Ranking 8 Retellings of Theseus and the Minotaur

In Greek mythology, Theseus was the king and founder-hero of Athens. There are a variety of different myths involving him, from his conception to his death, but arguably the most famous is that of the Labyrinth and the Minotaur.

After his oldest son was killed at the Athenian Games, Minos, the king of Crete, forced Aegeus, the king of Athens, to sacrifice their seven bravest young men and seven most beautiful young women to Crete as tribute. This sacrifice happens every seven years or every nine years, depending on the version. Theseus, Aegeus’ son, has arrived in Athens and met his father shortly before the third tribute. Theseus then takes the place of one of the young men, determined to put an end to the sacrifices. Again, the details vary depending on the source material; sometimes the Athenians know the tributes are fed to the Minotaur, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes Theseus plans to talk to the Minotaur to end the horror, sometimes he plans to talk to Minos. Either way, he ends up on the ship bound for Crete. Before he leaves, Aegeus tells him to change the ship’s black sails to white ones should he return home victorious.

When Theseus and the other tributes arrive in Crete, he participates in the Cretan Games and impresses everyone with his athletic abilities — particularly in wrestling, for which he had invented the strategy referred to as scientific wrestling. At this point, Minos offers Theseus his freedom as a reward, but Theseus refuses. He now intends to kill the Minotaur. Usually this is when Ariadne, the oldest daughter of Minos, falls in love with Theseus and decides to help him.

She sneaks Theseus a ball of string — a clew of thread, which is where today’s word clue stems from — and tells him how to navigate the famously unnavigable labyrinth, built to house the Minotaur by the genius inventor Daedalus. Theseus promises to collect Ariadne after killing the Minotaur, and take her back to Athens with him where she will be his wife.

The Minotaur, by the way, is Ariadne’s brother Asterion, half-man, half-bull. Years before, Minos had been sent a beautiful snow-white bull by Poseidon, to whom he was supposed to then sacrifice it. But Minos decided to keep the bull instead, figuring that the god would accept a substitute bull. Spoiler alert: he didn’t.