Minotaur notes

Minotaur

Theseus and the minotaur – red figure attic pelike from Cerveteri in taly, 480 –
460 BC
Minotaur – acting humanly as he stretches his hound, almost asking for mercy
Theseus is grabbing the horn, like he is sacrificing a bull to the gods
Theseus stands tall above the minotaur

Theseus executes the minotaur – attic red figure stamnos circa 500-450 bc
Theseus is got his foot on top of the minotaur – more human like nature of killing
He is grabbing his throat like the execution of an animal
Theseus is wearing clothes while the minotaur is not – more animalistic

Roman paintings

Mosaic copies from Pompeii of a lost painting of Theseus wrestling the minotaur
More like a wrestling match, they are wearing no clothes, and more entwined
with each other, they are the same height – like sports men would wrestle
He appears more human like in this way, as he is partaking in this human
combat form
Skulls on the ground, make it more animalistic
Spectators onlooking the wrestle, including woman and children, while Greeks
had a more isolated portrayal (in the labyrinth) – the onlookers make it appear
more like a game or a match, a battle that is done for sport.

Virgil, Aeneid (trans. Day Lewis) 6.20-41

“Here’s the insouluble maze contrasted by Daedalus; Yet, sympathising with
Ariadne in her great passion, He gives her himself the clue to the maze’s
deceptive windings, and guides with a thread the blind steps of Theseus.” – this
version it is Daedalus idea to help Theseus, rather than Ariadne ideas. There a
greater theme of passion and heart ache.
 “if his father’s
Grief had allowed.”

“also the legend

Of how the Athenians, poor souls, were forced to pay yearly tribute
With seven of their sons.”
Sympathy towards the Athenians, presenting Minos as cruel.
There is no scene of Theseus fighting the minotaur, and instead there is a
description of pasiphae actions, ariadne’s passion for Theseus, and Daedalus
grief at loosing his son Icarus. The human side and emotional side of the story
take more prominence in this roman source, rather than the focus on the
supernatural hybrid nature of the minotaur.

The minotaur is a myth that explores the dynamics of relationships. This is the
reason why woman become more prominent in roman sources, such as Ariadne
importance, Pasiphae’s shame and that the onlookers within roman art. The
humanisation of the Minotaur within Roman art is purposefully done to bring out
and explore human relationship dynamics.

Ovid, Ars Amatoria (trans. Green) 1.294-304 – Pasiphae’s love for the bull
“Pasiphae proudly rejoiced in her role as bull’s mistress, eyed his cows with
envious hate.”
“plucked leaves and lush grass”

“unrestrained by concern for her husband”

“why dress richly, Pasiphae? Your lovers blind to your wealth.” - comical
treatment of this love, as she is behaving as this bull is a person. Ovid explores
the idea of intense passion and human emotion, presenting her passion as
extreme through the comedic aspect of how unnatural this situation is.

Ovid, Heroides 4 – Phaedra to Hippolytus (trans. Isbell) 55- 64

Exploring the emotional state of the characters
Phaedra describes how her family tree are overwhelm by passions, and that
when you are taken by passion, you just have to go with it.
“It is our common fate that one house took us—
Your great beauty has conquered my heart.”

Ovid heriodes 10 – Ariadne to Theseus (trans. Isbell) 99-110

Describes her heartbreak at Theseus, and showing the focus emotional
hardships. There is a more critical analysis of Theseus, rather than his portrayal
as a hero.
“Even his great horns could not have pierced
your iron heart.”
“Your flesh displayed the hardness of flint
and the toughness of fine steel, there you displayed
a Theseus harder than anything.”

Ovid metamorphoses (trans. Raeburn) 8.136-137

Suggesting that Theseus is worst the minotaur, expressing extreme hate – the
hybrid creature is used as a tool to show extreme emotion, by comparing his
hideous and features and violent nature with that of a human.
“Now no wonder at all that Pasíphaë worshipped her bull-mate
More than she worshipped you, as you were the beastlier creature.”

Ovid, Metamorphoses (trans. Raeburn) 8.152-176

“Here Minos confined his monster son, half man, half bull,
and fed him twice on the blood of Athenian youths and maidens,
chosen by lot as tribute exacted at nine-year intervals.”

- Reflects pasiphaes shame by detaiing the hybrid nature of the minotaur

which is unautural and monstrous, inevitably leading to death
- Labrynth is a way to conceal pasiphaes shame

“rewinding the thread she gave him. He found the elusive entrance which none
had regained before him.”

