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Amun Anubis Aten Atum Babi Bastet Bes Geb Hapi hathor heqet Horus Isis Khepri Khnum Khonsu Maat Nephthys Nut Osiris Ptah Ra Seshat Seth Shu Sobek Thoth
Alfheim Baldur Freya Freyr Frigg Heimdallr Helheim Idun Jotunheim Loki Nerthus Njord Odin Thor Tyr
Aengus Arawn Badb Brigid Cailleach Ceridwen Cernunnos Cu Chulainn Dagda Danu Gwydion Herne the Hunter Lugh Medb Morrigan Neit Nuada Taliesin Taranis
Chalchiuhtlicue Coatlicue Huitzilopochtli Mictlantecuhtli Mixcoatl Ometeotl Quetzalcoatl Tezcatlipoca Tlaloc Tonatiuh Xipe Totec Xochiquetzal Xolotl
Amaterasu Ame no Uzume Benzaiten Bishamonten Daikokuten Ebisu Fujin Fukurokuju Inari Izanagi Kagutsuchi Raijin Susanoo Tsukuyomi
Caishen Cangjie Dragon King Eight Immortals Erlang Shen Fuxi Guanyin Hou Yi Huxian Jade Emperor King Yama Leizi Lu-ban Mazu Nezha Nuwa Pangu Shennong Sun Wukong Xiwangmu Yue Lao Zhong Kui
Norse Classical Celtic Arthurian
Literature Stories Names
Aphrodite Apollo Ares Artemis Athena Atlas Coeus Crius Cronus Demeter Dionysus Gaia Hades Hephaestus Hera Hermes Hestia Hyperion Iapetus Mnemosyne Oceanus Phobos Phoebe Poseidon Prometheus Rhea Tethys Themis Uranus Zeus
Bacchus Ceres Diana Juno Jupiter Mars Mercury Minerva Neptune Pluto Venus Vesta Vulcan
Amun Anubis Aten Atum Babi Bastet Bes Geb Hapi hathor heqet Horus Isis Khepri Khnum Khonsu Maat Nephthys Nut Osiris Ptah Ra Seshat Seth Shu Sobek Thoth
Alfheim Baldur Freya Freyr Frigg Heimdallr Helheim Idun Jotunheim Loki Nerthus Njord Odin Thor Tyr
Aengus Arawn Badb Brigid Cailleach Ceridwen Cernunnos Cu Chulainn Dagda Danu Gwydion Herne the Hunter Lugh Medb Morrigan Neit Nuada Taliesin Taranis
Chalchiuhtlicue Coatlicue Huitzilopochtli Mictlantecuhtli Mixcoatl Ometeotl Quetzalcoatl Tezcatlipoca Tlaloc Tonatiuh Xipe Totec Xochiquetzal Xolotl
Amaterasu Ame no Uzume Benzaiten Bishamonten Daikokuten Ebisu Fujin Fukurokuju Inari Izanagi Kagutsuchi Raijin Susanoo Tsukuyomi
Caishen Cangjie Dragon King Eight Immortals Erlang Shen Fuxi Guanyin Hou Yi Huxian Jade Emperor King Yama Leizi Lu-ban Mazu Nezha Nuwa Pangu Shennong Sun Wukong Xiwangmu Yue Lao Zhong Kui
Norse Classical Celtic Arthurian
Literature Stories Names
  1. Classical Mythology
    Pantheon Heroic Age Royal Houses Geographia Facts & Figures Genealogy Bibliography About Classical Myths
  2. Heroic Age
    Heroes 1 Heroes 2 Heroines Amazons Perseus Theseus Heracles Argonauts Calydonian Boar Hunt Seven Against Thebes Trojan War Odyssey Aeneid Tales of Lovers Giants Centaurs Mythical Creatures
  3. Mythical Creatures
    Satyrs Myrmidons Dragon-teeth Men (Sparti) Earthborn Kings Argus Panoptes Geryon Graeae Keres Pegasus Arion Xanthus and Balius Ocyrrhoe Laelaps and the Teumessian Vixen Maera Cretan Bull Golden Fleece Calydonian Boar Crommyonian Sow Erymanthian Boar Nemean Lion Eagle (Aquila) Typhon Ceto Cetus Echidna Python Ladon Delphyne Campe Hydra Scylla Sphinx Chimaera Griffin (Gryphon) Cerberus Orthus Minotaur Gorgons Lamia Empusae Sirens Harpies Stymphalian Birds Caucasian Eagle Phoenix
  4. Cretan Bull

Cretan Bull

Minos, the king of Crete, prayed to Poseidon to send him a bull so he could honour and sacrifice to the sea god. Poseidon answered the king's prayer by sending a beautiful, white bull from the sea. However, Minos broke his word to the god, refusing to sacrifice the beautiful bull to Poseidon.

What was special about the Cretan Bull was its ability to walk on the water surface.

Poseidon punished Minos by making the king's wife Pasiphaë (Pasiphae), the daughter of the sun god Helius, to fall in love with the bull. Pasiphaë copulated with the Cretan Bull, and gave birth to a monstrous offspring called a Minotaur. The Minotaur had the body of a man but a head of a bull. Minos confined the monster in the Labyrinth.

Later, Heracles had to perform his seventh labour, which was to fetch the Cretan Bull for his cousin Eurystheus. Minos, who was embarrassed about the incident with his wife and the bull, was eager to give the bull away to Heracles. Heracles brought the bull to Greece by riding on its back as it swam to Tiryns.

