Website Reviews on the Myth of Minotaur, Article Review Example

Among the ancient Greek narratives on myths is where we draw the myth about Minotaur. Myths are historical events believed to have occurred in the source of the Greek myth key stories. The author presents the history of myths in chronological order based on age understanding. The website further provides books and youtube videos to deepen their understanding using visuals and written guides to create a better understanding. The history of the Minotaur myth is written from his generation of his family line because it enables one to understand how he was conceived.

His father, King Minos, ruled Crete Island. Mino’s father was the king of gods, Zeus. His family was prestigious and wealthy. They were involved in the ships trade, and Minos wished to build an enormous palace for himself which was large and beautiful. However, he was very unhappy because of Minotaur’s abnormalities. He was born through Pasiphae, the god of bulls, and his wife. He ordered Daedalus, his architect, to construct a labyrinth, a maze where the Minotaur was confined out of site from people. Minotaur agreed to be caged but requested that human beings be sacrificed to him as his hunger was extreme (Calvert and James,2019,2). Every ninth year, one of his half brothers sent seven males and females to try and kill the bull, but the monster, Minotaur, feasted on them. It is viewed that Pasiphae took Mino’s wife as a form of revenge.

Minotaur monster nature is derived from how he was conceived. This mythical story is very personal, from how different he was born to the solitude of being confined in the maze. In history, this myth is related to the Athenian community and is greatly cultured to the Greek Ancient Stories. The labyrinth maze that was meant to be magical and disappear with the monster when it died is what makes the story eye-conic and factual interesting. Minotaur, who is seen as the monster, is the antagonist of this myth. He believed he had no control over his desires which made him dangerous. People wanted him dead.

My second source is on the history of Thesus and Minotaur, which provides a guide for the eventful events in the myth of the Minotaur. The author focuses on Thesus because he is seen as a hero in the myth. Thus, a distinctive character in the story, aided by Ariadne, Minotaur’s half-sister, was able to enter the maze. Ariadne gave him a magical ball thread she had acquired from Daedalus to help him escape the labyrinth after killing the monster(Hoff and Ralf von den, 2010, 163). Surprisingly, in this mythical story, the Minotaur’s death was seen as the only eventful day of its life. He was expecting to be assassinated by Thesus. In this myth, Thesus is seen as the hero because he triumphantly terminated the monster.

When the myth is viewed from a poetic point of view by the Classical Myth beast by Katarzyna, the main character, Minotaur, who is considered a beast, experiences two life stages. From being conceived in a horrifying situation where his mother fell in love with Poseidon, the white bull god; thus, he was born a monster to live in a prison cage as an outcast. The Latin and Greek mythical stories are not centered independently on Minotaur’s story. It is because he is not seen as a hero but as a villain. In the mythical nature of the story, Thesus is seen as the eccentric character who killed the monster. In the myth of Minotaur, both Minotaur and Thesus form unique characters because of their legendary life.

References

Calvert, James. “The Greek Myths: Key Stage 2 Resources.” (2019). https://bit.ly/3StwrWs 

Hoff, Ralf von den. “Media for Theseus, or: The different images of the Athenian polis-hero.” (2010): 161-188. https://bit.ly/3LJwpYf 

Marciniak, Katarzyna. Chasing mythical beasts: The reception of ancient monsters in children’s and young adults’ culture. Universitätsverlag Winter, 2020. https://bit.ly/3dIJZhQ