Minos

Minos was a Greek mortal.

Mythology
Minos and his two brothers were adopted by Asterion, the king of Crete.

The Minotaur
Due to a curse set on Pasiphae by Poseidon, she fell in love with the Cretan Bull and coupled with it, creating the Minotaur. Minos instructed Daedalus to make a labyrinth that the Minotaur could never escape from.

Minos' son, Androgeus, always won all contests set by Aegeas. The other contestants were jealous and killed him. Minos then went to Athens to avenge his son. On the way he camped at Megara. There was a man that lived there named Nisos that gained strength from his hair. Minos gained the love of Nisos' daughter, Scylla who aided Minos in cutting her father's hair. After Minos conquered the city, he punished Scylla for her betrayal of her father by tying her to a boat and dragging her in the water until she downed.

Minos then went to Athens and asked Zeus to punish the city. Zeus struck the city with hunger and plague. An oracle told the Athenians to do whatever Minos asked of them in order to escape the punishment. Minos told the Athenians to send seven boys and seven girls to Crete every nine years so that they could be sent into the labyrinth to feed the Minotaur.

After the labyrinth was built, Minos trapped Daedalus and Icarus in a tower so that nobody would ever find out the secret of the labyrinth and Minotaur.

The Minotaur was eventually defeated by Theseus, with the help of Minos' daughter Ariadne.

Death
After Daedalus escaped Minos looked through many cities to find him. He asked the king of each city a riddle and if anyone would be able to solve it, he knew Daedalus would be in that city. Minos came to Camicus and he asked King Cocalus to put a string through a spiral seashell. Cocalus tied the string to an ant and baited it through the shell with honey. Minos knew Daedalus was in Camicus and demanded that Cocalus hand him over. Cocalus insisted that Minos take a bath first and he had his daughters scald Minos to death with hot water.

Post-Mortem
After his death, Minos became a one of the judges of the dead. He was the judge of the final vote.

Family

 * Father: Zeus
 * Mother: Europa
 * Wife: Pasiphae
 * Children: Glaucus, Ariadne or See All