“He carried the princess off

and sailed to Naxos, but there on the shore he cruelly abandoned
 his loving companion.”

- Themes of betrayal and heartbreak which is empahsised in the fact that

Ariadne is a pivotal figure in the success of Theseus

Apollodorus, Bibliotheca
Includes a summary of the minotaur story
“But angry at him for not sacrificing the bull, Poseidon made the animal savage,
and contrived that Pasiphae should conceive a passion for it.” (Apollod. 3.1.4)
- Pasiphae is punished for minos’ crimes, and is subject to Poseidon’s wrath.
She is presented as having no control over passions.

“He had the face of a bull, but the rest of him was human; and Minos, in
compliance with certain oracles, shut him up and guarded him in the Labyrinth.
Now the Labyrinth which Daedalus constructed was a chamber “ that with its
tangled windings perplexed the outward way.” (3.1.4)
“When the war lingered on and he could not take Athens, he prayed to Zeus that
he might be avenged on the Athenians. And the city being visited with a famine
and a pestilence.” (Apollod. 3.15.8)
- Zeus is used as a turning point in the story, showing the importance of
divine law

But when this was of no avail, they inquired of the oracle how they could be
delivered; and the god answered them that they should give Minos whatever
satisfaction he might choose. So they sent to Minos and left it to him to claim
satisfaction. And Minos ordered them to send seven youths and the same
number of damsels without weapons to be fodder for the Minotaur. 4 Now the
Minotaur was confined in a labyrinth, in which he who entered could not find his
way out; for many a winding turn shut off the secret outward way. (Apollod. 3. 15
.8)

“Ariadne, daughter of Minos, being amorously disposed to him, offered to help

him if he would agree to carry her away to Athens and have her to wife.”
(Apollos. Epit. E. 1.8)
“And having found the Minotaur in the last part of the labyrinth, he killed him by
smiting him with his fists.” (Apollod. Epit. E.1.9)
Contains a brief description of Theseus battle with the minotaur.

Plutarch, life of theseus – different interprations and rationalisms, that arnt

compatible with the myth in poetic sources. But they try and make Theseus into
a historical character fighting against a man, taurus, instead of the minotaur.
(15) “The most dramatic account of Theseus confronting the tribute situation
with Minos is that the 14 young people were destroyed by the Minotaur in the
Labrynth, or else wandered about and died because they were unable to find an
exit, and that the minotaur was, in Euripides words a “hybrid monster of human
and bull conjoined”
Contains the hybridity of the monster, and a destructive nature that needs to be
defeated by a hero.
(16) “Philochorus says that the Cretans said the Labrynth was an ordinary
dungeon and that the Athenian youth were given prizes and funeral games
commemorating Androgeos, at which Minos’ general tauros won the first year
and mistreated the Athenians as slaves.”
Mythology is redacted, suggesting that tauros or the minotaur was a cruel
general.

(16)“Homer and Hesiod praised Minos but the tragedians have won out with their
criticisms of him as cruel and violent.”
Suggests that early accounts focused on the heroic aspect of defeating a beast,
but later this evolved into more complex dynamics.

(17) “Hellanicus says that Minos used to hand pick the young people and that
they had to sail unarmed, and if the minotaur was killed the tradition would
stop.”
Reflects a cruel depiction of what Minos was like.

(19)“Most people write and sing that Theseus was helped by Ariadne to make his
way through the windings of the labrynth, killed the minotaur and sailed away
with Ariadne and the youths. Philochorus says that Theseus conquered all his
opponents in the games, including disgracing Taurus at wrestling, and won
minos’ favour. Cleidemus says Theseus beat Minos’ army at the gate of the
labyrinth.”

The idea that Ariadne helped theseus is present in many versions, however her
emotions are explored more thoroughly in roman sources.
Philocorus presents the idea of two men wrestling, which appeared in roman art,
for power, excellence, favour and recognition, rather than just a good vs evil set
up.

Euripides hoppolotus – pasiphae is presented as not being in control of her lust,

in the same way that Phaedra fights her uncontrollable lust. Shows the power of
the gods and the punioshments they are capable and presents both of them as
subject to the gods divine punishment, suggesting they are victims to it.

