Speaker A
Once upon a time, long before men wrote history on paper, the Mediterranean was ruled not by heroes, but by monsters and the kings who made them. It began on the island of Crete, where an old king's death left behind a golden crown and
Explore the myth of King Minos, the Minotaur, and the labyrinth in this detailed retelling of classic Greek mythology.
Key Takeaways
- Greek myths often involve gods intervening in human affairs with complex consequences.
- The Minotaur myth explores themes of power, deception, and monstrous consequences.
- Daedalus's labyrinth symbolizes entrapment and confusion, a masterpiece of ancient craftsmanship.
- Heroism is portrayed through Theseus's bravery and cleverness in overcoming the Minotaur.
- Mythological stories remain relevant by inspiring modern media and games.
What the video covers
- The video narrates the story of King Minos of Crete and his divine right to rule granted by Poseidon.
- Minos's greed leads him to deceive Poseidon by hiding the sacred white bull, resulting in a curse.
- Queen Pasiphaë, cursed by Poseidon, gives birth to the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull creature.
- Daedalus, the master craftsman, builds a complex labyrinth to imprison the Minotaur.
- The Minotaur grows violent and demands human sacrifices, forcing Minos to find victims beyond Crete.
- The story introduces Prince Theseus, who volunteers to face the Minotaur and end the sacrifices.
- Princess Ariadne aids Theseus by giving him a thread to navigate the labyrinth.
- Theseus kills the Minotaur and escapes the labyrinth, becoming a hero and future king of Athens.
- The video includes a sponsored segment for the Warhammer 40,000 Tacticus game.
- The myth is presented with modern storytelling elements and some humor, highlighting its darker themes.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction to Crete and the Rival Brothers
- 00:54Minos Prays to Poseidon and Gains the Throne
- 01:50Minos’s Deception and Poseidon’s Punishment
- 03:02Pasiphaë’s Obsession and the Birth of the Minotaur
- 04:02Daedalus Builds the Wooden Cow and the Labyrinth
- 06:36The Labyrinth and the Minotaur’s Growing Threat
- 08:25Theseus Arrives and Prepares to Face the Minotaur
- 17:25Theseus Kills the Minotaur and Escapes the Labyrinth
- 19:30Aftermath and Theseus’s Return
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
three rival brothers. Minos, Radantus, and Sarpedon. They were no ordinary brothers. Their mother was a mortal princess who had caught the attention of Zeus himself. But since Daddy Zeus is a horrible father, the boys instead have been raised by the
Speaker A
late king of Crete as his own. They each laid claim to the empty throne and
Speaker A
tore the kingdom apart, fighting over it. Minos, the oldest and most ruthless of the three, knew that blood alone would not win him the crown. So to
Speaker A
scare his brothers away forever, he hatched a dangerous
Speaker A
plan. He dragged everyone to the edge of the dark ocean, fell to his knees in the cold water, raised his hands to the sky, and prayed aloud to Poseidon. "Grant me a
Speaker A
sign of my divine right to rule. And the moment it touches the shore, I will sacrifice sex and your honor."
Speaker A
Within moments, the ocean turned black. The waves roared, and out of the menacing depths stepped a creature no mortal had ever seen. A massive bull, white as bone, its coat glowing like moonlight on water. It was an undeniable miracle.
Speaker A
Terrified by this show of divine favor, Radantus and Sarpedon abandoned the war and fled into exile, leaving Minos to claim the throne alone. Minos had won the crown. But as he stood before this magnificent beast, greed took hold. The
Speaker A
bull was simply too beautiful to slaughter. He secretly hid Poseidon's white bull among his personal herds and dragged an ordinary cheap farm bull to the altar to sacrifice instead. Deep beneath the waves, Poseidon saw the lie and answered it with a beast that would tear
Speaker A
the kingdom apart. Mythologically fact, Bart actually never mind. Pacific, what is it? Nothing. Just go back to sleep.
