Theseus and the Minotaur

Author: Diodorus Siculus; Hyginus; Ovid

Time Period: 999 BCE–1 BCE; 1 CE–500 CE

Country or Culture: Greek; Roman

Genre: Myth

Overview

The myth of Theseus and his triumph over the captive Minotaur (Minôtauros) has fascinated writers and visual artists for centuries. The artists who designed ancient Greek vases and twentieth-century artist Pablo Picasso both depicted the Minotaur. The stratagem of Ariadnê, who gave Theseus a thread to unwind as he entered the labyrinth, has been a symbol of psychoanalytic thinking. The labyrinth itself can be seen to represent the mystery of the human mind and soul.

Several sources of the myth exist, including the texts by Diodorus Siculus, Gaius Julius Hyginus, and Ovid. The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, who was originally from Sicily, lived during the first century BCE. His most famous work was the Bibliothēkē (also known as Bibliotheca historica or The Library of History). It was composed of forty short books covering different areas of the world, with the first book containing legends. He relied on older sources for much of the work, including prehistoric mythology. Little is known of Hyginus, a Roman who may have lived during the first century CE and may have been acquainted with Ovid. His work is of value largely because it draws on material from Greek dramas that have subsequently been lost. Publius Ovidius Naso, known as Ovid, was a prolific Roman writer who lived from 43 BCE until around 17 CE. Ovid’s Metamorphoses (8 CE), a long poem written in hexameter and retelling a number of Greek and Roman myths, has influenced numerous later writers, including William Shakespeare and John Milton.

Several major characters play roles in the story of Theseus and Ariadnê. Theseus is the young prince who defeats the monster in the maze. Aegeus is the king of Athens and father of Theseus. King Minos of Crete precipitates the need for a labyrinth and ritual victims by his refusal to sacrifice a fine bull, angering the gods. Minos’s daughter Ariadnê is a prime actor in the drama, making it possible for Theseus to succeed in killing the beast. The Minotaur is her half brother, the son of her mother, whom the gods made to fall in love with a prize bull as a rebuke to Minos. The creature has the head of a bull and the body of a man. Daedalus is the noted court architect who constructs the labyrinth that houses the Minotaur. The main god who acts in the myth is Dionysus (Dionysios), who takes Ariadnê as his own, either by force or after she is abandoned, depending on the version being read.

Archetypal literary theory is based on the work of twentieth-century Swiss psychologist Carl Jung and will be applied to the myth. The term “archetype” refers to a pattern, conscious or subconscious, that underlies and directs human behavior. The word is a compound Greek word formed from arkhe, alluding to what is original or first, and typos, referring to a mold or a seal. The term appeared in Hellenistic religious and philosophical writings of authors such as Philo and Plotinus.

Centuries later, Jung referred to an archetype as an “inherited mode of psychic functioning,” comparing it to the innate knowledge that a bird has in building a nest (qtd. in Moon 381). He believed that a person’s thoughts and actions are determined by unconscious patterns. Folklorists Aarne Anti and Stith Thompson further adapted and used archetypes in their study of folklore and literature. The analysis will include a look at some of their categories as well.

Summary

Several Greek and Roman writers, each of whom emphasizes a different place within the narrative, penned fragments of the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Each has his own slant on the tale, but they agree in the basic outline of events. The story begins with Minos, the king of Crete, or his wife, Pasiphaê, offending the gods. In some accounts, Minos is to sacrifice an especially fine bull to Poseidon (according to Diodorus) or Jupiter (Ovid), but instead he offers other bulls. According to Hyginus, Pasiphaê neglects to honor Venus with sacrifices. To punish the offense, the gods cause Pasiphaê to fall in love with a bull. All variants relate that with the help of Daedalus, the court architect, she has intercourse with the bull. The child born of the union has the head of a bull and the body of a man.

The king is outraged and commands Daedalus to construct a labyrinth in which to hide the Minotaur. Daedalus himself has difficulty retracing his steps out of the maze, so intricate is its design. The creature demands sacrifice, however, and Minos offers young men and women sent in tribute from Athens. Sent into the labyrinth, they cannot find the way out and are devoured. According to Ovid, this offering occurs three times a year for nine years; other sources say the sacrifice occurs once every nine years.

Determined to end the slaughter, Theseus, son of Aegeus, king of Athens, volunteers to be part of a group bound for sacrifice, intending to kill the Minotaur. Concerned for the fate of his son, Aegeus asks that the ships be outfitted with black sails. If Theseus prevails, the sails are to be changed to white. In this way, Aegeus will be informed of the success or failure of the quest before the fleet’s arrival into port.

When Theseus arrives in Crete, Ariadnê, daughter of Minos and half sister of the Minotaur, falls in love with him. She gives him a thread to carry into the labyrinth and unwind as he goes, thus allowing him to retrace his steps after slaying the monster. As Diodorus Siculus puts it, “When they had landed in Crete, Ariadnê, the daughter of Minos, became enamoured of Theseus, who was unusually handsome, and Theseus, after conversing with her and securing her assistance, both slew the Minotaur and got safely away, since he had learned from her the way out of the labyrinth” (4.61.4).

After his triumph, Theseus takes Ariadnê with him, planning to marry her in reward for her loyalty to him. Hyginus relates that en route to the Greek mainland they are stranded on an island because of a storm. Despite his promise of marriage, Theseus abandons Ariadnê on the island of Dia (also called Naxos). He is fearful that if he were to take her to Athens, he would be rebuked because Athens is a vassal state of Crete. Dionysus (Liber or Bacchus in the Roman versions) finds her there on the island. In a version told by the Roman poet Catullus, more emphasis is placed on Ariadnê and her plight after being abandoned on the island.

“When Theseus came to Crete, Ariadne, Minos’ daughter, loved him so much that she betrayed her brother and saved the stranger, for she showed Theseus the way out of the labyrinth. When Theseus had entered and killed the Minotaur, by Ariadne’s advice he got out by unwinding the thread. Ariadne, because she had been loyal to him, he took away, intending to marry her.”

According to Hyginus, it is Liber who marries her. In Diodorus Siculus’s version, it is Dionysius who finds her and takes her from Theseus for himself. This action is deemed the cause of Theseus’s depression and forgetfulness. Both Diodorus Siculus and Ovid explain the constellation Ariadnê’s Crown as a result of Dionysius (Bacchus to the Romans) resolving to grant her fame. Hyginus and Diodorus Siculus relate that Theseus later marries Ariadnê’s sister, Phaedra.

Theseus, sailing back to Athens, forgets to change the color of the sails. When Aegeus sees the black sails, he is certain that the Minotaur has slain his son. The grief-stricken father leaps into the sea, which is then named Aegean in his honor, according to Hyginus. By contrast, Diodorus Siculus relates that Aegeus leaps from the Acropolis to his death.

These versions of the myth follow the plot analysis of fights with monsters set forth by scholar Paul Murgatroyd. There are three distinct episodes: a prelude of events that will affect the confrontation, the actual combat itself, and the aftermath of the combat (Murgatroyd 133–34). It is noteworthy that each of these three retellings minimizes the actual combat. Each relates only that Theseus “slew the Minotaur” or “killed the Minotaur.” This may be related to the Greek dramatic convention of having violence occur offstage. Rather than emphasizing the battle, the writers focus on the prelude and aftermath. This contradicts another insight Murgatroyd posits—that the Greek and Roman myths featuring battles with monsters offered audiences a safe scare or thrill (2). However, he suggests instead that the short shrift given to the battle in this case is to highlight how easy it was for the hero to overcome the monster (135).

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