(Μινώταυρος [Minṓtauros]; Latin Minotaurus; Ἀστερίων [Asteríòn], Ἀστέριος [Astérios]; Latin Asterius)
A. Myth
The M. is a monster with a human body and a bull’s head (first inscriptions on vase-paintings 6th cent. BC). He is a son of Pasiphaë, wife of the Cretan King Minos, and a bull. Some sources give him the name Asterius (Apollod. 3,1,4). There are various accounts of his origins. ¶ Minos was to sacrifice a bull to Poseidon, who had helped him to the throne of Crete. In Apollodorus, Poseidon sends a white bull…
