Minotaur

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The Story of the Minotaur:
[|King Minos]was married to a mortal women named Pasiphae. Pasiphae gave birth to a son who was half man and half bull. This creature was named the Minotaur.

King Minos shut the Minotaur in the maze, or labyrinth on Crete, built by [|Daedalus]. Every year the Athenians were forced to give seven young men and seven young women to supply food for the minotaur. Their reasoning behind this was because of the Oracle at Delphi. The oracle told the Athenians to give King Minos whatever retribution he should choose because they lost the war against Crete which was where King Minos ruled. He ordered them to send seven young men and seven girls, to be served as food to the Minotaur. The Minotaur was kept in his labyrinth, from which there was no escape after one entered, because the way the maze was created you could not see the exit. Theseus wanted to be a hero and kill this terrible Minotaur, so when it was time for the 3rd sacrifice he asked to be on the list, and was granted his wish. Princess [|Ariadne] pleaded with Daedalus to tell her the way out of the labyrinth, so she could tell Theseus. Following his instructions, she gave Theseus a ball of thread as he entered. He fastened this to the door and let it trail behind him as he went in. He came across the Minotaur in the furthest section of the labyrinth, killed him, and then made his way out again by pulling himself along the thread.

 Relation to //The Lightning Thief//:
 On the way to Half- Blood Hill, Percy is being "hunted" by this Minotaur because the gods believe Percy stole the lightning bolt. Percy is able defeat the minotaur after he the monster summoned his mom to the underworld (Riordan 48- 56).

 Below is a picture of Greek Statue of the Minotaur: 

Theseus grasps the bull-headed Minotaur as he prepares to kill him.

Sources:

"Minotaur" Greek Mythology Link. 2 Aug. 2010. 

"Minotauros" Theoi Greek Mythology. 3 Aug. 2010. 

Riordan, Rick. //The Lightning Thief//. New York: Hyperion Books, 2006.

Rouse, WHD. //Gods, Heroes, and Men of Ancient Greece//. New York: New American Library, 2001.

Images:

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Förlag, Maicar. "Minotaur". 1997. Greek Mythology Link. <http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Minotaur.html>

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">No artist given. "Theseus killing Minotaur". No year given. Explore Crete. <http://www.explorecrete.com/mythology/daedalus.html>