Who walked into the labyrinth of the minotaur. Who built the Labyrinth for the Minotaur? Theories of Philochora and Eusebius

Minotaur - a monster from Crete, the main opponent of Theseus. Described as a man with a bull's head, lived in an intricate labyrinth. Killed by Theseus.

In the article:

The legend of the origin of the Minotaur

Greek legends described him as a monster of great stature, with the body of an athlete and a bull's head. His mother was Pasiphae (not to be confused with Pasithea), daughter of the sun god Helios and queen of Crete, wife of Minos. Minos ascended the throne only by defeating his brother with the blessing of the gods. In order for Minos to confirm his noble intentions and become a pious king, Poseidon sent him a magnificent bull and ordered the animal to be sacrificed.

Minos felt sorry for killing such a wonderful creature, and he released the bull to graze along with the herd, and instead killed another, ordinary one. Poseidon became angry and inspired Pasiphae with an unnatural attraction to the bull. According to some sources, Poseidon himself (in a number of myths - Zeus) turned into a bull in order to copulate with the queen. To do this, the Athenian engineer Daedalus came up with an ingenious design in the form of a bronze cow attractive to a bull. It was hollow on the inside, and Pasiphae was in it.

After the due date, the queen gave birth to a monster. The Minotaur, by order of Minos, was hidden in the labyrinth of Daedalus - Knossos. The Minotaur was fed by criminals and Athenian youths and girls - they were brought in every nine years, seven males and seven females. In some myths, seven children were sacrificed to the Minotaur.

Pausanias wrote that the real name of the Minotaur was Asterius, i.e. "starry". Antique vases with images of this beast almost always contain images of stars or eyes. Mycenaean texts also contain references to a certain mistress of the labyrinth, which could probably be Ariadne.

Minotaur and Theseus

Diodorus writes that Theseus sailed in the second game, and Plutarch claimed that in the third. But it is known for sure that the hero was among the victims of the Minotaur after he killed him. According to some sources, to reduce the resistance of the captives, they were deprived of their sight. According to others, it was impossible to leave the intricate labyrinth, and those who escaped death at the hands of the Minotaur simply died without water and food.

Theseus was among the fourteen victims. Together with the others, he was launched into the labyrinth, where he fought the Minotaur and killed him with his bare hands. Sometimes it is indicated that the hero had a sword with him.

Ariadne (half-sister of the Minotaur, but daughter of Minos) gave him a ball of thread with her, which Theseus unwound all the way. As a result, he and the rest of the captives left the labyrinth unharmed. The throne at Amykla contains an image of a captive Minotaur led by Theseus on a rope.

Rationalist version of the legend of the Minotaur

Philochor, and after it Eusebius in their writings they described a different version of the origin of the Minotaur, in which the bull-headed monster acts as an allegory. According to legend, the Minotaur was a man, his name was Taurus. He taught the young king of Crete - Minos, and became famous for his cruelty. At that time, Athens was under the rule of Crete and paid tribute by people. Minos decided to establish a competition in which his teacher fought with sent Athenian youths. Taurus defeated nine, but Theseus, the son of the Athenian king, defeated him. In honor of the victory, Athens was exempted from paying tribute.

The labyrinth at Knossos and the myth of the Minotaur

Also Daedalus' Labyrinth, according to Plutarch was the most ordinary prison. Ordinary prisoners were housed within its walls, and in very tolerable conditions. Minos annually held competitions in honor of Androgeus, his son, who was killed by the Athenians. The winner received as slaves boys and girls sent from Athens. Before that, they were kept in the Labyrinth. Taurus enjoyed the great confidence of Minos and was the first winner of the competition. Taurus was known as a rude and hard-hearted master, merciless with slaves. Aristotle's "State Structure of Bottia" clearly expresses the author's thought that it was simply unprofitable to kill the sent people - young people were highly valued in the slave market. They most likely remained slaves in Crete until the end of their days.

