by Graeme Davis
Minos is also seen in the Second Circle of Dante’s Inferno as Virgil guides Dante through the Underworld. Once again he examines newly arrived souls and assigns them to the various circles of Hell according to the nature of their sins. He pauses to warn Dante that he should not enter lightly, but Virgil rebukes him, saying that Dante’s visit is foreordained. Minos is described as a grim and fearsome judge with a snarling face and a tail that he wraps around his body.
Minos also appears in Michelangelo’s fresco The Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel. He stands at the lower right of the picture, supervising the souls of the damned as they are brought off Charon’s boat. As in Dante’s poem, he has a snake-like tail wrapped around his body.
Minos is shown judging the dead in this 19th-century engraving by Gustav Doré for Dante’s Inferno.
According to most sources, Theseus killed the Minotaur with a sword. Other accounts claim that he strangled the beast.
Turf-cut labyrinths have been known in Europe since the Middle Ages and may well be survivors of an earlier tradition. In recent years many have been restored, and maze dances have become a part of some New Age and Wiccan traditions. Labyrinth patterns can also be found on the floors of some European cathedrals, notably those of Chartres, Reims, and Amiens in northern France.
Some local traditions interpret walking a labyrinth – especially one in a cathedral – as making an allegorical journey to the spiritual Jerusalem, the kingdom of God, but there is plenty of evidence that maze-walking traditions predate Christianity across most of Europe, and it is possible that these cathedral labyrinths were Christian adaptations of pagan traditions like the maypole and the Christmas tree.
Finding the Labyrinth
In October 2009, British newspapers reported on an expedition led by Oxford University geographer Nicholas Howarth. Skeptical of Evans’ claim that the mythical Labyrinth was based on the palace of Knossos, Howarth and his team explored two underground complexes in Crete hoping to discover evidence to link one of them to the Labyrinth.
The first site, Skotino Cave, is about 10 miles east of Heraklion and a similar distance east-northeast of the palace. Excavations in the 1960s found evidence that the cave had been used as a ritual site from the Minoan period into the Classical Greek and Roman eras. Howarth’s expedition concluded that the complex was natural, whereas the Labyrinth of myth was always described as artificially constructed.
Howarth’s second site was a tunnel complex at Gortyn, some 30 miles south of Knossos. The tunnels are known locally as the Labyrinthos Caves, and have been associated with the myth of the Labyrinth since at least the 12th century. Interest in them waned after Evans’ discovery of the palace of Knossos. Howarth’s expedition confirmed that the complex was at least partly artificial, with passages and chambers that had been widened and enlarged in the past. However, nothing was found that could firmly link the site to the myth of the Labyrinth.
Despite the efforts of Howarth and others, it seems unlikely that the Labyrinth of myth will ever be linked unequivocally to a specific location on the island of Crete.
Mazes and Monsters
The myth of Theseus and the Minotaur is one of the oldest surviving examples of a tale where a hero confronts a monster in an elaborate building complex. Its role in the myth makes the Labyrinth an ancestor of Tolkien’s Mines of Moria, the monster lairs of Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy roleplaying games, and the complex levels of video games like the Doom series.
THE BULL DANCE
One of the most famous images of the Minoan civilization comes from a fresco found in the palace of Knossos, which shows three athletes with a charging bull. One stands in front, grasping the animal’s horns. The second is pictured in mid-somersault with his hands touching the bull’s back. The third stands behind the bull with his arms raised, either just landing after his own somersault or preparing to catch the jumper.
This is not the only bull-leaping image to have come from Crete. An ivory figurine of an athlete apparently in flight, also from Knossos, has been interpreted as the only surviving part of a bull-leaping scene. More complete is a small bronze sculpture found at Rethymnon to the west of Knossos and currently in the British Museum in London.
Although the true meaning of these images is still debated, many scholars have suggested that bull-leaping was part of a ritual connected with Minoan bull-worship. It is quite easy to see how the complex layout of the Knossos palace and the sport or ritual of bull-leaping might have become mythologized into a maze-like trap containing a bull-headed monster.
