Greek mythology tells the story of Monster in the Maze. It tells of a frightening creature, with the head of a bull and the body of a man, yes, half man and half animal. Now this frightening creature lived in the centre of the Labyrinth, an elaborate maze, under the palace of King Minos of Crete.
The back story is that some years before, while participating in the Panathenaic Games in Athens, the son of King Minos of Greece was killed. Mythology tells us this was because he was too good, and the other athletes were jealous. Naturally, was not happy, and vowed to get revenge, and sent his army to Athens. They were successful and, as a result, in the peace negotiations came up with a weird settlement. Every year seven boys and seven girls were to be sent to Crete to be put into the maze underneath King Minos’ palace to feed his Minotaur.
The Minotaur and The Labyrinth of Crete
This is where it gets even weirder, you see the Minotaur was the son of Pasiphae, wife of King Minos of Crete. The story tells us that his wife, Queen Pasiphae, slept with a bull sent by Zeus, who in ancient Greek mythology is the god of the sky. The result of this event was that she gave birth to the Minotaur, a creature that was half man and half bull.
King Minos was embarrassed, but did not want to kill the Minotaur, as he didn’t was to offend the god, Zeus. So, he had a Labyrinth constructed by Daedalus under his Palace and there he hid the monster. Then, according to the myth, Minos imprisoned his enemies in the Labyrinth so that the Minotaur could eat them. It was claimed that the labyrinth was such a complicated construction that no one could ever find the way out alive.
Theseus’s journey
Theseus, the King of Athens’ son, decided to stop this and resolved that next time the children were sent, he was going as well.
His plan was very simple he intended to go into the maze under the palace and kill the Minotaur.
Princes Ariadne
When he arrived at Crete the first person he saw on landing was the King’s daughter, Ariadne. It was a case of love at first sight, yes, it does happen!
Once he told her what he was going to do she insisted that he took into the maze a ball of string. If he laid it down as he went in, it would allow him to find his way out after he had killed the Minotaur.
Well, he made it, found the Minotaur, after a nasty fight, killed the monster, then following the string he found his way out of the maze.
Then, taking Princess Ariadne with him, he left Crete to sail happily back to Athens.
What Happened next?
What Happened next?This bit becomes bizarre, you see on the way back, Theseus stopped at Naxos where they had a great celebration dedicated to Theseus and Ariadne. Now there are different variations of the next bit. Some say Ariadne fell asleep on the shore and missed the boat and others say she decided to stay.
Anyway, they drunk a lot, once Theseus cleared his head, he realised that Ariadne wasn’t with them, and it was too late to go back. He was so upset that he forgot the promise made to his father. It was that if he was successful, he would change his sails so his father knew he had succeeded. He forgot to change the sails!
King Aegeus was waiting at Cape Sounion, looking for the sails as it came into view. He saw the black sails from afar and was convinced his son had failed. Immediately, he jumped into the waters, yes, he committed suicide. The Greeks will tell you that is why it is called the Aegean Sea.
Bring this story to life in your classroom
Using this story our sister site, Educational Musicals have created a unique musical Monster Of The Maze – The Story of Theseus and the Minotaur. It is a musical with 12 specific songs that take the show along and in which no child has to learn more than five lines.
You can download it today simply if you click on Monster Of The Maze – The Story of Theseus and the Minotaur where you will hear two of the songs and read two pages of script. Then download it and you can start rehearsing it today.
Let’s make history fun
Some questions to ask:
- What motivated King Minos to construct the Labyrinth under his palace?
- How did Theseus plan to navigate the maze and defeat the Minotaur?
- What role did Princess Ariadne play in assisting Theseus with his mission?
- Why did King Minos spare the life of the Minotaur instead of killing it?
- How did Theseus ultimately find his way out of the maze after defeating the Minotaur?
- What significance did the ball of string hold in Theseus’s journey through the Labyrinth?
- What were the consequences of Theseus forgetting to change the sails of his ship after his victory?
- How does the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur reflect ancient Greek values and beliefs?
- What symbolic meaning might be attached to the characters of Theseus, Ariadne, and the Minotaur in Greek mythology?
- How do different versions of the myth vary in their portrayal of events, such as Ariadne’s fate after Theseus’s victory?
For more information click on:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minotaur