Historian Daemon believed that Taurus was a commander whose fleet engaged in battle with the fleet of Theseus in the harbor and was defeated. Taurus died in this battle. Plutarch wrote that Taurus was a general killed in the war between Crete and Athens. The later story of the Minotaur is the fruit of human invention and myth-making.

Other hypotheses and the cult of bulls

Minotaur could be borrowed Phoenician god under the name . Moloch was depicted as a horned man, and children were sacrificed to him. The famous expression "hell of fire" came from the place where human sacrifices were made to Moloch - the children were "guided through the fire", that is, they were burned alive. The cult of Moloch could very well be in Crete. The death of the Minotaur marked the end of this cult.

A number of modern historians consider the history of the Minotaur to be an allegorical story about the collision of the Indo-Europeans with the cultures of the autochthonous "peoples of the sea". These "sea peoples" of unknown origin revered bulls. The clash was won by the more civilized Indo-Europeans in the modern sense. Also, the appearance of the Minotaur is suggestive of the beast-headed Egyptian gods.

Theseus, a novel by Mary Renault, contains a description of ritual sacrifices. They were called "bull belts" - a kind of protocorrida. Scenes with bull belts are often found on the frescoes of the Cretan period. Artistic materials of the Minoan era contain images of taurocatapsia - ritual jumps over a bull. The cult of the worship of the bull was very strong in Crete, and such rituals were a significant part of it.

A similar theme can be traced back to the Bronze Age, from where it migrated to the Hittite kingdom, Syria, Bactria and the Indus Valley. Bullfighting and bull veneration are common in Mediterranean cultures. Today, this phenomenon has survived as a Spanish bullfight.

The double-edged ax of the executioner - "labrys", was an integral part of the bull cult. Probably, "labyrinth" is a modified "labrys". Pre-Hellenic religions often practiced sacred bullfights, and Cretan demonology contains quite a few bull-headed people. The minotaur living in the heart of the labyrinth was most likely a cruel legend, an echo of the even more terrifying rituals of Crete. The most ancient forms of the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur say that the hero defeated the monster with a double-edged axe.

Today, along with the twelve labors of Hercules, the legend of the Minotaur remains one of the most recognizable. It is difficult to say exactly what she is talking about - about the ancient cult of the bulls, the traditional competitions of slaves, or the monster that lived in the labyrinth of Daedalus. However, this is not the only mystery left to the descendants of the myths of ancient Greece.

In contact with

Stores many exciting stories, instructive legends and touching stories. It found a place for terrible monsters, and beautiful young men, and mysterious nymphs. One of the brightest and most famous characters is the Minotaur.

Of course, most of us are familiar with this monster. But how well do you know the history of its appearance? Or maybe it didn't exist at all?

Who is the Minotaur

The appearance of the Minotaur is really terrible: a bloodthirsty monster with a human body and a bull's head.

The diet of his diet was people, and not green grass, like ordinary artiodactyls.

The residence of the Minotaur was a labyrinth created to hide the monster from human eyes. But where did such a terrible creature come from?

Appearance of the Minotaur

In most cases, the appearance of an unusual creature is associated with the history of the ancient Gods. The man with the head of a bull was no exception.

At that time Asterion was the king of the island of Crete. His wife, Europe, had 3 sons from a previous union with Zeus. Their names were Minos, Sapedon and Rhadamanthus.

After some time, Asterion departed to another world, but did not have time to bequeath his throne. Of course, the struggle between the brothers began. The winner was to take the throne.

Minos, who had an advantage in the fateful struggle, called on the help of all the gods, promising to bring them a generous sacrifice.

One day, Poseidon sent Minos a magnificent bull that came out of the sea. It was him that he had to sacrifice, fulfilling his promises. There was no doubt: it was Minos who would win, taking the throne of the king of Crete. Therefore, Sapedon and Rhadamanth were expelled from the island.

