Scribd
Upload
45 views30 pages

Theseus and Minotaur

Uploaded by

nenake2018
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
45 views30 pages

Theseus and Minotaur

Uploaded by

nenake2018
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 30

https://youtu.be/uVTfszppJl8?

si=R0tp2GXmPPuwIlVH
How human greed and godly wrath
created the minotaur..
In Greek mythology, King Minos was
one of the three sons born to Zeus
and Europa. When their step-father,
King Asterion, died, Minos declared
himself king and appointed his
brother Sarpedon as lawmaker of all
the islands. Sarpedon questioned
his brother’s authority, but Minos
said that it was the will of the gods
for him to become king.
As proof, he sacrificed a bull to the
god Poseidon and then asked the
god to send a new bull for the same
purpose. Poseidon listened to his
request and sent a beautiful white
bull from the sea. But Minos thought
the bull was so beautiful that he
couldn’t bring himself to kill it, so he
When Poseidon realized that
Minos had sacrificed a lesser
bull, he decided to punish the
king for his selfishness and
disrespect, so with the help of
Aphrodite, he caused
Pasiphae, the wife of Minos to
fall in love with the white bull.
Pasiphae—desperate from her
love for the bull—asked for
help from the craftsman
Daedalus. So Daedalus built
Pasiphae an empty wooden
cow in which she could
disguise herself. It was so
beautiful that the white bull
was tricked and together they
made the Minotaur, a powerful
beast with a human body and
the head of a bull.
When Minos saw the beast, he was angered and decided to
have Daedalus build a labyrinth where the minotaur could be
help captive forever
Later, when Mino’s son
Androgeus was killed
by the Athenians,
Minos declared war
against Athens and
won. As punishment,
Athens had to send 7
young men and 7
young women to be
sacrificed to the
minotaur every 9 years.
One of the young
Athenian men sent as a
sacrifice was a young
prince called Theseus,
son of Aegeus, the king
of Athens.
Having volunteered himself,
Theseus vowed to slay the
minotaur beast.
Theseus promised his father
that he would put up white sails
coming back from Crete,
allowing his father to know that
he was coming back alive and if
Theseus was killed, the boat
would return with black sails
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 king told the children they


would not be eaten until the
next day and to enjoy
themselves in the palace in the
meantime.

Late that night, Princess


Ariandne wrote Prince Theseus
a note and slipped it under his
bedroom door.
Dear Theseus,

I am a beautiful princess as you


probably noticed the minute you saw
me. 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 showed up
with a sword and a
ball of thread.
She told him to
unravel it as he
went through
the labyrinth so
that he would
know the way
out when he kills
the monster.
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.
And told the children to stay
by the door.

Their job was to make sure


the string stayed tied so that
Theseus could find his way
back. Theseus entered the
maze alone.
Theseus found his way to the
center of the maze.

Using the sword Ariadne had


given him, Theseus killed the
monster. 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.
Theseus’ boat stopped at Naxos and the Athenians had
a long celebration dedicated to Theseus and Ariadne.
After long hours of feasting and drinking, Ariadne fell
asleep on the shore and didn’t get on the boat that
sailed to Athens. Theseus purposely left Ariadne on
Naxos because he didn’t want to marry her….

(ooohhhh 👀)

But plot twist! Dionysus, the god of wine, fruit and


fertility, sees Ariadne and felt sympathy for her and
they fell in love! That’s how Ariadne became a
goddess.
King Aegeus was waiting to see the sails of the boat on Cape
Sounion. Theseus had forgotten his promise to his father and
so King Aegeus saw the black sails from afar and presumed
his son was dead. He dropped himself to the water and died.
Since then, this sea is called the Aegean Sea
QUIZ!!! ARE WE
READY??
1) Who was the God that
punished Minos for not
sacrificing the white bull?
2) What was the name of the craftsman who made the wooden cow and the labyrinth? (Clue: father of Icarus – the story makes
me cry every time..😭)

A) Dardanus

B) Dionysus

C) Daedalus

D) Daedalion
3) What is the major conflict between King Minos and Athens?

A) King Minos threatens to go to war with Athens if Athens won’t send him human sacrifices.

B) Athens sends King Minos slaves as payment for losing a war to them.

C) King Minos demands food for his Minotaur or he’ll set the minotaur lose in Athens.

D) King Minos wants to rule Athens but does not have a strong enough army to defeat the city.
4) What does Theseus plan to do?

A) sacrifice himself so Minos won’t demand any more Athenians

B) overthrow King Minos and take Crete for Athens

C) kill King Minos

D) kill the Minotaur


5) What was Theseus’ promise to his father?

A) For the returning boat to have black sails if Theseus died

B) For the returning boat to have white sails if Theseus died

C) For the returning boat to have black sails if Theseus survived

D) For the returning boat to have white sails if Theseus survived


6) How does Ariadne impact Theseus?

A) She provides him with a way to kill the Minotaur.


B) She provides him with directions for how to get through the maze.
C) She gives him the tools needed to get out of the maze.
D) She gives him hope by telling him she loves him.
7) The minotaur was..

A) Half human and half goat

B) Half bull and half human

C) Half goat and half bull

D) Half bull and half giraffe


8) What was the name of the island
that Theseus abandoned Ariadne
on?
9) Who rescued Adriane and
what happened to her after?
10) Why did King Aegeus jump into
the sea? (RIP.. This part made me so
sad  )
ANSWERS

1) Poseidon
2) C
3) B
4) D
5) A and D
6) C
7) B
8) Naxos
9) Dionysus and become goddess
10) Thought his son died

You might also like