The famous bull-leaping fresco from the palace at Knossos. Was this sport or ritual the origin of the Minotaur myth? (David South / Alamy)
The truth behind the myth of the Labyrinth is open to debate, but it is interesting to note that mazes appear in the mythology and folklore of many parts of the world. Like the Labyrinth, they are most often intended to trap evil spirits, keeping them imprisoned and harmless. This is in contrast to the role of dungeons in modern fantasy, which are usually the lairs of dangerous creatures that must be defeated to ensure the safety of the community.
LINEAR A AND LINEAR B
The Minoan civilization used three separate writing systems. Linear B was used throughout the Minoan-Mycenaean cultural area and succeeded an earlier, still undeciphered script known as Linear A. Also undeciphered is an even earlier script, which is generally called “Cretan hieroglyphs” and is known only from inscriptions on the island of Crete.
Linear B was deciphered in the 1950s, and up to the time of writing almost 6,000 examples of Linear B writing have been found, mostly on clay tablets. They offer many insights into the language of the time, but are usually too short and fragmentary to give a deep picture of the culture itself.
The Labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral, c 1750. In a Christian context the Labyrinth symbolized a pilgrimage toward spiritual redemption.
THESEUS IN CRETE – VARIATIONS, HISTORY, AND INTERPRETATION
The common thread of the Theseus legend tells that Minos demanded a regular tribute of seven youths and seven maidens from Athens, who were delivered every seven years to be devoured by the Minotaur. Theseus went to Crete as one of these victims, and with the help of Minos’ daughter Ariadne he slew the Minotaur and found his way out of the Labyrinth. However, there are multiple versions of the tale, and each one is subject to interpretation. This chapter sets out the different versions of Theseus’ adventures in Crete, and discusses their possible meanings.
The Death of the Minotaur
Theseus’ best-known exploit is recounted very briefly in the surviving accounts of his adventures. All agree that he entered the Labyrinth, slew the monster, and found his way out thanks to the love-struck Ariadne.
Ariadne gave Theseus a ball of twine – a clew in Old English, and possibly the origin of the modern word “clue.” Theseus ventured into the Labyrinth, unspooling the twine as he went to leave a trail back out. After a struggle, he slew the Minotaur by stabbing it in the neck. The combat itself is always covered in a few words, with almost no details as to how long the fight lasted or how the two fought.
Although the written accounts of the slaying of the Minotaur are scanty, it is a favorite topic in art from Classical times to the present day. Many Greek vase-paintings show Theseus stabbing the Minotaur or dragging its body from the Labyrinth as Ariadne – or sometimes Athena, the patron goddess of Athens – looks on.
Theseus slays the Minotaur in this 19th-century bronze by Antoine-Louis Barye. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. (The Art Archive / Alamy)
As in the rest of Theseus’ adventures, different sources vary in minor details. In some versions, Ariadne gave Theseus verbal directions instead of a ball of twine. Relaying instructions from Daedalus himself, she told Theseus to go forward, never left or right, and down whenever possible.
Accounts of the Minotaur’s death also vary. In some versions, Ariadne gave Theseus the sword with which he killed the Minotaur, while in others he strang
led the monster with his bare hands.
Ariadne
In the most frequently told version of the story, Theseus took Ariadne and her sister Phaedra with him when he set out from Crete after slaying the Minotaur. He abandoned Ariadne on the island of Naxos, where she became the bride of the wine-god Dionysus and bore him several children. According to some writers, Dionysus appeared to Theseus in a vision shortly after he left Crete, claiming Ariadne as his bride; if so, this conveniently absolved Theseus of any blame for deserting her. It is said that Dionysus gave Ariadne the constellation Corona Borealis, which lies between the constellations of Hercules and Ursa Major or the Great Bear, as her wedding diadem.
Bacchus and Ariadne by Jacopo Amigoni, c.1740. After Theseus left her on the island of Naxos, Ariadne married the wine-god Dionysius, known to the Romans as Bacchus.
According to some tales, Theseus had two sons by Ariadne, named Staphylus (“grape cluster”) and Oenopion (“wine drinker”). Given their names it is easy to believe the other writers who claim that these two were actually sons of Dionysus.
Phaedra became Theseus’ wife after he left Naxos. She bore him two sons, Demophon and Acamas. Later, while Theseus was trapped in the Underworld, she fell tragically in love with his son Hippolytus. This story will be told in a later chapter.
Plutarch also mentions a tradition from Naxos that claimed there were two Ariadnes, meaning that the Cretan princess abandoned on Naxos by Theseus was not the same person as the wife of Dionysus.
Yet another version of the tale, credited by Plutarch to the lost Cypriot historian Paeon of Amathus, tells that Theseus left Ariadne on that island and not Delos. Theseus and his companions were driven to Cyprus by a storm on their return journey. Ariadne was pregnant at the time and the violent motion of the ship caused her great distress. Theseus managed to put her ashore before being swept out to sea again, and although the women of Cyprus did everything they could for her, Ariadne died in childbirth before Theseus could return. The grieving Theseus gave money for sacrifices in her honor and set up two cult images, one in silver and one in bronze, in a sacred grove that became known as the grove of Aphrodite-Ariadne.
In the account of Cleidemus cited by Plutarch, Ariadne never left Crete. Instead, she succeeded to the throne of Minos after Theseus slew Prince Deucalion at the gates of the Labyrinth. She and Theseus agreed a peace treaty between Crete and Athens, and Ariadne stayed behind to rule Crete when Theseus sailed away. Other versions of the myth tell that Ariadne hanged herself out of grief when Theseus left, making her a tragic queen like Dido in Book IV of Virgil’s Aeneid.
The Crane-Dance of Delos
According to Plutarch, Theseus also visited the island of Delos on his way back from Crete. He and his companions made sacrifices and offered up a statue of Aphrodite that Theseus had been given by Ariadne. They also performed a winding, turning dance that was said to represent the windings of the Labyrinth and which became a tradition on the island. Its name was reported by Dicaearchus, a student of Aristotle, as the “crane dance.” Plutarch also reports that Theseus also instituted games on Delos – perhaps in honor of Ariadne – and that it was at these games that he started the tradition of awarding a palm to the victor of an athletic contest.
THE SHIP OF THESEUS
Plutarch wrties that the ship on which Theseus returned to Athens was a vessel of 30 oars. The Athenians preserved it as a monument to their great hero, and it could be seen in Athens up to the third century BC – about a thousand years after his famous voyage.
The ship was lovingly maintained all that time. As parts decayed they were removed and carefully replaced with sound timber, and because of this practice the Ship of Theseus gave its name to a philosophical paradox. As Plutarch said, “the ship became an illustration to philosophers of the doctrine of growth and change, as some argued that it remained the same, and others that it did not remain the same.” Briefly put, if its parts were constantly being replaced, when did the Ship of Theseus stop being the Ship of Theseus?
Socrates and Plato both explored the paradox of the Ship of Theseus, and so did many later philosophers including Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. A modern version of the paradox is sometimes called “George Washington’s (or Abe Lincoln’s) Axe,” and instead of a ship it considers an axe that has had its head replaced twice and its handle three times since its famous owner last touched it.
Other Traditions
General Taurus
In his Life of Theseus, Plutarch cites a Cretan version of the tale passed on by the earlier Greek historian Philochorus. The work of Philochorus survives only in fragments, and the original passage to which Plutarch refers has not been found.
According to Plutarch, the Cretan tradition is far more prosaic than the Athenian myth. The Labyrinth was a grim prison from which escape was impossible. Its governor was a brutal – but mortal – general with the highly suggestive name of Taurus, meaning “bull” in Greek. The Athenian hostages were imprisoned in the Labyrinth and given as slaves to the victors in a regular series of memorial games that Minos held in honor of the murdered Androgeus.