But, as it turned out, quickly. Minos did not keep his oath. Poseidon's bull seemed too beautiful to him, and the self-confident young man decided to deceive. He replaced the donated bull with the most ordinary one, and sacrificed it.

However, everyone knows that the gods can not be deceived. Poseidon, having learned about everything, became furious, and decided to punish the deceiver.

Punishment of Poseidon

The cruelty of punishment was in the spirit of the ancient Greek gods.

The Lord of the Seas inspired the wife of Minos, Pasiphae, with an unnatural, sinful love for the bull.

Pasiphae and the cow built by Daedalus

Pasiphae went crazy with irresistible passion, but she could not find a way to reunite with the desired bull. Daedalus and Icarus became her assistants in this matter.

They built a wooden frame in the shape of a cow, covered with a real skin.

Climbing inside, Pasiphae seduced the divine bull, and after the due date gave birth to a child.

The boy, named Asterius, was absolutely unusual. With age, his head turned into a bull, horns and a tail grew.

The terrible monster that appeared as a result of a vicious relationship was bloodthirsty: ordinary food did not give him pleasure, he needed human blood and meat.

legendary labyrinth

To everyone's surprise, Minos did not condemn his wife, because it was he who was to blame for what happened. But he was not going to put up with the monster.

Daedalus and Icarus, again called to help, built the most complex labyrinth of Knossos, where a bull-man, called the Minotaur, was later imprisoned.

Knowing about his bloodthirstiness, Minos sent people into the labyrinth for food. As a rule, these were criminals sentenced to death.

But the king of Crete also had a son, Androgey. However, the young man did not have a long and happy life; he was killed by the Athenians.

Wanting to avenge the death of the heir, Minos demanded an annual payment from the Athenians: seven girls and seven young men who went into the labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur.

A daredevil named Theseus

Several times, Athenian boys and girls disappeared without a trace in a labyrinth with a terrible monster. And only Theseus, who arrived in the next batch, was able to defeat the Minotaur. But how did he do it?

Ariadne, half-sister of the bull-man, fell in love with Theseus. She understood that if she did nothing to save the young handsome man, he would be doomed to death.

Still, there was a way to escape. Before Theseus went into the labyrinth, Ariadne gave him a ball of thread.

A smart guy guessed to tie one end near the entrance. Moreover, the ball was magical: touching the ground, it rolled by itself, and Theseus followed him like an experienced guide.

The ball led him to the lair of the Minotaur, where he slept peacefully.

How exactly Theseus defeated the monster, no one knows. But there are several versions of what happened.

• The first source claims that Theseus killed the Minotaur with a blow from his fist.
• Others believe that he used the sword of his father, Aegeus.
• And still others believe that the Minotaur was strangled.

Whatever it was, the monster was defeated. And the magic ball of the resourceful Ariadne helped Theseus and the surviving captives to get out of the labyrinth.

Unfortunately, myths involving gods rarely have a happy ending.

Theseus, in love, realizing that he could not live without Ariadne, kidnapped her and went to his homeland.

On the way, the girl drowned. Most likely, Poseidon contributed to this, as revenge for the murdered Minotaur.

Saddened, Theseus fell into mourning, forgetting everything. This is what caused other tragic events.

After the victory, the flag on the ship had to be changed to white so that the people of Theseus could see the approaching hero.

However, the death of Ariadne did not allow him to do this. Noticing the black flag of an approaching ship, which was a symbol of bad news, King Aegeus regarded this as news of the death of his son, Theseus. Unable to bear the loss, Aegeus threw himself into the sea, which was later named after him.

Rationalist version of the legend

Some ancient historians who studied myths described one non-standard, but very interesting version.

In their writings, the Minotaur, like a monster with a bull's head, is just an allegory. In fact, he was a man named Taurus.

Taurus was the teacher of Minos when he was very young.

Legends say that Taurus was an extremely cruel man, and therefore Minos decided to establish a competition during which his teacher would fight with sent Athenian youths.