Speaker A
My queen. What? Are you all right? Yeah. Yes, of course. Poseidon could have killed Minos. He could have sunk his ships, destroyed his palace, or simply taken back the crown he'd helped him win. Instead, Poseidon chose something far more personal.
Speaker A
Who is it? Open the door. The queen wants to see you. Is this our now?
Speaker A
The queen had summoned Daedalus, the greatest craftsman in Crete, with a rather unusual request. She wanted him to build a life-sized wooden cow, hollow on the inside, covered in real cowhide, and large enough for a person to
Speaker A
climb inside. Why?
Speaker A
Huh? Crete. Pacific knew what she was asking was insane. But she woke up thinking about that bull. Spent every meal thinking about it. And even standing beside her own husband couldn't get it out of her
Speaker A
head. And every day the obsession grew stronger. Disgusting. Unfortunately for Daedalus, this wasn't really a request.
Speaker A
Okay, just a bit further now. Do you know how heavy this thing is? We can still turn around.
Speaker A
No, Pacific. Go. Whatever Poseidon has done to you, this isn't you. I know.
Speaker A
You better keep this to yourself. All this work I can't even watch. Oh, what has this world turned into?
Speaker A
And what happened next? Well, it's probably the reason nobody ever made this all into a Disney movie.
Speaker A
Move. Is she alive? Yes. The child. Is it a boy? My king.
Speaker A
It's a boy. What Pesphe held in her arms was neither fully human nor fully beast. He had the tiny body of a newborn boy and the head of a bull. Pacificon, but the world would come to know him by
Speaker A
another name, the Minotaur. Give it to me. No. Pacifici. No. Give me that thing.
Speaker A
He's just a child. He's an abomination. Look at him, Minos. I have. No. Look at him.
Speaker A
Dad, they're back again. The king wants to see you. Of course he does. No.
Speaker A
Daedalus was dragged before the king, who was understandably less than thrilled to learn the craftsman had helped his wife sleep with a bull. Minos blamed Daedalus for creating the wooden cow. Daedalus blamed Minos for angering Poseidon in the first place. And after a brief
Speaker A
discussion over whose fault this entire mess actually was, "You built the cow. You kept the bull."
Speaker A
Is that him? His name is Asterion. Then he's a child for now. But Minos had a much bigger problem. The same bull that had proven his divine right to rule had now fathered a monster with his wife. If the people of Crete
Speaker A
ever discovered the truth, his precious crown could be at risk. And so Minos needed Asterion to disappear.
Speaker A
So if you want rid of him, just send him away. Someone will find him.
Speaker A
Then take him somewhere no one goes. Someone will follow. Then what do you want from me?
Speaker A
A prison. You want me to build a prison for a baby? I want you to build it before he stops being one.
Speaker A
A cell. He'll break through it. A tower. Nah, someone could find it. Then what exactly are you asking me to build?
Speaker A
Somewhere with no way out. Everything has a way out. Then hide it from the baby.
Speaker A
From everyone. I want corridors that lead nowhere. Doors that open into more corridors, turns that lead back to where they began. I want anyone who enters to walk until they forget which direction they came from.
Speaker A
How large? Large enough that even its creator could get lost inside.
Speaker A
Stone by stone, corridor by corridor, Daedalus built King Minos exactly what he had asked for. A prison unlike anything the world had ever seen. A maze so vast
Speaker A
and so confusing that entering it was easy. Leaving was another matter. The labyrinth.
Speaker A
And at its center Minos buried today's sponsor segment.
Speaker A
That's right. This video is sponsored by Warhammer 40,000 Tacticus. A turn-based strategy game where you assemble your very own army from over 120 champions across more than 22 playable factions from the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
Speaker A
Warhammer 40,000 is set in a grim darkness of the far future where humanity, renegade chaos forces, and alien xenos empires are locked
Speaker A
in an endless war across the galaxy.
Speaker A
Tacticus drops you right into that conflict, putting some of its most powerful champions under your command.
