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 elseRelationships
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 ProverbBooks 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. KnaackMusic [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 LeadersMovies 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 sacrificeInterests Bullfighting (or more like bullwinning)
Thanatology (the study of death)
CannibalismGroups Eat Humans, Not Cows!
Steak Haters
Maze Junkies
The Society for Half-Animal RightsSpotter's Guide
You'll have to truck it down to the Underworld if you want to chat with the Minotaur: he was offed by Theseus a long time ago. Once you're down there, it shouldn't be too hard to find him: he'll be the big muscular guy with the head of a bull. (Yeah, it's a pretty distinctive look.) Watch out when you're talking to him, though. He has a habit of eating people, and all in all he's a pretty angry dude. Being locked in the Labyrinth, getting killed, being born at all—he's got a major chip on his shoulder. One sure fire way to butter him up is to call him Asterion. That's his real name, and it means "starry one." He prefers it to the Minotaur. Can't say we blame him on that one.
Sex: Male
Age: How can you tell?
Build: Ripped
Complexion: Dark
Hair Color: Brownish black
Facial Hair: Thoroughly furry
Scars/marks/tattoos: Battle scars all over
Jewelry and accessories: Bullring
Clothing: Loincloth
Armor: Too tough for armor
Type of Weapon: Horns (or just bare hands)Typical Companions:
- Eats companions.
Known Hangouts:
- The Labyrinth
- Rodeos
- Bull Fights
- Cow Pastures
Sightings
Dec 20, 2019
The Metamorphoses by Ovid
Read the Minotaur's whole story—from creepy birth to tragic (or not-so-tragic) death—in book 8 of The Metamorphoses.
Inferno by Dante
Dante and Virgil run into the Minotaur in the seventh circle of Hell, home to some very violent souls. Asterion is not super psyched about their appearance.
Dec 20, 2019
"The House of Asterion" by Jorge Luis Borges
Want to hear Asterion's side of things? Here's your chance: he speaks in the first person in this short story. And he's not too happy.
Dec 20, 2019 - Dec 20, 2019
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
There's more than just one minotaur in the world of Narnia. (We were really set with just one, thank you very much.)
Dec 20, 1960
The Minotaur, Wild Beast of Crete
Check it out as the 1960s take on the story of the Minotaur.
Dec 20, 2019
Kaz the Minotaur by Richard A. Knaack
The Minotaur travels on horseback in this Dungeons and Dragons novel. Whoa, Asterion!
Dec 20, 2019
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Percy gives the Minotaur no mercy in this take on the story. Hey, he had it coming.
Dec 20, 2019
Minotaur
As creepy as you thought the Minotaur was, this movie has got you beat. The movie cover alone has given us nightmares.
Dec 20, 2019
God of War II
Epic tale? Check. Novel? Check. Movie? Check. And now, he's made his way into the world of video games.
Dec 20, 2019
Immortals
Sorry, Asterion. This one is a story about Theseus, but hey, it's in 3-D. We couldn't pass it by.
Dec 20, 2019
Wrath of the Titans
This flick might not be super accurate to the myth, but you know what they say: there's no such thing as bad press.