As you may know, I have been learning about Greek mythology at the moment. Today I will be sharing a story called Theseus and the Minotaur. Before we start let me introduce some words that you may find.

Minotaur: In Greek mythology, the Minotaur is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being “part man and part bull”. Now lets get started shall we.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Patrick Writes Mythology! – Theseus and the Minotaur!

In the land of Ancient Greece, when the God’s ruled the Earth. They drove a wedge between two kings. King Aegeus of Athens was a gentle, friendly king; However King Minos of Crete was a vicious Savage Beast. Regrettably the son of King Minos had been terminated in a battle with King Aegeus.

Deep underground of the capital city, King Minos had imprisoned a beast that is half man, half bull. The demon had a powerful, enormous fists, long sharpened claws, a massive mouth and the sharpest teeth. Its teeth were sharpened, broken and yellow. Its horns were the strongest part of him and the widest. The eyes were vein-bulging and dark eyes.

In retribution for the death of Minos’ son, the Athenians had to sacrifice fourteen citizens to this terrifying Minotaur every year. Theseus, the son of King Aegeus was an adventurous, positive man who loved to go on dangerous missions and could never refuse a challenge. One year, he offered to sail to the island of Crete as one of the seven young men sent as a sacrifice. Thesus was stubbornly set upon killing the Minotaur. King Aegeus felt heartbroken and horrified about his son’s decision. He told him to fly white sails on his return to show the mission had been successful.

Wind rippled through the ship’s sails as Thesus and his companions travelled to Crete. King Minos and his Ariadne greeted the Athenians at the harbour. “ Time to meet your doom!” King Minos declared matter-of-factly. As the Athenians were marching labyrinth with their sweaty palm, quivered lips and their hands tightened.

Ariadne, whose eyes did not shine like sapphires and whose lips were not as red as roses, had fallen in love with Thesus at first sight. “How can I rescue my brave, powerful, love from the man eating beast?” she thought. “If you choose to marry me, I will help you escape the Minotaur” she whispered.

Ariadne gave Theseus a ball of string and told him to unravel it as he walked through the maze, so he could use it as a path back to safety. Deep in the dark dungeon underground, the opponent’s karate kicked and stabbed savagley. SMASH! CRASH! KAPOW! FLOP! Thesus battled, defeated and killed the Minotaur. Theseus, who was exhausted but elated, escaped.

Thesus’ men bolted as fast as a racing car to their awaiting ship. Thesus’ jaw dropped, tears went bursting out of his eyes when Ariadne said, “Remember, you promised to marry me.” As the ship carried them back to Athens, Thesus felt sick to the stomach and caged like an animal.

Far away from home they stopped on an island to collect supplies. As Ariadne was putting her makeup on, the crew were having a nice swim in the salty, ocean water.Thesus thought, ‘I need to get out of here. She is not the girl for me and never will be. ’The Athenians all skulked to the boat and silently rowed away from the shore.

Wandering, joyfully Ariadne decided to gather food for the group. The berries that she collected were bursting with a rich sweetness – moist, sweet, sensational. Yet when she returned to show the others her produce, everyone had abandoned her; her love had abandoned her.

As days turned into nights; as the clouds gathered in the sky, Thesus sailed closer to home. However, Thesus forgot to fly white sails to show his father that he was safe. The sails were as black as a sinsiter raven. King Aegeus stared out to sea and realized his son was dead.

Believing his own son had been slained by the Minotaur, he was heart broken, crushed, depressed. ”I can no longer continue to live like this without my son,” he cried. The oppressevie, dark thunder clouds mimicked the skys turning into bruises, breaking heart. With nothing left to live for, the grieving father was lured and digested by the turbulent, tempestous sea. King Aegeus had tragically died in vain. The end.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I hope you guys enjoyed the story about Theseus and the Minotaur. Now I have 3 uestions to ask to see if you were paying attention.

Question 1: King Ageus was described as what type of king? Question 2: What did Ariadne give the Minotaur? Question 3: In retribution for the death of Minos’ son, what did the Athenians have to sacrifice?

 

Goodbye and have a blessed day!