MINOTAUR, MINOTAUROS
Greek Mythology
Roman Mythology
Part Human part Bull
This is the name of a humanoid monster in the classical mythology of Greece and Rome. The MINOTAUR, which means "Bull of MINOS,"was described as having the body of a man but the monstrous head of huge bull. It was said to be kept in the deep Labyrinth beneath the palace of Knossos in the island of Crete during the reign of King Minos. The legend relates how King Minos had been sent the Cretan Bull to make a sacrifice to the gods but substituted one of his inferior mortal bulls. In punishment, the gods made his wife love the Cretan Bull, and the MINOTAUR was their hideous offspring, whose name is variously given as ASERION or ASTERIUS. Not able to dispose of this semi-supernatural being, the king ordered DAEDALUS to construct a labyrinth in which it was to be housed and fed. this monster was a cannibal, and KING MINOS took his tribute from other lands in the youth of their people to feed the MINOTAUR. Then the hero THESEUS was sent to the island, having taken the place of one of the tribute prisoners. With the aid of a ball of string given to him by the king's daughter, ARIADNE, he was able to kill the MINOTAUR and retrace his way to escape from the labyrinth.
Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth