Tradition / Region: Greek Mythology
Alternate Names: Marathonian Bull
Category: Cow
The Myth
In the time when the gods still intervened openly in the affairs of men, Poseidon sent a magnificent snow-white bull from the sea to King Minos of Crete. The god meant this beast to confirm Minos’ right to rule, on the condition that the king would sacrifice the animal in honor of the god.
But when Minos saw the bull, he judged it too splendid to lose. Instead of offering it to Poseidon, he sacrificed another, lesser animal and kept the divine bull for himself.
The god saw the deception and grew angry. As punishment, he caused Minos’ wife, Pasiphaë, to be seized by a strange and terrible desire for the bull. From their union was born the Minotaur, half man and half bull. To hide the monster, Minos ordered the craftsman Daedalus to build the Labyrinth, a vast and winding maze in which the creature was shut away.
Meanwhile the bull itself fell under the god’s curse. It grew wild and furious, rampaging across Crete, tearing up crops and destroying orchards, and no one could subdue it.
At last the hero Heracles was commanded by King Eurystheus to capture the beast as one of his labors. Minos allowed him to take it, and Heracles wrestled the bull into submission and carried it across the sea to Tiryns. Later the animal escaped again and wandered into the land of Marathon, where it continued to terrorize the countryside.
The bull’s fate crossed again with that of heroes. It was said to have caused the death of Androgeus, Minos’ son, which in turn led to the tribute of Athenian youths sent to Crete for the Minotaur. Eventually the hero Theseus captured the bull near Marathon and brought it to Athens, where it was sacrificed to the gods.
Thus the Cretan Bull became known as a creature sent by a god, the sire of the Minotaur, and a beast whose fury shaped the deeds of kings and heroes alike.
Gallery
Sources
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Cretan Bull. In Wikipedia, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cretan_Bull
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
- Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive