chapter sixteen, lecture one myths of crete. europa and the bull
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter Sixteen, Lecture One
Myths of Crete
Europa and the Bull
Europa and the Bull
• Agenor (Semitic “leader of men”)
• Brother Belus (=Baal, “lord”) ruled in Egypt
• Agenor settled in Phoenicia– Europa– Cadmus– Cilix– Phoenix
Europa and the Bull
• Agenor sends sons to look for her
• Phoenix stays near home = Phoenicia
• Cilix goes to southern Turkey = Cilicia
• Cadmus goes to Thebes = Cadmeia
Europa and the Bull
• Europa’s Sons on Crete– Minos– Sarpedon– Rhadamanthys
• Talus (the bronze giant)
• Laelaps (the magic dog)
Minos and Pasiphaë
Minos and Pasiphaë
• As a sign that he should be king, Minos asks Poseidon to send a bull, which he will sacrifice
• Poseidon sends the bull, but Minos sacrifices another one
• Married Pasiphaë, a daughter of Helius– Ariadne, Androgeus
Minos and Pasiphaë
• Makes Pasiphaë lust for the bull
• Daedalus from Athens is in Crete– Left Athens after killing his nephew and
student Perdix over a patent quarrel about the saw
• Daedalus makes a device for Poseidon and her “bull-friend”– Minotaur is born
Minos and Pasiphaë
• Minos asks Daedalus to build a prison for the Minotaur– Labyrinth
Minos and Scylla
Minos and Scylla
• Androgeus (a son of Minos) enters athletic contest in Athens and defeats all the local boys
• Aegeus orders him to fight a wild bull at Marathon and Androgeus is killed
• Minos collects his fleet and moves to attack Athens
Minos and Scylla
• On his way, he attacks Megara, ruled by Nisus, a brother of Aegeus
• Daughter Scylla falls in love with Minos
• Betrays Nisus by cutting off his protective purple lock of hair
• The city falls, but Minos abandons her
Theseus and Amphitritê
Theseus and Amphitritê
• Cannot take Athens
• Zeus sent a plague and famine
• Even four human sacrifices couldn’t deliver the Athenians
• An oracle tells them to surrender
Theseus and Amphitritê
• Every 9 years (or every year), 7 girls and boys must be sent to Crete to be sacrificed to the Minotaur
• Theseus, the son of Aegeus, the king of Athens, volunteers to go and face the Minotaur
Theseus and Amphitritê
• Theseus is also a son of Poseidon
• Minos is on the ship and makes a pass at one of the girls, Eriboea
• Theseus warns him off and claims that he is son of Poseidon, just as Minos is a son of Zeus
Theseus and Amphitritê
• Zeus sends thunderbolts to prove that Minos is his son
• To test him, Minos throws a ring off the ship and orders him to get it
• Theseus dives in but returns with a wreath given to him by Amphritritê, the wife of Poseidon
Theseus and the Minotaur
Theseus and the Minotaur
• On Crete, Ariadne (daughter of Minos) falls in love with Theseus
• She gives him the ball of thread on the suggestion of Daedalus, with which he returns from the labyrinth after killing the Minotaur
Theseus and the Minotaur
• But Theseus dumps Ariadne on Naxos, though she is rescued and married by Dionysus
• Theseus also stops on Delos, Apollo’s sacred island, and dedicates a statue of Aphrodite
• The youth dance the “crane dance” in celebration
Daedalus and Icarus
Daedalus and Icarus
• Minos turns on Daedalus
• He makes wings, bound with wax, and escapes with his son Icarus
• Icarus flies too close to the sun and falls into the sea
Death of Minos
Death of Minos
• Daedalus now flies to Sicily, to the court of Cocalus
• Minos, looking for Daedalus everywhere, arrives in Sicily with a scheme to catch Daedalus: the shell
• Daedalus is exposed, but the king’s daughters kill Minos in boiling water
End