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An Ancient Greek Myth

1) King Minos of Crete attacked Athens whenever he was bored and kept a monstrous minotaur as a pet. To stop the attacks, the king of Athens agreed to send 7 boys and 7 girls to Crete every 9 years to be eaten by the minotaur. 2) Prince Theseus of Athens volunteered to go to Crete and kill the minotaur to end the tribute. Princess Ariadne helped him by giving him a sword and a ball of string to find his way out of the labyrinth after killing the minotaur. 3) Theseus used the string to navigate the labyrinth and killed the minotaur with the sword. He and the

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52 views5 pages

An Ancient Greek Myth

1) King Minos of Crete attacked Athens whenever he was bored and kept a monstrous minotaur as a pet. To stop the attacks, the king of Athens agreed to send 7 boys and 7 girls to Crete every 9 years to be eaten by the minotaur. 2) Prince Theseus of Athens volunteered to go to Crete and kill the minotaur to end the tribute. Princess Ariadne helped him by giving him a sword and a ball of string to find his way out of the labyrinth after killing the minotaur. 3) Theseus used the string to navigate the labyrinth and killed the minotaur with the sword. He and the

Uploaded by

πανοσ σταυρακης
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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An Ancient Greek Myth

As the story goes ...


Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived a king
named Minos. King Minos lived on a lovely island called
Crete. King Minos had everything a king could possibly
want. Now and then, King Minos sent his navy to the tiny
village of Athens, across the sea.
The king of Athens did not know what to do. He was
desperate. He figured if he had some time, he could build a
strong navy, strong enough to send King Minos packing the
next time he attacked Athens. The king of Athens offered
King Minos a deal. If he would not attack Athens for 9
years, Athens would send 7 boys and 7 girls to the island of
Crete to be eaten by the awful monster that King Minos
kept as a pet, the dreaded minotaur.
The minotaur lived in the heart of a maze on the island of
Crete. King Minos loved that old monster. King Minos
only attacked Athens when he was bored. He really didn't
want anything. This way, his beloved monster could look
forward to a special treat every 9 years or so. King Minos
took the deal.
Although Athens did build a navy, King Minos did not
attack as the king of Athens had expected. In fact, King
Minos kept his word. And now it was time for Athens to
keep theirs.  Everyone in Athens was crying.
Prince Theseus of Athens knew the importance of keeping
your word. He knew that a deal was a deal. But, he was
also quite sure that it was wrong to send small children to
be eaten by a monster. Prince Theseus told his father (the
king) that he was going to Crete as the seventh son of
Athens. He was going to kill the Minotaur and end the
terror.
"The Minotaur is a terrible monster! What makes you think
you can kill it?" cried his father.
"I'll find a way," Theseus replied gently. "The gods will
help me."
His father begged him not to go. But the prince took his
place as the seventh Athenian boy. Along with six other
Athenian boys and seven Athenian girls, Prince Theseus
sailed towards Crete.
When the prince and the children arrived on the island of
Crete, King Minos and his daughter, the Princess Ariadne,
came out to greet them. The Princess Ariadne did not say
anything. But her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Late that
night, she wrote Prince Theseus a note and slipped it under
his bedroom door.
Dear Theseus (Ariadne wrote)
I am a beautiful princess as you probably noticed the
minute you saw me. I am also a very bored princess.
Without my help, the Minotaur will surely gobble you up.
I know a trick or two that will save your life. If I help you
kill the monster, you must promise to take me away from
this tiny island so that others can admire my beauty. If
interested in this deal, meet me by the gate to the
Labyrinth in one hour.
Yours very truly,
Princess Ariadne
Prince Theseus slipped out of the palace and waited
patiently by the gate. Princess Ariadne finally showed up.
In her hands, she carried a sword and a ball of string.
Ariadne gave the sword and the ball of string to Prince
Theseus. "Hide these inside the entrance to the maze.
Tomorrow, when you and the other children from Athens
enter the Labyrinth, wait until the gate is closed, then tie
the string to the door. Unroll it as you move through the
maze. That way, you can find your way back again. The
sword, well, you know what to do with the sword," she
laughed.
Theseus thanked the princess for her kindness.
"Don't forget, now," she cautioned Theseus. "You must
take me with you so that all the people can marvel at my
beauty."
The next morning, the Athenian children, including Prince
Theseus, were shoved into the maze. The door was locked
firmly behind them. Following Ariadne's directions,
Theseus tied one end of the string to the door. He told the
children to stay by the door and to make sure the string
stayed tied so the prince could find his way back again. The
children hung on to the string tightly, as Theseus entered
the maze alone.
Using the sword Ariadne had given him, Theseus killed the
monstrous beast. He followed the string back and knocked
on the door.
Princess Ariadne was waiting. She opened the door.
Without anyone noticing, Prince Theseus and the children
of Athens ran to their ship and sailed quietly away. Princess
Ariadne sailed away with them.
On the way home, they stopped for supplies on the tiny
island of Naxos. Princess Ariadne insisted on coming
ashore. There was nothing much to do on the island. Soon,
she fell asleep. All the people gathered to admire the
sleeping princess. Theseus sailed quietly away with the
children of Athens and left her there, sleeping.
After all, a deal is a deal.

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