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The true history of the Minotaur: what archaeology reveals

48 points by joebig

by internet_points

1 subcomments

I always considered https://files.blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/wp-content/blogs.dir/397... the true one

by rawgabbit

1 subcomments

If I understand correctly, the article says the "maze" was actually the many rooms of the Cretan palace. The word "labyrinth" comes from the sacred ax called "labrys" used to kill the bulls during sacrifice. The minotaur was an invention symbolizing a foreign power that Athens fought with and will overcome?

by 1024core

1 subcomments

English version, but paywalled: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/history-magazine/...
(can read in FF's "reader mode").
Archive link: https://archive.ph/gsv8r

by svilen_dobrev

0 subcomment

partially related..
the Minotaur is one of the main "characters" in Physics of Sorrow by Georgi Gospodinov.
https://www.amazon.com/Physics-Sorrow-Georgi-Gospodinov/dp/1...
https://losangelesreview.org/book-review-the-physics-of-sorr...

by card_zero

0 subcomment

Early mazes, like the one on the coin, are strange because they don't present any choices of direction and thus could not bewilder Theseus, even without his ball of twine.

by sapphicsnail

0 subcomment

The article mentions that Sappho referenced the Athenians sending sacrifices to Crete but I can't find the fragment anywhere and I'm guessing it doesn't exist.

by mistrial9

0 subcomment

(using an English translation of the French presented in this article. The article is worthwhile and detailed -- thank you for posting)
It appears that the author is trying to "solve" the origins of this mythos, using the commonly named Minoan culture as the core of the Bull in the story.
Yet the elements of a labyrinth, annual sacrifice, animal strength as a relative of the King, and the motifs used in the treatment and remedy.. These are not political topics.
Adding the spicy animal-human mating aspects only deepen the side of the story that exists within dream realms of human nature.
If the socio-political drives the author to make such a pleasing and informative product such as this article, then yes, I accept it. It is rare to find such aesthetics and thorough writing in public formats. However, I insist that the political change of society in that region is not enough to explain this strange and persistent storyline.

by jmclnx

3 subcomments