After this task was completed, Heracles released the bull into the country, and it roamed until it arrived at the plain of Marathon in Attica. Afterwards, the bull was renamed to the Marathonian Bull.

Aegeus, the king of Athens, sent Androgeus the son of Minos to confront the bull, and he was killed. His death was the source of the war between Crete and Athens. Winning the war, Minos forced Aegeus to pay a tribute every nine years. Minos demanded seven youths and seven maidens as tribute. The Athenian youths and maidens were left in the Labyrinth to feed his monster, the Minotaur, offspring of the Cretan (Marathonian) Bull.

After Theseus became king, the hero decided to get rid of the bull that still ravaged the plain of Marathon. Theseus killed the Marathonian Bull.

Related Information

Name

Cretan Bull,
Marathonian Bull.

Related Articles

Minotaur, Minos, Pasiphaë, Heracles, Theseus, Aegeus, Poseidon.

Jimmy Joe Timeless Myths

By Jimmy Joe

Mythical Creatures:

  • • Satyrs
  • • Myrmidons
  • • Dragon-teeth Men (Sparti)
  • • Earthborn Kings
  • • Argus Panoptes
  • • Geryon
  • • Graeae
  • • Keres
  • • Pegasus
  • • Arion
  • • Xanthus and Balius
  • • Ocyrrhoe
  • • Laelaps and the Teumessian Vixen
  • • Maera
  • • Cretan Bull
  • • Golden Fleece
  • • Calydonian Boar
  • • Crommyonian Sow
  • • Erymanthian Boar
  • • Nemean Lion
  • • Eagle (Aquila)
  • • Typhon
  • • Ceto
  • • Cetus
  • • Echidna
  • • Python
  • • Ladon
  • • Delphyne
  • • Campe
  • • Hydra
  • • Scylla
  • • Sphinx
  • • Chimaera
  • • Griffin (Gryphon)
  • • Cerberus
  • • Orthus
  • • Minotaur
  • • Gorgons
  • • Lamia
  • • Empusae
  • • Sirens
  • • Harpies
  • • Stymphalian Birds
  • • Caucasian Eagle
  • • Phoenix
Seventh Labour (Cretan Bull)

Seventh Labour (Cretan Bull)

For the seventh labour, Heracles needed to fetch the Cretan Bull , the bull that belonged to Minos , king of Crete. This bull was sacred to Poseidon, and had the ability to walk and even run on the surface of the sea. When Minos gained the bull fr...

April 9th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Pasiphaë and the Minotaur

Pasiphaë and the Minotaur

Minos married Pasiphaë (Πασιφάη), the daughter of the sun-god Helios and the Oceanid Perse . Minos was the father of four sons, Androgeus, Catreus , Deucalion and Glaucus , and four daughters, Acacallis (Acalle), Xenodice, Ariadne (Ἀριάδνη) and Ph...

September 22nd, 2002 • Jimmy Joe
Minotaur

Minotaur

The Minotaur (Μινώταυρος) was a monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man. The Minotaur or Asterius (its name at birth) was the son of the Cretan Bull and Pasiphaë (Pasiphae), the wife of King Minos of Crete. Minos confined the Minotau...

June 1st, 2000 • Jimmy Joe
Minoan Crete

Minoan Crete

Early Crete Minos Crete in Decline Genealogy: House of Crete Early Crete Genealogy: House of Crete Minos In Greek mythology, Minos (Μίνως) was the greatest king in Crete, with a great empire and the most formidable navy. His empire included the is...

September 22nd, 2002 • Jimmy Joe
Theseus

Theseus

Theseus, or Θησεύς, was the greatest hero from Athens. In many aspects he was like his more famous cousin Heracles , strong and extremely brave. Yet his courage and strength were matched with wisdom and compassion. Early Adventures War of the Lapi...

May 22nd, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Minos and his Brothers

Minos and his Brothers

Minos (Μίνως) was a son of the god Zeus and Europa , the daughter of King Agenor of Sidon. Minos was also the brother of Rhadamanthys (´Ραδάμανθυν) and Sarpedon (Σαρπηδών). His step-father was Asterius, who was king of Crete. Zeus had brought Euro...

September 22nd, 2002 • Jimmy Joe
Fourth Labour (Erymanthian Boar)

Fourth Labour (Erymanthian Boar)

For the fourth labour, Heracles needed to fetch Erymanthian Boar . On this trip, he visited a Centaur named Pholus , who lived in Mount Pholoë (Pholoe), which was named after the Centaur. Pholus had some wine with odour to attract the boar. Unfort...

April 9th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Abduction of Europa

Abduction of Europa

In Phoenicia, Agenor ruled in the city of Sidon (sometimes it was Tyre). Agenor was the son of the sea-god Poseidon and Libya. Agenor was also a brother of Belus, king of Egypt. He and his family were direct descendants of Io , daughter of the Arg...

March 4th, 2024 • Timeless Myths
Calydonian Boar

Calydonian Boar

The Calydonian Boar was sent by Artemis to punish King Oeneus for failing to honour her in sacrifice. The giant, wild boar caused widespread damage and death to the rural region around Calydon. Oeneus asked for heroes in Greece to hunt down the bo...

June 1st, 2000 • Jimmy Joe
Crete

Crete

Crete was the largest island in the Aegean Sea, south of the Cyclades . There were many cities built at the time of the Bronze Age civilisation, especially in Cnossus (Knossos), Phaestus (Phaistos), and Mallia, where there were great palaces. The ...

August 8th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe

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