creature with the body of a man and the head of a bull. The Minotaur was eventually imprisoned in the Labyrinth, also built by Daedalus, at Minos's command. Pasiphaë's story is often interpreted as a cautionary tale about the consequences of divine wrath and the unnatural desires that can arise from it. Her lineage and her role in the creation of the Minotaur made her a central figure in the myths of Crete and the Minotaur saga.