Crete and Greek Mythology: The Story of Theseus and The Minotaur's Labyrinth
Crete is well-known for being Greece's largest and most beautiful island. The island was home to the Minoan civilization in the past, and that gave it great importance throughout the history of the Hellenic country.
If visiting Crete on your next vacation is in your plans, it is essential that you know that you will have the opportunity to discover an island full of history and culture. According to Greek mythology, Crete was a center of importance in which various events occurred that changed the history of the age of the gods.
The Story of the Cretan Labyrinth
One of the most interesting stories to highlight is that of Theseus, a king of Athens and son of Etra and Aegeus, who was in turn considered the founder of the city and one of the greatest heroes of all Greek mythology. This Greek king was known for his strength and bravery from a very young age, and after a great journey to be recognized as the king's son and successor, he made his way to Athens where he successfully claimed his right to the throne.
The Minotaur, son of the Bull of Crete and Pasiphae, is on the other side of history. According to mythology, this bull only ate human meat and was locked in a labyrinth that was impossible to get out of. This labyrinth was created by the craftsman Daedalus, and there the Minotaur wandered looking for prey to devour.
The story goes that the son of King Minos, named Androgen, won an Olympiad and was subsequently killed. Following these tragic events, his father declared war on Athens, which surrendered under the condition of delivering seven men and seven women to the Minotaur's labyrinth.
The brave Theseus was one of the fourteen young men who went to Crete to fight in the labyrinth. The story goes that his father, Aegeus, asked him to unfurl the sail of the white boat in case he got out of the dark labyrinth, or if not, to unfurl a black sail.
Theseus, the prince of Athens, was the first to venture into the labyrinth to face the Minotaur, according to mythology. There are unexpected and incredible events in history. The paths in front of him were dark and definitely dangerous, so Ariadne, Theseus's girlfriend and daughter of King Minos, gave him a coil of rope that would guide him back to the exit if he successfully faced the Minotaur.
It was there that Theseus began his journey through the dark labyrinth. There he bumped into the Minotaur, who, with his roar, knocked the prince to the ground. He had an intense fight in the dark, full of blows and footsteps, which caused him to drop the thread offered by his beloved Ariadne for a brief moment. The Minotaur strongly attacked Theseus, lashing him with his tail and taking him in his arms.
The brave Theseus managed to take the Minotaur by the horns, knocking it from one side to the other. After a strong struggle with it, and strong attacks and kicks, the prince managed to kill the strong Minotaur. Other versions of the story say that Ariadne offered Theseus a sword, or that she used the bullman's horns to kill him.
Theseus came out of the fight with the Minotaur and the Labyrinth with the help of Ariadne. Unfortunately, his beloved was kidnapped by Dionisio, who took her to another place and had four children with her.
The story does not end here. The Aegean king was obsessed with waiting for the victorious arrival of his son, and every day he went up to Cape Sounion to see the ship arrive. When Theseus returned to Athens, worried about the kidnapping of his beloved Ariadne, he forgot to change the sail of his boat to white, so his father, seeing the black sailboat from a distance, thought that his son was killed by the Minotaur. and decided to commit suicide, jumping into the void.
According to history, from that moment on, the sea where the king launched himself was named the Aegean. After his father's death, Theseus became king of Athens and married a sister of Ariadne named Phaedra.