The Labyrinth of Minos

There was a half-man-half-bull monster in the middle of the tyrant King Minos’s labyrinth. It was carnivorous, and every nine years, Athenians had to sacrifice seven young men and seven young women to this monster, Minotaur, the son of King Minos’ wife.

This labyrinth was said to have been designed by Daedalus, and its purpose was to keep the Minotaur inside due to the embarrassment of King Minos. The construction was a huge task and even a piece of art. The labyrinth was so well designed that high-technique builders were required. When she was little, while helping her mother with the housework, most of her boy neighbors were playing with rocks, stacking them to try to build something. They were told that the Minotaur had been a danger to people, so the labyrinth was needed. There were even some sort of schools where most boys were taught cutting stones, building structures, etc. She recalls that back in the day, her grandfather had to get up early and head to the construction site, another side of Crete. Her grandfather was the last few workers in the initial build of the labyrinth, which had already been building for decades at the time. After the labyrinth was built, well-trained workers were still needed to maintain it. It took about 4 to 5 years to learn how to do it, and every worker can only work for 9 to 10 years due to the difficult nature of the maintenance.

King Minos was powerful. He made all the places he had been ruling to provide young men and women to help with the labyrinth’s maintenance of the architecture and the art design. During the years of learning, new workers are taught by experienced workers who are in the last years of their careers. She remembers that only a few years ago, before her husband’s retirement, he would come home talking about the workers from outside the Crete, the differences in their cultures, cuisines, etc., and all the workers had been learning about constructions since they were young. It is a huge business. The labyrinth is important, although before it was built no one on Crete had been eaten by Minotaur. In reality, she thinks that no one has ever seen such a creature. However, the rule is the rule. Whatever King Minos said, it has to be done. Still every nine to ten years, people come from all over the place to learn how to do the maintenance and for replacing the retiring workers.

No one has ever questioned or doubted the command of the mighty King, or the emperor itself. They never built walls or castles to protect them from other nations, but a labyrinth to protect them from Minotaur. There is a Minotaur if King Minos said so.

By the time of her grand-grand-granddaughter, the labyrinth will no longer be in use because Theseus, the prince of Athens, will be said to have killed the Minotaur. During this time, the descendants of King Minos will not be as influential as his ancestors. Athenians will slowly but surely take over the power of the Hellenic Sea. History is written by the victors. The saying will have already become—there was a half-man-half-bull monster in the middle of the tyrant King Minos’s labyrinth. It was carnivorous, and every nine years, Athenians had to sacrifice seven young men and seven young women to this monster, Minotaur, the son of King Minos’ wife.

Postscript:

In this story, I am trying to convey the idea that the Minotaur myth is not just about the king and the sacrifice but about the greater force that drove King Minos to make such decisions and people around the Hellenic Sea to obey. The so-called greater force is shown as the Greek gods, the Minotaur, etc. in the myth. However, by pulling their figures away from the story, we can see it is the power of the king that made all these happen. Also, the sacrifice of the seven young men and seven young women might not be sacrifice originally. However, the successor power just has to say something against the former. Thus, (parts of) the mythical elements in the story are the images of the power-shifting progress around the Hellenic Sea.