Minos

Minos (mī`nŏs, –nəs), in Greek mythology, king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. He was the husband of Pasiphaë, who bore him Androgeus, Glaucus, Ariadne, and Phaedra. Because Minos failed to sacrifice a beautiful white bull to Poseidon, the god caused Pasiphaë to conceive a lustful passion for the animal, by whom she bore the Minotaur, a monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man. The craftsman Daedalus constructed the labyrinth in which the monster was confined. When King Aegeus of Athens killed Androgeus, Minos vengefully forced Athens to pay him an annual tribute of seven youths and seven maidens. These he shut up inside the labyrinth, where they either starved or were devoured. Finally Theseus joined a group of the victims and killed the Minotaur. Minos became the most prosperous king of the Mediterranean area, renowned as much for his justness as his power. Along with Aeacus and Rhadamanthus, he became one of the three judges of Hades. Minos was presumably the name or title of an ancient Cretan king. The Minoan civilization is named for him.

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Minos

In Greek legend, a king of Crete, the son of Zeus and Europa. He gained the throne with the aid of Poseidon and also became ruler of the Aegean islands. His wife Pasiphaë fell in love with a bull and gave birth to the Minotaur, which was imprisoned in the Labyrinth. Minos waged war against Athens and exacted a tribute of youths and maidens to feed the Minotaur until Theseus killed the monster with the aid of Minos's daughter Ariadne. Minos was killed in Sicily when boiling water was poured over him as he was taking a bath. Many scholars now consider that Minos was a royal or dynastic title for the priestly rulers of Bronze Age, or Minoan, civilization in Knossos (Minoan means “of Minos”).

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Minos

his justice approved even by the gods; became one of the three judges of the dead. [Gk. Myth.: Zimmerman, 168]

See : Justice

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Minos

scrupulous king and lawgiver of Crete. [Gk. Myth.: Wheeler, 244]

See : Lawgiving