''Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete'' ( it, Teseo contro il Minotauro, lit=Theseus against the Minotaur) is a 1960 film based on the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

legend of

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describe ...

, the

Athenian Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...

who is said to have slain a

minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "pa ...

Minoan Crete The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450B ...

around 1500 or 1450 BC. The film was directed by

Silvio Amadio Silvio Amadio (8 August 1926 – 19 August 1995) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed 24 films between 1957 and 1981. His film ''Wolves of the Deep'' was entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival. He is kno ...

and starred

Bob Mathias Robert Bruce Mathias (November 17, 1930 – September 2, 2006) was an American decathlete, two-time Olympic gold medalist in the event, a United States Marine Corps officer, actor and United States Congressman representing the state of Califor ...

Plot

The island of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

lives in fear of the

Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "pa ...

, a dreadful beast trapped inside a

labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

under the

royal palace This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa * Abdin Palace, Cairo * Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo * Koubbeh Palace, Cairo * Tahra Palace, Cairo * Menelik Palace * Jubilee Palace * Guenete Leul Palace * Imperial Palace- Massa ...

. The monster is venerated as a god, and to appease it, the Cretians regularly sacrifice a maiden to it. One day,

Minos In Greek mythology, Minos (; grc-gre, Μίνως, ) was a King of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every nine years, he made King Aegeus pick seven young boys and seven young girls to be sent to Daedalus's creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten ...

' wife

Pasiphaë In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, Pasiphaë (; grc-gre, Πασιφάη, Pasipháē, lit=wide-shining derived from πάσι (archaic dative plural) "for all" and φάος/φῶς ''phaos/phos'' "light") was a queen of Crete, and wa ...

is dying of natural causes. On her deathbed, she reveals that her daughter, the royal princess

Phaedra Phaedra may refer to: Mythology * Phaedra (mythology), Cretan princess, daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, wife of Theseus Arts and entertainment * ''Phaedra'' (Alexandre Cabanel), an 1880 painting Film * ''Phaedra'' (film), a 1962 film by ...

, was not their only child: A

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

sister,

Ariadne Ariadne (; grc-gre, Ἀριάδνη; la, Ariadne) was a Cretan princess in Greek mythology. She was mostly associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of the Minotaur and Theseus. She is best known for having ...

, lives in secrecy on the

mainland in a humble village. She was brought there to avoid being sacrificed to the

, but now the queen's last wish is to see her daughters united again. While Minos consents to his wife's last request, Phaedra, who is a power-hungry and evil schemer, refuses to share the throne and sends out her loyal retainer, Chirone, to kill Ariadne. Chirone raids the village with a group of hired

brigand Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who usually lives in a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first recorded usa ...

s, killing everyone including Ariadne's foster parents, but Ariadne is rescued by

, son of King

Aegeus In Greek mythology, Aegeus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰγεύς, Aigeús, also spelled Aegeas) was an archaic figure in the founding myth of Athens. The "goat-man" who gave his name to the Aegean Sea was the father of Theseus. He was also the founder of A ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, and his Cretan friend

Demetrios Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning “Demetris” - "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumit ...

, who happen to pass by. Upon seeing her, Demetrios immediately notices Ariadne's striking resemblance to Princess Phaedra, but Ariadne knows nothing of her true heritage. Theseus and Ariadne accompany Demetrios back to Crete, but Chirone returns before them, alerting Phaedra to their arrival. Phaedra has her soldiers go after the friends; Ariadne is captured, Demetrios killed, and Theseus is almost slain as well. Rescued by the sea goddess

Amphitrite In ancient Greek mythology, Amphitrite (; grc-gre, Ἀμφιτρίτη, Amphitrítē) was the goddess of the sea, the queen of the sea, and the wife of Poseidon. She was a daughter of Nereus and Doris (or Oceanus and Tethys).Roman, L., & Rom ...

, but refusing her offer to stay with her and become immortal, Theseus returns secretly to Knossos to free Ariadne. Phaedra has meanwhile prepared to dispose of her sister by throwing her into a pit with hungry

hyena Hyenas, or hyaenas (from Ancient Greek , ), are feliform carnivoran mammals of the family Hyaenidae . With only four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the Carnivora and one of the smallest in the clas ...

s, but as Theseus attacks, Phaedra herself ends up in the pit, and to save Theseus, Ariadne is forced to take her sister's place. But Chirone notices that his princess has suddenly changed in her demeanor and reveals his knowledge to Ariadne, but promises to keep her secret as long as she surrenders herself to him. In the meantime, however, Aegeus, presuming his son to have been murdered, has led a war against Crete and lost. As a tribute, the people of Athens must now surrender a group of young people in regular intervals as sacrifices to the Minotaur. As the first group, which is joined by Theseus, is about to be herded into the labyrinth, Theseus manages to procure a sword and voluntarily enters the labyrinth and slays the Minotaur. Upon Theseus' brave decision, a riot breaks out and Chirone is killed by the mob. Ariadne, who has followed Theseus, helps him out with a thread from her own gown whose other end she had tied to the labyrinth's entrance, and they return alive and to the jubilation of the Cretan people.

Cast

as "

" *

Rosanna Schiaffino Rosanna Schiaffino (25 November 1939 – 17 October 2009) was an Italian film actress. She appeared on the covers of Italian, German, French, British and American magazines. Early life She was born in Genoa, Liguria to a well-off family. Her mot ...

as "

"/"Phaedra" *

Alberto Lupo Alberto Lupo (byname of Alberto Zoboli; 19 December 1924 – 13 August 1984) was an Italian film and television actor best known for his roles in swash-buckling and actions films of the 1960s. Lupo starred in films such as ''A 008, operazione ...

as "Chirone" * Rik Battaglia as "Demetrios" *

Carlo Tamberlani Carlo Tamberlani (11 March 1899 – 5 August 1980) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 127 films between 1931 and 1976. He was born in Salice Salentino, Italy and died in Subiaco, Italy. His brother Nando Tamberlani was also an actor. ...

as " King

" *

Nico Pepe Nico Pepe (19 January 1917 – 13 August 1987) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1936 and 1981. Selected filmography * '' The Two Sergeants'' (1936) * ''The Cavalier from Kruja'' (1940) * '' Captain Fraca ...

as "Gerione" *

Nerio Bernardi Nerio Bernardi (23 July 1899 – 12 January 1971) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in nearly 200 films between 1918 and 1970. He was born in Bologna, Italy and died in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * ''Nero'' (1922) * ''The Sheph ...

as "King

" * Paul Müller as "Medico di Corte" *

Tina Lattanzi Tina Lattanzi (born Annunziata Concetta Costantini; 5 December 1897 – 25 October 1997) was an Italian actress and voice actress. Biography A native of Licenza and the daughter of Ercole Costantini and Geltrude Montori, Lattanzi began her actin ...

as "Queen

" * Milo Malagoli as "

The Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "pa ...

Release

''Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete'' was released in Italy on 25 November 1960. It was released in the United States in April 1961. The film was released on home video by Something Weird Video.

Reception

Author and film critic

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...

awarded the film one and a half out of four stars. In his review on the film, Maltin wrote, "Occasional atmosphere and Schiaffino's appearance still cannot salvage hestory".

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0055518, Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete 1960 films 1960s fantasy films Italian fantasy films Peplum films Films set in ancient Greece Films set in Crete Films based on classical mythology Films scored by Carlo Rustichelli United Artists films Cultural depictions of Theseus Sword and sandal films Phaedra Minotaur 1960s Italian films