The general’s strength and ferocity were such that he was expected to dominate the games, but according to Plutarch “his great influence and his unpopular manners made him disliked,” and scandal said that he was too intimate with Pasiphae – an intriguing correspondence with the tale of the Minotaur’s conception. Therefore when Theseus offered to challenge Taurus in the games, Minos readily agreed.
Theseus excelled in the games, humiliating Taurus in a wrestling match, and his prowess caused Ariadne to fall in love with him. Minos was delighted at the downfall of his powerful but arrogant general. He immediately freed the Athenian captives and declared a permanent end to the tribute.
It is easy to see how a historical figure with the name – or title – of Taurus might have developed into the mythological Minotaur, “the bull of Minos.” Plutarch seems to imply that the accounts of Philochorus and Cleidemus (see below) refer to the same events; if so, then General Taurus would seem to be the same person as Minos’ son Deucalion.
Theseus stands over the defeated Minotaur in this 1791 painting by Charles Édouard Chaise. (Peter Horree / Alamy)
Alternatively, Plutarch quotes another lost ancient writer named Demon who reported that General Taurus was killed in a sea battle when Theseus and his companions sailed from Crete, taking Ariadne with them.
Theseus Attacks
In addition to this Cretan tradition, Plutarch mentions an account by the now-lost Greek author Cleidemus, who ignores the story of the tribute and the Minotaur altogether and maintains that Theseus led an Athenian attack on Crete that resulted in Ariadne taking the throne of Minos and ruling Crete in her own right.
According to this account, Daedalus fled to Athens rather than Sicily. Minos pursued him in a fleet of war galleys, violating “a decree passed by all Greeks” banning all ships with a crew of more than five hands. The sole exception to this decree was Jason, who was empowered to cruise at will in the Argo and keep the sea free from pirates.
Minos’ expedition ended in failure. He died when his fleet was driven to Sicily by a storm – a plausible alternative reading of his death by “boiling water” at the hands of King Cocalus of Sicily. Minos’ son Deucalion sent “a warlike message” to the Athenians, threatening that unless Daedalus was handed over he would kill all the children whom Minos had taken as hostages. It is not made clear whether these hostages had any connection to the death of Androgeus. Theseus replied with peaceful overtures, playing for time while he secretly built ships at Troezen and elsewhere, “far from any place of resort of strangers.”
The fleet’s arrival in Crete was a complete surprise, and the Athenians took the harbor before the Cretans knew what was happening. Theseus slew Deucalion and his bodyguard at the gates of the Labyrinth, leaving Ariadne as the heir to Minos’ throne. Theseus made peace with her, reclaimed the Athenian hostages, and went home after he and Ariadne had conc
luded a mutual non-aggression pact between Athens and Crete.
While it is very different from the main body of the Theseus myth, this account has enough elements in common with it to make it possible that the myth grew up as an allegory based on historical events that happened more or less as Cleidemus describes. Theseus has a hidden fleet instead of a hidden weapon. He slew a son of Minos at the gates of the Labyrinth and saved Athenian hostages. He forged friendly relations with Ariadne, which brought an end to the conflict between Athens and Crete. It is also interesting to note how Cleidemus explains the voyage of the Argo – the subject of another book in this series – as an ongoing anti-piracy mission rather than a search for a fabled treasure.
KING OF ATHENS
There are no contemporary documents to tell us about Theseus’ rule in Athens. Almost everything we know comes from Plutarch’s biography; most of the earlier sources he quotes have been lost.
The picture that emerges is of Theseus as a tireless reformer who both expanded Athens’ regional influence and also reformed its political institutions. Although Plutarch never says so, it is clear that the Athenians regarded Theseus’ reforms as laying the foundations both for their later democracy and for the enormous power and influence that their city would come to wield.