Athens at that time was indeed under the rule of Crete, and was obliged to pay tribute to the people. Having defeated 9 Athenians, Taurus met with Theseus, who was able to win.

The image of the Minotaur in culture

Ancient Greek myths often form the basis of literary works, and their colorful characters are a source of inspiration for many authors. The Minotaur was no exception.

Knossos Palace-Labyrinth of King Minos Greece 1700 BC

In literature, the image of a bull-man can be found:

1. The Divine Comedy Dante Alighieri
2. House of Asterius, Jorge Luis Borges
3. Theseus, Mary Renault
4. The Labyrinth of the Minotaur, Robert Sheckley
5. "Minotaur", Friedrich Dürrenmatt
6. "Helmet of Terror. Creatiff about Theseus and the Minotaur, Victor Pelevin

Of course, the authenticity of the legend of the Minotaur and Theseus has not been confirmed.

It can be treated as a fairy tale, and as an allegorical story, and as an instructive story.

However, the palace of the Minotaur has survived, albeit in a dilapidated form, despite its venerable age of 4 thousand years.

The main characters were depicted on the canvases of paintings, the surfaces of vases, in the form of sculptures. Theseus and Ariadne, loving and brave, will forever remain in the memory of people as the saviors of mankind from a terrible monster with a bull's head and a human body.

An abandoned stone quarry on the Greek island of Crete, consisting of an intricate network of underground tunnels, may well turn out to be the legendary labyrinth of the Minotaur, that same monster with a bull's head and a human body from ancient myths. According to legend, the Minotaur was regularly brought to devour criminals. In addition, every nine years he was given to be devoured by seven Athenian youths and seven Athenian girls sent by the Greeks as tribute to the king ...

In the summer of 2009, an Anglo-Greek team of archaeologists carefully studied a quarry located near the ruins of the city of Gortyn in the south of the island. Scientists have come to the conclusion that these underground tunnels have much more reason to be called the labyrinth of the Minotaur than the Minoan palace at Knossos, located about 30 kilometers from the quarry.

During the last century - since archaeologists began to study Knossos - the myth of the Minotaur was firmly associated only with the Palace of Knossos. Every year, about 600 thousand tourists came there, who were told by the guides that the legendary King Minos once lived in the palace. It was on his orders that a labyrinth was built - a refuge for the Minotaur, the son of his wife Pasiphae and the bull.

However, historians now believe that the network of caves near Gortyn, the ancient Roman capital on Crete, has an equal chance with Knossos to be considered a contender for the title of Labyrinth. At least if one takes seriously the idea that the myth of the Minotaur is about a real place and a real king.

The Oxford geographer Nicholas Howarth, who led the expedition, said that the connection between Gortyn and the Labyrinth may have been forgotten thanks to the famous theories of Sir Arthur Evans, an English archaeologist who excavated Knossos between 1900 and 1935 and developed the concept of the Minoan civilization.

Theseus fighting the Minotaur, antique pottery. OK. 500-450 AD BC e.

“People come to Knossos not only to look at the remains of the ancient city excavated and restored by Evan, but also in search of a connection between this place and the mythical Age of Heroes. It's a shame that most visitors to Knossos have never even heard of other possible locations for the Labyrinth," Howarth said.

Researchers from Oxford worked together with specialists from the Hellenic Speleological Society. They discovered that black archaeologists had already visited here before them, who wanted to blow up one of the caves in the hope of finding a hidden treasure room.

The caves are a network of tunnels 4 kilometers long that run through large caves and often end in dead ends. This labyrinth has been visited by curious travelers since the Middle Ages. But when archaeologists discovered Knossos at the end of the 19th century, the caves were abandoned. During World War II, the Nazis had an ammunition depot there.

According to Nicholas Howarth, when you get into these caves near Gortyn, you immediately feel that this is a dark and dangerous place where it is easy to get lost. Therefore, he is skeptical of Evans' hypothesis that the Palace of Knossos is the same Labyrinth. Undoubtedly, his considerable authority in scientific circles also played a role in the stability of the version of the English archaeologist.

