Cretan Bull

The Cretan Bull is a figure from Greek mythology and father of the Minotaur.

Saga

When King Minos once offered, the Poseidon to sacrifice the next animal that emerged from the waters of the sea, since none of his animals is worthy of such a high sacrifice, Poseidon sent him a singularly handsome, white bull. Minos, however, attracted by his beauty, hid it in his flock, beat him to God, and offered this instead of one of his animals. Poseidon, enraged if this transgression, fell Minos ' wife Pasiphae in undying love for the bull. She made this in one of Daedalus designed, wooden Kuhattrappe back and gave birth to the Minotaur of this connection later. In addition, the Cretan bull of Poseidon was struck with a fury causing it caused great destruction on Crete.

As a seventh Asked by Eurystheus, Heracles task now should subdue the bull and bring it to Eurystheus. Hercules thus marched against the beast from, landed on Crete and Minos asked whether this had any objection to the entrainment of the animal. Minos denied in the event that Heracles could handle the bull. Heracles subdued the animal and brought it to Eurystheus to Mycenae, where he showed this and immediately released them again.

The bull wandered through all of Sparta and Arcadia, finally crossed the Isthmus, and came to Marathon, where it caused considerable damage and many people killed. Therefore, he was also very much called marat honischer bull. Theseus, sent by Aegeus against the bull, eventually overcame these and led him to Athens, where Aegeus offered him to Apollo.

Some people think that before Theseus Androgeos was sent by Aegeus against the animal, but he is inferior to the bull and killed.

Constellation Taurus

Several early civilizations know a Taurus constellation in the winter sky. The Greek mythology associated it with the Cretan bull, but partly also with "Taurus", the adversary of the hunter Orion. Some historians take a different assignment, because there is a second Taurus constellation among the 48 classical constellations of Ptolemy with the Centaurus.

In Sumer, the constellation and the adjacent Orion represented the mythological bull of heaven in battle with the legendary King Gilgamesh of Uruk, as BC 2700 describes the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Possible background

The Cretan Bull probably reflects the later perspective on the bull cult of the Minoans, which is evidenced by numerous finds, especially from Knossos. This was probably practiced in the courtyard of the Minoan palaces of acrobatic bull leap.

Swell

  • Apollodorus, Library, II/94-95, III / 9 ff, III/209, IV/5-6

Media

  • Creature of Greek mythology
  • Mythological bull
  • Theseus
  • Heracles
  • Sacred animal
Mosaic Pasiphaë List of isthmuses Marathon, Greece Taurus (constellation) Orion (mythology) Bull-leaping
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