History
Origin and early Life[]
King Minos was the legendary ruler of Crete, Greece he was the son of Zeus, the king of the gods, and of Europa, a Phoenician princess. Minos obtained the Cretan throne by the aid of the Greek god Poseidon, and from Knossos he gained control over the Aegean islands, colonizing many of them and ridding the sea of pirates. He married Pasiphae. Minos successfully warred against Athens to obtain redress after his son Androgeos was killed by the Athenians.[2]
Minotaur[]
His wife Pasiphae slept with the Bull of Crete sent by Zeus, and gave birth to Minotaur, a creature half man – half bull. King Minos was embarrassed, but did not want to kill the Minotaur, so he hid the monster in the Labyrinth constructed by Daedalus at the Minoan Palace of Knossos.[2] Angrodes, son of Minos, went to Athens to participate to the Panathenaic Games, but he was killed during the Marathon by the bull that impregnated his mother. Minos was infuriated, and demanded Aegus, king of Athens, to send seven men and women every year to the Minotaur to advert the plague caused by the death of Androgeus.[2]
Theseus[]
Later Theseus insisted on being one of the seven youths and seven maidens of Athens to be sacrificed to the monster as an annual tribute. He promised his father that if he were successful in killing the Minotaur he would on his return voyage replace his ship's black sails with white ones. Ariadne, daughter of King Minos, fell in love with Theseus and gave him a magic ball of thread to be dropped at the entrance of the labyrinth; it led Theseus to the Minotaur, which he killed, and he then followed the unwound thread back to the entrance.[2]
Death[]
Having pursued Daedalus to Sicily, Minos was killed by the daughters of King Cocalus, who poured boiling water over him as he was taking a bath. After his death he became a judge in Hades, the Underworld.[3]See Also
- 1 minor appearance(s) of Minos (Earth-616)
- 4 mention(s) of Minos (Earth-616)
- 1 image(s) of Minos (Earth-616)
Links and References
References
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #8 ; Appendix: Olympians: Demi-Gods, Heroes and other Graeco-Roman Mythological Figures: Agamemnon's entry
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #9
- ↑ X-Men Annual #4