In addition to Knossos and Gortyn, there is also a third possible location of the Labyrinth - a cave complex on the territory of mainland Greece in Skotino. According to Howarth, based on archaeological evidence, it would be very difficult to say that the Labyrinth ever existed. All three of the above places can claim the title of Labyrinth. But for now, the answer to the question: was the labyrinth fiction or reality remains open.

The ancient city of Knossos, on the site of which archaeological excavations are being conducted, is located on a hill 3.1 miles southeast of Heraklion, the central city of the island of Crete in the Aegean Sea. It was built during the Bronze Age by the masters of the Minoan civilization, named after the legendary king of Crete - Minos. The Minoan culture existed on the island for about 1500 years: from 2600 BC. e. to 1100 BC e. It flourished in the 18th and 16th centuries. BC e. The main attraction of Knossos is the Great Palace - a huge complex of rooms, halls and courtyards with a total area of ​​205,278 square feet. The palace of Knossos is closely associated with the Greek myth of Theseus, Ariadne and the monster Minotaur. The legend of the Knossos labyrinth, which Daedalus built to hide the terrible half-animal, half-human, is associated by some researchers with the layout of the palace complex. Separate archaeological finds made in Knossos and other ancient cities of the island of Crete remotely confirm the practice of bringing human sacrifices. They correspond to the content of the legend of the Minotaur, which says that every year 14 girls and boys were brought to the monster from Athens.

The site of Knossos was discovered in 1878 by the Cretan merchant and antiquary Minos Kalokarinos, who excavated several sections of the western wing of the palace. However, systematic excavations did not take place here until 1900, when Sir Arthur Evans, director of the Oxford Ashmolean Museum, purchased the land and began research that continued until 1931. While working at Knossos, Evans and his team discovered, among other things, the main palace, a large Minoan city ​​and several necropolises. Evans carried out a lot of restoration work in the palace of Minos (however, one can disagree with the name given to him by the researcher). Some archaeologists even believe that the current appearance of the palace is more the result of Evans' wild imagination, and not a monument of ancient Minoan culture. After Evans, the costs of the excavations at Knossos were covered by the British School of Archeology in Athens and the Board of Archaeology of the Greek Ministry of Culture.

On the top of the hill where Knossos was located, people lived for a long time: from the Neolithic era (7000-3000 BC) to the Roman period. The name of the city of Knossos comes from the word "ko-no-so", written in Linear B, the oldest surviving type of Greek writing, which was used in Crete and mainland Greece in the 14th-13th centuries. Don. Examples of Linear B were found on clay tablets at Knossos, where court scribes recorded the order of work and administrative decisions, in particular in the production of perfume oils, gold and bronze vessels, chariots and textiles, as well as in the distribution of goods: wool, sheep and grain. In addition, Evans found clay tablets at Knossos written in an earlier and still undeciphered Cretan Linear A.

The first Minoan palace at Knossos, built around 2000 BC. e., lasted until 1700 BC. e. and was destroyed by a terrible earthquake. This event completes the stage, which in archeology is usually called the period of the Late Palaces. The new palace (or rather, the palace complex) was erected on the ruins of the old one. The construction was a harbinger of the golden age of Minoan culture, or the period of the New Palaces. The Great Palace, or the palace of Minos, became the main achievement of the Minoan culture and the center of the most powerful city of Crete. The majestic complex of wood and stone, apparently numbering at least 1400 rooms, served as an administrative and religious center. The layout of the Palace of Knossos repeats other buildings of this type that existed in Crete at that time, in particular in Phaistos, a city located south of the central part of the island. However, the Knossos complex was undoubtedly the main one. Minoan palaces traditionally consisted of four wings around a central rectangular platform - the heart of the complex. Each section of the Palace of Knossos had a specific function. In the western part there were necropolises, a number of ceremonial rooms and narrow pantries filled with pithoi - large-capacity jugs. An elaborately decorated throne room was also located in this part of the complex. Here, in front of a row of benches, was a stone seat built into the wall, which Arthur Evans called the king's throne. This is how the name of the premises appeared, which quickly took root. At the back of the western wing of the complex was the Western Courtyard. It was a skillfully paved outer entrance to the palace. Once the buildings here were four-story, but only three floors have survived to this day. It was in this part of the complex that the quarter was located, in which, apparently, the Minoan elite lived, there were workshops, necropolises and one of the most impressive achievements of Minoan architecture - a monumental staircase. In other parts of the palace there are huge apartments with water flowing through terracotta pipes and perhaps the first examples of flush toilets.