Vases – minotaur

Theseus and the Minotaur: red-figure Attic pelike from Cerveteri in Italy, 480-460
BC
Theseus executes the Minotaur
Attic red-figure stamnos circa 500 - 450 BC
Two mosaic copies from Pompeii of a lost painting of Theseus wrestling the
Minotaur
(note background, spectators, human remains)

Scylla notes

Scylla
Barbara Creed, The Monstrous-Feminine: Film
Superficial and deceptive, while hiding their true monstrous nature underneath.
Their superficiality is usually made by an image of a stereotypical beautiful
women, or a nurturing figure, such as a mother. Female monsters in films have
been depicted as vampires (the hunger 1983), witches (carrie 1976), woman as
non-human animal (cat people, 1942).
Images of the fear of the female womb: woman as monstrous womb (the brood,
1979) – gives birth to loads of monstrous children
Images of repressed emotions/desires: the castrating mother (psycho, 1960),
woman as bleeding womb (dressed to kill, 1980) – both about men pretending to
be woman, while they are in their female state they are murderous.

Freud
“To decapitate = to castrate.”
- Freud suggests that medusa’s depiction is a parallel to the male fear of
castration. The many snakes on medusa’s head are suggested to
represent male genitilea, which embodies the fear of castration. Her
decapitated head, emphasising this fear further.
- Scylla’s own portrayal is shown to be similar, as the canine dogs protrude
from her womb, embodying the male genitlea, and thus the fear of
castration. The multitude of dogs is similar to the many snakes of
medusa’s head, which draws further parallels to this fear.

“medusa’s head makes the spectator stiff with terror”

- The transformation to stone can be seen as a reassurance that the man
has not been castrated.

Thomson Philip, The grotesque (London 1972)

Phillip described one popular view of the grotesque as “Of the interweaving of
totally disparate elements, producing a strange and often unpleasant conflict of
emotions.”
The roman depiction of Scylla reflects this view point, as her beautiful upper half
exists with her monstrous lower half. The human combined with the animalistic.
The combination of these two elements, which are viewed as completely
separate, create a disturbing and unnatural image. Scylla’s beauty presents her
as dangerous in the sense that she is tempting and seducing, and combined with
her monstrous lower half, can make her appear even more fearful.
Bagehot view (1864) – grotesque as negative, which is in opposition with the
“beautiful and sublime.”
Scylla in the Odyssey is shown to reflect this view as the animalistic and
dangerous aspects of her are embodied completely.
Polyphemus and Cachus grotesque nature is presented negatively through their
exaggerated male characteristics, which is in opposition with the desirous
characteristics of masculinity.
Ruskin (1851-3) – defines true grotesque as relating to “the realisation of mans
tragic and imperfect nature” . False grotesque as “wilful frivolity”.
Frankenstein’s monster as grotesque – containing the moralistic tragedy which
elevates the monster from false grotesque to true grotesque. Frankenstein’s
monster begins monstrous in the sense that he is ugly, but becomes truly
monstrous when he is unable to commit to being good, which he initially starts
off as. Ovids Polyphemus is similar, as he too is hideous to look at, but tried to
abstain from violent behaviour, but in the end, he too eventually fails, becoming
truly grotesque. While the Greek Polyphemus does not have this tragic
personality, and according to Ruskin would not be part of the “true grotesque”.

Julia Kristeva, Powers of Horror (trans. Roudiez 1992)

“… It is thus not lack of cleanliness or health that causes abjection but

what disturbs identity, system, order. What does not respect borders,
positions, rules. The in-between, the ambiguous, the composite”
This other category is adjected due to its ability not to conform or respect
societal laws and order. Monsters in myth that are depicted as unlawful
and immoral are isolated from a civilised community as a result.
Physically, these monsters defy order, as they do not conform to typical
understanding of being human or being an animal.

Scylla disturbs identity system and order, and her disturbance is why she is seen
as monstrous and fundamentally a dangerous figure.
Georges Bataille, “formless” (1929)
The formless “serves to bring things down in the world, generally
requiring that each thing have its form.”

Similar to Kristeva’s point about the disturbance of identity and system,

the formless goes against the desire that everything should have a
particular form.

Scylla is isolated from society, and defies logic and order by being a
hybrid being, which contributes to her monstrous nature, which is an
explanation for her unnatural and uncivilised behaviour, and she herself is
unnatural and uncivilised. Her human upper half combined with her
monstrous lower half, serve to emphasise that she can’t be categorised,
which highlights her threatening nature.

Scylla further

Horace, Ars Poetica (trans. Kline) 1-9:

There is a natural form to a text, anything that didn’t fit this natural form, and
wasn’t harmonious would be ridiculous. He uses the example of the human head
on a horses neck, to show how this would be ridiculous to look at, as it doesn’t
portray a natural form.

“could you stifle laughter, my friends?”