Speaker A
But simply throwing your troops at the enemy isn't going to cut it. Positioning, timing, and combining your champions' abilities
Speaker A
are what separates a glorious victory from getting absolutely obliterated. And speaking of obliteration, meet Nubari, an eradicator sergeant armed to the teeth with a multi-melter capable of turning even the toughest enemies into molten scrap. Very friendly fellow with PvE campaigns, PvP battles, guild raids, and plenty of events, there is always another battle waiting for you. And the best part, unlike this labyrinth, entering is
Speaker A
completely free. Just scan the QR code on your screen or use my link in the description to download Tacticus today and use code Tacticus Force to claim your rewards. Anyway, where were we? Ah, yes. Child imprisonment.
Speaker A
Mommy, where are they taking him?
Speaker A
Inside. Why is brother coming back? I'm sorry, Ariadne. This is out of my control.
Speaker A
But Asterion didn't remain a child forever. The boy grew into a beast. Stronger, more violent, and increasingly difficult to feed. At first, animals were enough, but eventually it demanded more.
Speaker A
Where are you taking me? Wait, wait. Whoa. Okay, jump scare. Uh, where is his head? Um, okay. Maybe it's in the layer below. Let me check. No, it's still not there. It's in the next frame, so maybe it's hidden in another layer. No. Okay,
Speaker A
we don't have time for this. I have to find a replacement real quick. Uh, okay.
Speaker A
It's not perfect, but it will do. Meow. Hello.
Speaker A
Asterion had developed a taste for human flesh. At first, Minos fed the monster condemned prisoners and anyone else whose disappearance wouldn't raise too many questions. But there were only so
Speaker A
many people a king could make disappear inside his own kingdom. Sooner or later, King Minos would need to find his victims somewhere else. And then almost as if the gods themselves had provided an answer, it gave Minos a reason. His
Speaker A
human son Androgios had traveled to Crete. To say he was amazing is an understatement. He won each and every game till jealous.
Speaker A
What is this inside? What's inside? [groaning] Inside, I said. And not one of them ever came back out.
Speaker A
9 years later, another 14 were sent. And 9 years after that, the dreadful black sails returned yet again. But this time, things ended up going differently.
Speaker A
Stop. I'll go. This take my name instead. You don't know what you're asking. I know exactly what I'm asking.
Speaker A
No, father. I said no. Because this wasn't just some brave Athenian volunteering himself. Tissius was the son of King Aeas, the prince of et.
Speaker A
I will not send my own son to be slaughtered for the death of his.
Speaker A
You won't because I'm not going there to die. Every man who enters the labyrinth dies and I'll be the first to come back out.
Speaker A
Thesius, how many more fathers have to stand here and watch their children sail away? And you think throwing your life away is going to change that?
Speaker A
I'm not throwing it away. I'm going to kill it. You wait, you're going to kill your life.
Speaker A
And with that, the prince of ence willingly sailed towards the same monster that had slaughtered every sacrifice before him. And waiting on the other side was the little girl who had once watched that very monster disappear behind the doors of the labyrinth. The
Speaker A
14 Athenians arrived in Cree expecting to die. They were dragged from their ship, marched through the palace gates, and presented before King Minus. But one of the Athenians stood out. Huh? A name?
Speaker A
Thesius, son of a prince of Athens. The son of the king whose city minus had spent decades punishing had just willingly delivered himself to his doorstep.
Speaker A
Your father sent you. I volunteered. Why? I'm going to kill your monster. [laughter] SOMEBODY GET THESE BEGGARS OUT OF THERE.
Speaker A
These's confidence caught the attention of someone else, too. Princess Ariatne had watched two generations of Athenians disappear into the labyrinth. She knew exactly what awaited him inside. But unlike every sacrifice before him, Thesius wasn't begging for his life. He
Speaker A
actually believed he could kill Aarion. And for the first time in years, Ariadne began to wonder if there might actually be a way to end all of this.
Speaker A
Hey, you really think you can kill him? Who's asking? My name is Ariadne, Mos's daughter.
Speaker A
Yes. Does your father know you're here? I heard what you said upstairs. I meant it.
