ThEsEuS aNd ThE mInOtAuR

THE MYTH OF THESEUS AND THE MINOTAUR

There once was a family of gods, consisting of a father, who served as a king, a mother, who served as a mother, and lastly, a son, who was to become king one day after his father passed away.The son, Theseus, lived far from his father, but with his mother. His father ruled the Athens. there also was another king, King Minos, who ruled on the lovely island of Crete. King Minos sometimes became bored, and when he did, he sent his soldiers to attack the Athens. The Athens did not like being attacked (who wouldnt?), so they agreed that every 9 years, they would send 7 boys and 7 girls to the island of Crete to be sacrificed the Minotaur. A Minotaur is a half-man half-bull creature, and he lived in a labyrinth. The sacrifices would be thrown into the labyrinth, awaiting the for the Minotaur to painfully end their lives. Meanwhile, Theseus grew up with his mother and one day, his mother took him to a hill to test him. She said "Under this rock lays your father's sword and shoes. Lift it and you are worthy of seeing the king, your father". Theseus was very strong and easily lifted the rock and when he went to his dad's kingdom, his father rejoiced and so did all his people. They were happy on the outside, but on the inside, they were crying, crying because this was the year that 14 of their people would be sacrificed to the evil Minotaur. When Theseus heard of the news, he was outraged. He (under a series of debates) decided that he would be one of the 14 and kill the minotaur. His father was devatated, but Theseus was set on going and wasnt going to turn back. He told his father that if he survived, he would change the mourning black sails on the boat to a cheerful white, and his father would be assured that Theseus lived, even before he set foot on land. When the sacrifices entered the land of Crete, they were thrown in a dungeon, death awaiting them the next morning. During the night, princess Ariadne snuck into the dungeon, having seen Theseus and fallen in love with him. She woke him and gave him a sword and a spool of thread. "The Minotaur lives in a labyrinth, so complex that no one ever escapes. But with this thread, you can mark where you have been, kill the Minotaur, and the trace your thread back out of the labyrinth", she explained kindly. "Thank-you, your services will be greatly rewarded", Theseus said gratefully. "The only reward I want is for you to take me away from this island", she said with a smile. Theseus happily agreed. When they were thrown into the labyrinth, Theseus ordered the people of Athens to stay by  the entrance. After wandering in the maze for a while (letting the thread trail behind him), Theseus found the Minotaur. A rush of adreniline hit him as he charged through the beast with his sword. When he had slayed the Minotaur, he rushed back to the entrance, grabbed princess Ariadne and people of Athens and took off for the ship. on the way back to Athens, they stopped by an island called Naxos to get supplies. Ariadne was left on the island, some say that she was seperated from Theseus and others go by the theory that Theseus left her to die. In Theseus' haste, he forgot to change the sails on the ship from black to white. When his father saw the black sails in the distance, he flung himself off a cliff in grief, thinking his only son had died. While the people of Athens were dissapointed in the king's death, they also rejoiced being ruled by Theseus.

             THE END!

By Nicole And Diana.