“That neither its head nor foot could be related to a unified form.”

Horace Is suggesting that the painting was supposed to be beautiful, but you
would be laughing because you had found it ridiculous. The hybridity which is
ridiculous to horrors, and thus inappropriate.

Hybridity combines something positive with something negative to create an

unnatural form. Hybrid woman bring out the worst in feminity, suggests there is
a mistrust in feminity and women’s roles, embodying a paranoid fear of what is
imagined to be the feminine.
Anne Carson, “putting her in her place: Woman, dirt, and desire” (1990), page
154:

“In myth, woman’s boundaries are plaint, porous, mutable. Her power to control
them is inadequate, her concern for them unreliable. Deformation attends her.
She swells, she shrinks, she leaks, she is penetrated, she suffers
metamorphoses. The women of mythology regularly lose their form in
monstrosity.”
Widespread prejudice that women are materially different, relating to the
hippocractic texts, which led to this metamorphic portrayal of woman within
Greek myth, which is shown to carry on through to roman literature.

Ann Hanson “The medical writers’ woman” (1990) page 317;

“fluids exit from the body of the mature woman in quantity far greater than they
do from the body of a man: she menstruates, she produces lochial fluid and
milk… the greater sponginess of her mature flesh enables her to store blood and
other fluids as they await use or evacuation. “
She suggests that there is a medical understanding that women’s bodies were
more liquid than men, as they released more fluids suggesting that woman were
materially different. This idea parallels to the depiction of woman in classical
mythology, suggests that medicine was influenced by this portrayal through their
own ingrained beliefs. This medical belief is classical Greek, not roman, but the
similar portrayal of roman female monsters suggest that prejudice continued.

Scylla wielding sword boetian red figure bell-crater 450-425 bc

Scylla accompanying zeus’ abduction of Europa red figure calyx crater circa 340
bc getty museum

Two tailed Scylla wielding a rudder inscription commander of the fleet and shore
by decree of the senate denarius of sextus pompeius 38-37 bc

Homer, odyssey (book 12) (Hom. Od. 12.)

“Therein dwells Scylla, yelping terribly.” (85) - dog like quality
“she herself is an evil monster, nor would anyone be glad at the sight of her.”
(85) - completely monstrous, with no feminine beauty.
“she has twelve feet, all misshapen,2 [90] and six necks, exceeding long, and on
each one an awful head, and therein three rows of teeth, thick and close, and full
of black death.”
“ Scylla seized from out the hollow ship six of my comrades who were the best in
strength and in might.” (245) – considerably powerful and strong, to have easily
taken the strongest of Odysseus’ men in one go.

- She is portrayed as an obstacle, a part of Odysseus hardship, character

development and story.
- Reflects Greek fears of the unknown, and the inevitable hardships of life,
and loss
- Her monstrosity is extreme, which portrays the worst of humanity.

Ovid, metamorphosis (book 13-14)

13
“Scylla's dark waist is girt with savage dogs.
She has a maiden's face.”

“she was in olden time

a maiden. Many suitors courted her,
but she repulsed them;”

14
“Scylla came there and waded in waist deep,
then saw her loins defiled with barking shapes.
Believing they could be no part of her,
she ran and tried to drive them back and feared
the boisterous canine jaws. But what she fled
she carried with her. And, feeling for her thighs,
her legs, and feet, she found Cerberian jaws
instead. She rises from a rage of dogs,
and shaggy backs encircle her shortened loins.”

“But Scylla did not leave

the place of her disaster; and, as soon
as she had opportunity, for hate
of Circe, she robbed Ulysses of his men.
She would have wrecked the Trojan ships, if she
had not been changed beforehand to a rock
which to this day reveals a craggy rim.”

There is more focus on revenge, jealousy, love and passion. More human and
personal struggles, rather than her monstrous nature. Her attack on Odysseus in
Metamorphosis becomes a part of her revenge at Circe, rather than as an
obstacle for Odysseus. Scylla undergoes a tragic metamorphosis. This became
more popular, for example the portrayal of medusa in the theogony vs in Ovid’s
metamorphoses.

Virgil, Aenid (book 3) 374

“shapeless Scylla in her vaulted cave,

where grim rocks echo her dark sea-dogs' roar.”

“the parts that first be seen

are human; a fair-breasted virgin she,
down to the womb; but all that lurks below
is a huge-membered fish, where strangely join
the flukes of dolphins and the paunch of wolves.”

“Then take the leftward way…far from that billowy coast, the opposing side….”