Theseus and the Minotaur

1
Theseus and the Minotaur

• A brave feat
• and no more young
• Athenians for feasts!

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Characters

• King Minos (son of Zeus and Europa)
• Queen Pasiphae (daughter of sun-god Helios)
• Daedalus (an Athenian architect)
• Poseidon (god of the sea)
• Minotaur (a monster born to Pasiphae)
• Ariadne (King Minos daughter)

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More Characters

• Aegeus (king of Athens, father to Theseus)
• Theseus (hero from Troezen)
• Princess Aethra (Theseus mother)
• Dionysus (god of wine)
• Icarus (son of Daedalus)
• King of Sicily

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Settings
Naxos

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City of Athens
City of Troezen
Island of Naxos
Island of Sicily
Aegean Sea
Island of Crete
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Who is Theseus father?

• King Aegeus of Athens
• Theseus must move a large rock and find the
  sandals and sword beneath it and bring them to
  his father

http//www.heritage-history.com/books/hawthorne/ta
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What is the Minotaur?

• half man, half beast

The minotaur lives in a labyrinth built by
Daedalus, an Athenian architect, under the palace
of Cnossus on the island of Crete
http//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90
/Theseus_Minotaur_Mosaic.jpg
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How many boys and girls will be sacrificed to the
Minotaur?

• 7 girls, 7 boys

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Who does Theseus fall in love with?

• Ariadne, King Minos daughter
• Upon returning to Athens, Theseus leaves Ariadne
  on the island of Naxos where she marries
  Dionysus, the god of wine

http//www.illusionsgallery.com/Ariadne-L.jpg
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Why does Aegeus kill himself?

• Theseus, while hurriedly leaving Crete, forgets
  to hoist the white sail of victory after killing
  the Minotaur
• King Aegeus sees
• the black sail and
• jumps off a cliff
• to his death

http//www.dl.ket.org/latin1/gallery/myth/heroes
/images/theseus_.jpg
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Plot Graph

• Introduction
• Version 1 Medea, King Aegeus of Athens,
  Theseus, Princess Aethra
• Version 2 King Minos of Crete, Queen Pasiphae,
  Daedalus, Poseidon, the Minotaur

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Complicating Incident

• Version 1 Theseus arrives at King Aegeus
  palace with the sandals and sword Aegeus almost
  poisons him but realizes he is his son
• Version 2 Poseidon offers a bull to Queen
  Pasiphae for her to sacrifice, but she wants to
  keep it Poseidon is angry and punishes Pasiphae
  by causing her to give birth to the Minotaur

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Rising Action, Crisis, Climax
Climax Theseus kills Minotaur
Crisis Ariadne aids Theseus with ball of twine
if he will marry her
Theseus offers to fight Minotaur
Theseus comes to Athens brings sword golden
sandals
Minos demands 14 Athenians fed to Minotaur every
9 years
Rising Action
Son of Minos visits Athens and is killed
King Minos wages war with islands for prisoners
as good
Daedalus creates labyrinth
Complicating Incident Pasiphaie gives birth to
the Minotaur
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Denouement

• The Returns
• Ariadne escapes Crete, is left on Island of Naxos
  and marries Dionysus
• King Aegeus throws himself off cliff
• Theseus inherits his fathers throne
• Daedalus escapes Crete with son Icarus (son flies
  too high, feathers melt)
• Minos angry at daughters betrayal and seeks
  Daedalus but is scalded to death by Sicilian King