Minotaur - Minotaur (English spelling)

A monster from Greek mythology. When Zeus' son Minos became king of Crete overcoming the opposition of his political opponents, Minos prayed to Poseidon to make a sacrificial bull appear from the sea to show off his connection with the gods. The god sent a white bull, but Minos was reluctant to sacrifice the beautiful bull and hid it. As punishment, angry Poseidon made Minos' wife Pasiphae go crazy with wicked love for the bull. The queen had the artisan Daedalus create an elaborate replica of a cow, and secretly had sex with the bull, giving birth to the Minotaur (Minos's bull), a monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man. Minos imprisoned the monster in the labyrinth, the labyrinth Daedalus created, and fed it to young boys and girls who were sent as human sacrifices from his vassal state, Athens. However, he was eventually defeated by the Athenian prince Theseus, who had been caught up in a human sacrifice. It is thought that this myth may have arisen from the fact that in Crete, a divine king performed a sacred marriage ceremony with his queen in the form of a bull.

[Tetsuro Nakatsuka]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ギリシア神話の怪物。ゼウスの子ミノスが政敵の反対を押さえてクレタの王となるとき、ミノスは神とのつながりを誇示するために、犠牲の牛を海から出現させてくださいとポセイドンに祈る。神は白い牡牛(おうし)を送るが、ミノスはこの美しい牛を犠牲にするのが惜しくなり、隠してしまう。怒ったポセイドンは罰として、ミノスの妃(きさき)パシファエをこの牡牛への邪恋に狂わせる。工匠ダイダロスに精巧な牝牛(めうし)の模像をつくらせた王妃は、それに忍んで牡牛と交わり、牛頭人身の怪物ミノタウロス（ミノスの牛の意）を産む。ミノスは、この怪物をダイダロスのつくった迷宮ラビリントスに閉じ込め、属国のアテナイ（アテネ）から送られてくる人身御供(ひとみごくう)の少年少女を食わせて養った。しかし、やがて人身御供のなかに紛れ込んだアテナイの王子テセウスにより退治される。クレタでは神的な王が牛の姿で王妃と神聖婚の儀式を行ったことから、このような神話が生まれたかとも考えられている。

［中務哲郎］

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