The most unexpected finds in Knossos were frescoes - luxurious paintings on plaster on the walls, and sometimes even on the floors and ceilings of buildings. The frescoes depicted princes, beautiful girls, fish, flowers and strange games in which young people jumped over huge bulls. At first, the wall paintings were presented in fragments, often without a significant part of the elements, but later Evans and the artist Piet de Jong managed to restore the frescoes and collect the fragments into a single whole. Subsequently, there was a lot of controversy about the thoroughness of the reconstruction work, but today there is no doubt that many frescoes have a religious and ritual purpose.

During the heyday of the Minoan civilization - in 1700-1450. BC e. in Knossos and the surrounding settlements, according to researchers, lived at least 100,000 people. During this time, the centers of the Minoan civilization experienced two great earthquakes, the most destructive of which occurred probably in the middle of the 17th century. BC e. (although some researchers give dates no later than 1450 BC). The most powerful volcanic eruption on the island of Thira (modern Santorini) of the Cyclades archipelago, 62 miles from Crete, exceeding the atomic explosion in Hiroshima in strength, split the island of Thira into three parts. In the middle of the XV century. BC e. due to the weakening of the network of trade routes and the destruction that the frequent earthquakes in mainland Greece brought with them, the Minoan civilization began to decline.

Probably, the layout of the palace of Minos with many rooms resembled a labyrinth, so some researchers believe that this is what gave impetus to the creation of the legend of the Minotaur and Theseus. The essence of the myth is that in Athens, Theseus heard about the bloody tribute demanded by the king of Crete, Minos, because the Athenians killed his son. It consisted in the fact that seven young men and seven innocent girls were delivered from Athens to Crete every year to be eaten by the Minotaur - a terrible half-bull, half-man, a monster locked in a labyrinth designed by the great architect Daedalus. Shocked, Theseus volunteers to be "part" of the annual donation and kills the Minotaur. But before going to Crete with the rest of the victims on a ship with black sails, Theseus makes a promise to his father Aegeus: if he manages to kill the Minotaur, he will change the black sails to white on the way back - this will mean that Theseus remained safe and sound . The daughter of King Minos, Ariadne, fell in love with Theseus as soon as he stepped ashore and agreed to help him kill the Minotaur.

Ariadne gave Theseus a ball of silk thread, with which the hero was able to find his way out of the labyrinth after he killed the monster. Together they went back to Athens, but, having made a stop on the island of Naxos, Theseus, on the orders of the god Dionysus, left Ariadne there. Heartbroken, he forgot his promise to his father and did not replace the black sails. King Aegeus, thinking that his son was dead, threw himself off a cliff into the sea.

Knossos was associated with Theseus and the Minotaur and much later, when the Minoan culture ceased to exist. This version is confirmed by money, in particular a silver coin from Knossos, dated 500-413 BC. BC e. It depicts a running Minotaur on one side, and a labyrinth on the back. On another coin we meet the head of Ariadne against the backdrop of a labyrinth. Especially popular images of the Minotaur and the labyrinth were in the Roman period. The labyrinth of Knossos is depicted in many mosaic drawings of that time. Undoubtedly the most impressive of these is a 5th-century drawing found in a Roman villa near present-day Salzburg (in western Austria). However, some researchers believe that the legend of the Minotaur has nothing to do with the architecture of the Palace of Knossos. They draw attention to the differences between a labyrinth consisting of one passage from the center and a labyrinth with many passages. Probably, we are talking about a labyrinth with one passage, which is a symbol of the mysteries of life and death. This version is associated with a religious ritual in which the Minotaur, waiting in the center of the labyrinth, personifies a certain secret that is stored in the heart of each of us.

