King of Crete who had the Labyrinth built. After death he became a judge of the dead.
From Knossos, Crete. Today: near Heraklion, Crete.
Strength 6/10 · Wisdom 7/10 · Courage 6/10 · Divinity 4/10 · Fame 7/10
The story
Son of Zeus and Europa and king of Crete, ruler of the seas. He refused to sacrifice Poseidon‘s white bull, leading to the birth of the Minotaur, and demanded young Athenians as tribute after his son was killed in Athens.
How it ends
Chasing Daedalus to Sicily, he was killed there by the daughters of King Cocalus. He became one of the three judges of the dead.
Still with us today
The archaeologist Arthur Evans named the Bronze Age civilisation of Crete “Minoan” after him.
Family
- Parents: Zeus, Europa
- Partners: Pasiphae
- Children: Ariadne, Phaedra
- Siblings: Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hermes, Dionysus, Persephone, Hebe, The Muses, Calliope, Heracles, Perseus, Polydeuces
Appears in
Theseus and Crete, The Underworld
Read about them in the Library
- Library of Apollodorus 10: Europa, Minos and Thebes
- Library of Apollodorus 16: Epitome: Theseus, Tantalus and the house of Atreus
- Metamorphoses 7: Medea, and the plague of Aegina
- Metamorphoses 8: Daedalus, Meleager and Baucis
Ancient sources
- Homer, Odyssey
- Apollodorus, The Library