Speaker A
Good. Good. My father has kept a stereion inside that labyrinth since he was a child. For years, I watched him feed animals to him. Then prisoners, then your people.
Speaker A
It has to end and help me end it. That's why I'm here, dumbass. Ariadne couldn't fight Astarion herself, but she could give Thesius something far more valuable than another sword. She knew the man who had designed his prison.
Speaker A
Princess. Oh. Oh, no. What? Nothing good ever happens when this family comes here at night.
Speaker A
Luckily, the answer to their problem was as simple as a piece of string. These wouldn't need to remember every turn he took through the labyrinth [music] if he tied one end of the thread to the entrance and unraveled the rest behind
Speaker A
him as he went. If Tissius manages to slay the man beast, [music] this would be his way out. The next morning, Ariadne secretly handed Tesus the threat before the guards could notice. And with that, Tesus had finally had a way into
Speaker A
the labyrinth. And assuming he survived what was waiting inside, a way back [music] out.
Speaker A
Mhm. [gasps] Stay far behind me, but don't lose the threat. Huh? [groaning] [groaning] Hold him.
Speaker A
Tissius had done it. For 18 years, nobody who entered the labyrinth had ever returned. [music] This time, all 14 would Hello.
Speaker A
Is anyone there? I'm alive. It's done. We have to leave. Killing Asterion has freed Ephens from the demand, but it had also made Fsius and Ariatne two of the most wanted people on Cree.
Speaker A
They are escaping. Sound the alarm. Princess Ariadne had chosen her side. There [music] was no going back to her father now. But before Minus could catch the two, she and Thesius were already disappearing across the Mediterranean back to [music] Athens. But King Minus,
Speaker A
his daughter, could never have known how to escape the labyrinth from her own. There was only one man on Creed who knew its secrets. And Minus wasn't about to let the only man who knew its secrets walk free.
Speaker A
Dad, I know. He locked Datalus away together with his son Icarus under constant guard.
Speaker A
Escaping by land was impossible. Minus controlled the roads. Escaping by sea was even worse. Minus controlled that too.
Speaker A
So that's it. We're just going to stay here. No. Minus might control the land and the sea, but he didn't control the air. And so, the greatest craftsman in Creed began building one final invention. Two enormous pairs of wings made from
Speaker A
hundreds of feathers held together with threads and [music] wax. You're serious? But before they left, Datalus gave his son one final warning.
Speaker A
Stay close to me. Don't fly too low. The sea will soak the feathers. And don't fly too high, the sun will melt the wax.
Speaker A
And if I stay between them, then we go home. And according to the myth, and um only because of the myth, because some people tried copying it in real life, and that didn't go well. So according to the
Speaker A
myth, it worked. Father and son flew beyond Minus' reach, leaving Creed and everything Datalus had built for its king behind them.
Speaker A
But for a boy who had spent his life watching his father build impossible things, suddenly doing the impossible himself got him aiming for heights too great.
Speaker A
Icorus. He forgot his father's warning and the wax started to melt, causing Icarus to fall into the cold ocean and drown.
Speaker A
Icorus. [screaming and crying] Never mind. [screaming] And that is where Datalus and Icarus's story together came to an end. Thesius returned to Ephens as the man who had killed the minotaur and would eventually become its king. Ariadne on the other
Speaker A
hand never returned to her father also mainly because she got ditched by Fesius on an island and then became a [clears throat] a goddess. [laughter] What? Datalus lived on but without the son of course that he escaped Creit
Speaker A
with. And minus he eventually died too. I mean, all of them eventually died, but he specifically was boiled in a bathtub as he was about to finally get revenge on Datalus. And that finally is where the story of the Minotaur comes to an
Speaker A
end. So, yeah. What did we learn today, kids? Kids. Oh, they're sleeping already. I guess it's time for you to go as well, then. Just don't stare at the snake lady on the way out, unless you want to for the love.
Topics:Greek mythologyKing MinosMinotaurLabyrinthDaedalusTheseusPoseidonAriadneAncient mythsHistorically