The story of the Athenian boys and girls who were sent to Knossos to be sacrificed to the Minotaur has always been considered just a myth. However, archaeological finds partly confirm this terrible legend. In 1979, 337 human bones were found in the foundations of the northern wing of the Knossos palace complex. It has been established that these are the bones of at least four people, including children. Upon further examination, horrifying details were revealed: 79 of them were marked with a sharp blade. Bone specialist Lewis Binford claims that the marks were made during the separation of the flesh. Based on the assumption that the removal of meat from the bones was part of the funeral ceremony (not all the flesh was removed, but only large pieces), the professor of classical archeology at the University of Bristol, Peter Warren, who participated in the excavation, concluded that the children, apparently, were sacrificed and even eaten.

Just 4.3 miles south of Knossos, in the four-hall sanctuary of Anemospilia (first excavated here by J. Sakellarikas in 1979), another find was discovered, indicating human sacrifice. When examining the western hall of the palace, archaeologists found three skeletons. The first belonged to an 18-year-old boy lying on his right side on an altar in the center of the room with his legs tied and a bronze dagger in his chest. Near the altar there was once a column, around the base of which there was a drain, apparently intended for the blood of the victim to flow into it. Examination of the bones of the deceased young man showed that he died from blood loss. In the southwest corner of the room were found the remains of a 28-year-old woman sprawled on the floor, and near the altar, a 5'9" skeleton belonging to a man under the age of 40. The man's arms were raised as if he were trying to defend himself, and his legs were broken by fallen masonry. Another skeleton was found in the building, so damaged that it is not possible to identify it. The temple was destroyed by fire around 1600 BC. e., probably caused by an earthquake. Obviously, these three people died under the rubble of the roof and masonry of the outer walls, and the young man was most likely dead by that time.

Archaeological evidence confirms that human sacrifice was not widespread in Minoan Crete. The examples cited were rather exceptions and were explained by desperate attempts to please the gods in difficult times, probably during seismic activity. And the fact that children, boys and girls were sacrificed both in the northern wing at Knossos and in the temple of Anemospilia again reminds of the seven guys and seven girls who were allegedly taken from Athens as a sacrifice to the Minotaur. Perhaps the legend of the Knossos labyrinth arose due to the fact that the practice of human sacrifice had to be resorted to during periods of instability, when the security of an entire community was threatened.

The origin of Daedalus is a rather confusing question; the answers to it were contained in the myths of relatively late times and did not differ in particular integrity. The father of the craftsman was Metion (Metion), Evpalam (Eupalamus) or Palamaon (Palamaon), mother - Alklippa (Alcippe), Iphinoe (Iphinoe) or Phrasimede (Phrasimede). Daedalus had two children - Icarus (Icarus) and Iapyg (Iapyx); the craftsman's nephew is also known - either Talus or Perdika. In the Athenian legends, usually considered a Cretan, Daedalus becomes a native of Athens, the grandson of King Erechtheus (Erechtheus), who fled to Crete after the murder of his nephew Talos (Talos).

Daedalus was first mentioned by Homer as the creators of the huge dance floor for Ariadne. Daedalus, however, became famous for another building - also erected in Crete; the Labyrinth he created became a haven for the terrible half-man, half-bull Minotaur. The classic story of the Labyrinth tells of the Athenian hero Theseus, who slays a terrible monster and finds a way out of the entanglements of the dungeon with the help of Ariadne's thread. Despite the fact that Daedalus played an almost insignificant role in this story, he is clearly not an invention of Homer and most likely acts as a kind of reference to a story that people of that era should know well. It should be noted that the very name of the craftsman acts as a reference to works of art; in the language of Homer, the word "daidala" denoted everything to the creation of which the hand of a true genius of the craft was applied. Most often, this term is used in relation to armor, however, ordinary household items could well be called in this way.

