Study Guide

Minotaur

Profile

The Minotaur—whose real name was Asterion, meaning "the starry one"—was a man-eating monster with the body of a man and the head of a bull. How's that for an image? Well, hey it's not his fault. His mom, Queen Pasiphae of Crete, was cursed to fall in love with a magical bull sent from the sea by Poseidon. See, her husband, King Minos, offended the sea god, so he thought this would be the best way to get revenge (and he was kind of right—canoodling with a bull? ew). Born out of a very troubled relationship, Asterion was such a problem child that Minos (not his biological dad, mind you) ordered the genius Daedalus to build an inescapable Labyrinth to imprison the bull-boy. Nightmare! The Minotaur spent his life trapped in the Labyrinth, dining on whatever human sacrifices Minos decided to chuck in there at him, until the monster was finally slain by the Athenian hero Theseus. Sad end to a pretty sad life.

Basic Information

Name	The Minotaur, Asterion
Nickname	Ole Horny Head, Bull-Boy
Sex	Male—all bulls are male, after all.
Current city	The Underworld

Work & Education

Occupation

Monster (not as glamorous as it sounds)

General Duties:

Being imprisoned in the Labyrinth and eating anybody who comes in. (That one just doesn't even sound glamorous.)

Education

Labyrinthine Community College

Beliefs

Political views

Bovine Party

Family & Friends (& Enemies)

Parents	The Cretan Bull and Queen Pasiphae. Not your typical couple.
Children	Nope.
Friends	I eat friends.
Enemies	Theseus (yeah, he killed me) Minos (angry kind-of-step-dad) Ariadne Daedalus Everybody else

Relationships

Relationship status

I eat relationships.

Favorites

Quotations	"Everyone carries around his own monsters." – Richard Pryor "I like myself, but I won't say I'm as handsome as the bull who kidnapped Europa." – Marcus Tullius Cicero "Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports... all others are games." – Ernest Hemingway "Only the foolish visit the land of the cannibals." – Maori Proverb
Books	The House of Asterion by Jorge Luis Borges Animal Farm by George Orwell Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky Dracula by Bram Stoker The Call of the Wild by Jack London Frankenstein by Mary Shelly The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway Grendel by John Gardener Wicked by Gregory Maguire Kaz the Minotaur by Richard A. Knaack
Music	[Disclaimer: These are all really creepy—not for the queasy!] Mad World by Gary Jules Pychosocial by Slipknot Public Enemy No. 1 by Megadeth Ride With Death by Speedwolf Mother by Danzig Sweet Dreams by Marilyn Manson Do Not Go Gently by Animals as Leaders
Movies	Talk to Her Monsters Inc. Cannibal! The Musical Ferdinand the Bull Monster Edward Scissorhands The Silence of the Lambs Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death Sons of Anarchy (TV show)

Activities & Interests

Likes	Bull fights (when the bull wins) The running of the bulls in Pamplona Rodeo clowns (when they're dead) Human sacrifice
Interests	Bullfighting (or more like bullwinning) Thanatology (the study of death) Cannibalism
Groups	Eat Humans, Not Cows! Steak Haters Maze Junkies The Society for Half-Animal Rights