Interestingly, the confusion of the internal structure of the Labyrinth appeared in myths after Homer; the Labyrinth was originally supposed to be a huge dance hall built for Ariadne. In the following myths, the appearance of the building changed dramatically - the authors described intricate passages that merge into a hopeless web. According to Ovid, the labyrinth turned out to be so complicated that even Daedalus himself managed to find a way out of it with great difficulty. The story of how Daedalus' creation was subsequently used for a terrible monster is somewhat symmetrical to the myth of Daedalus and Icarus - in both cases, the artisan created something that was subsequently used in a way that was completely unexpected and rather negative.

The story of Daedalus and Icarus is not only better known, but the artisan had a much more important role to play in it. In a relatively late version of the myth, described by the same Ovid, Daedalus appears locked in a tower. After the creation of the Labyrinth, the artisan was almost the only one who was subject to the secrets of his ways - and the ruler of Crete did not want to release these secrets into the light. In any case, Daedalus could not leave the island by water - the ships sailing from Crete were searched in the most strict manner. The road to freedom for the artisan and his son was to be air. Gathering together a large number of feathers of different sizes, Daedalus made wings for himself and Icarus; the individual elements of the wings were held together with wax. Having finished the work, Daedalus was convinced that his wings were working properly, after which he taught Icarus to use them. Just before departure, the craftsman told his son not to fly too high and not to fall too low; at a high altitude, the wax would melt from the heat of the sun, and at a low altitude, the feathers would get wet from the sea foam. Part of the distance the father and son managed to overcome successfully, but later the boy forgot and flew up to the sun. Father's prediction came true; the wax melted, Icarus fell into the sea, where he drowned. The saddened father was bitter about what his own art had led to; the place near the part of the ocean where Icarus died was later named after him. This myth has been interpreted in different ways at different times. So, during romanticism, Daedalus was considered as a symbol of a classic creator, a skilled and experienced craftsman, who knew his business perfectly and did not deviate from generally accepted principles; his son, in turn, was presented as a romantic, rebelling against the formal principles of aesthetics and social conventions - and paying dearly for it.

After some time, Daedalus was visited by the goddess Athena herself, who gave him new wings and taught him to fly like a god. Later, Daedalus went west, to Sicily, the land of King Kokal Camiksky; here the artisan erected a temple to Apollo, in which he hung - as a gift to God - his wings. In Virgil's Aeneid, Daedalus erects his temple at Cumae; later, Aeneas has to see the golden doors of the temple on his way.

Minos, meanwhile, does not stop his search; wandering from city to city, he offers everyone a difficult riddle-task - a spiral shell through which a thread must be passed. Kokal secretly offers this riddle to Daedalus; he ties the thread to the ant and with the help of a drop of honey makes the insect pass through the shell. Minos understands that only Daedalus could solve this problem and demands his extradition; Kokal convinces Minos to take a bath beforehand - where the ruler of Crete is killed by Kokal's daughters. In another version of the myth, Daedalus himself is given the opportunity to deal with the former boss - the artisan kills Minos with boiling water.

Proud of his talents, Daedalus very painfully perceived the very possibility of having worthy rivals. One such rival is his own nephew. Through the efforts of sister Daedalus, young Perdika comprehended the secrets of mechanics; among other things, he managed to invent a saw and a compass. Wounded by the talents of a competitor, Daedalus staged the death of Perdika; who died after falling from the Acropolis (Acropolis), the mechanic Athena turned into a partridge - and the killer left him a scar in the form of a partridge on his right shoulder. After this, the relationship of Daedalus with the goddess clearly deteriorated.