Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

, the people of

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 ...

were at one point compelled by King Minos 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, ...

to choose 14 young noble citizens (seven young men and seven maidens) to be offered as sacrificial victims to the half-human, half-taurine monster Minotaur to be killed in retribution for the death of Minos' son

Androgeos Androgeos or Androgeus (Ancient Greek: Ἀνδρόγεως, la, Androgeum or Androgeōs derived from ''andros'' "of a man" and ''geos'', genitive ''gē'' "earth, land") was the name of two individuals in Classical mythology. * Androgeus, son of ...

Mythology

The victims were drawn by lots, were required to go unarmed, and would end up either being consumed by the Minotaur or getting lost and perishing in the

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 t ...

, the maze-like structure where the Minotaur was kept. The offerings were to take place every one, seven or nine years and lasted until

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 describ ...

volunteered to join the third group of the would-be victims, killed the monster, and led his companions safely out of the Labyrinth.

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

in his ''Life of Theseus'' cites a rationalized version of this myth, referring to

Philochorus Philochorus of Athens (; grc, Φιλόχορος ὁ Ἀθηναῖος; c. 340 BC – c. 261 BC), was a Greek historian and Atthidographer of the third century BC, and a member of a priestly family. He was a seer and interpreter of signs, and a ...

who in his turn claimed to be following a local Cretan tradition. According to it, the young people were not actually killed but given as prizes to winners of the funeral games of Androgeos. The Labyrinth was an ordinary dungeon where they were temporarily kept. The winner who received them as a prize was Taurus, the most powerful general of Minos; he mistreated the young people, thus gaining the reputation of a monster. Plutarch further cites

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...

's non-extant ''The Constitution of the

Bottiaeans Bottiaeans or ''Bottiaei'' (Ancient Greek: ) were an ancient people of uncertain origin, living in Central Macedonia. Sometime, during the Archaic Greece, Archaic period, they were expelled by Macedonians from Bottiaea to Bottike. During the Classic ...

'', in which the young Athenians were reportedly said to not have been killed in Crete, but enslaved for the rest of their lives. Moreover, when, generations later, the Cretans sent an offering of their firstborn to Delphi in fulfillment of an oath, descendants of these Athenians happened to be among those sent. The whole group settled at Delphi but soon came to be unable to sustain themselves so they proceeded to move first to Iapygia in Italy and then to

Bottiaea Bottiaea (Greek: ''Bottiaia'') was a geographical region of ancient Macedonia and an administrative district of the Macedonian Kingdom. It was previously inhabited by the Bottiaeans, a people of uncertain origin, later expelled by the Macedoni ...

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

Names

The individual names of the youths and maidens that sailed to Crete together with Theseus are very poorly preserved in extant sources. All of the recoverable information is collected in

W. H. Roscher Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (12 February 1845, in Göttingen – 9 March 1923, in Dresden) was a German classical scholar. He specialized in studies of Greek and Roman mythology. He received his education at the Universities of Göttingen and Leip ...

's ''Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie'', which provides four alternate lists of names. These are as follows. List 1 (based on the largely corrupt one found in Servius, with variant emendations by different scholars) List 2 (source: painting on

François Vase François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King o ...

; CIG 4. 8185) List 3 (source:

black-figure Black-figure pottery painting, also known as the black-figure style or black-figure ceramic ( grc, , }), is one of the styles of painting on antique Greek vases. It was especially common between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE, although there are ...

painting on a vessel by Archicles and Glaucytes, from

Vulci Vulci or Volci ( Etruscan: ''Velch'' or ''Velx'', depending on the romanization used) was a rich Etruscan city in what is now northern Lazio, central Italy. As George Dennis wrote, "Vulci is a city whose very name... was scarcely remembered, b ...

, in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

; CIG 4. 8139) List 4 (incomplete; source: black-figure painting on a different vase from

, in

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...

; CIG 4. 7719) Of these only Eriboea (Periboea), the daughter of Alcathous, does appear in extant literary sources and has a surviving independent mythological backstory. It is also remarked in the ''Lexicon'' that some of the names on Servius' list have been observed to correspond to names of the Attic

deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th century BC and ear ...

s (viz. Antiochus: Antiochis; Cydas/Cydamus: Cydantidae; Melite: Melite (deme) and Melite; name of Melite's father: Tricorynthus), which makes it more or less safe to assume that they may have come from an epic poem about Theseus. The vase painters, on the other hand, could have simply made the names up, although those on Lists 2 and 4 have been found reminiscent of the epic tradition as well. The name Procritus, appearing on two of the four lists, has been compared to "

Procris In Greek mythology, Procris ( grc, Πρόκρις, ''gen''.: Πρόκριδος) was an Athens, Athenian princess as the third daughter of Erechtheus, king of Athens and his wife, Praxithea, daughter of Phrasimus and Cephissus (Boeotia), Diogene ...

", although others suggested the reading "Herocritus" instead.''Lexicon'', Band III.2, s. 3027 The names Polyxenus, Celeus and Menestheus on List 1 (if restored correctly) also recall the Attic heroes

Polyxenus In Greek mythology, Polyxenus or Polyxeinus (, ''Poluxenos'', or , ''Poluxeinos'') is a name that may refer to: *Polyxenus, one of the first priests of Demeter and one of the first to learn the secrets of the Eleusinian Mysteries. *Polyxenus, s ...

Celeus Celeus or Keleus ( Ancient Greek: Κελεός ''Keleós'') was the king of Eleusis in Greek mythology, husband of Metaneira and father of several daughters, who are called Callidice, Demo, Cleisidice and Callithoe in the ''Homeric Hymn to Deme ...

and

Menestheus In Greek mythology, Menestheus (; Ancient Greek: Μενεσθεύς) was a legendary king of Athens during the Trojan War. He was set up as king by the twins Castor and Pollux when Theseus travelled to the Underworld after abducting their sister, ...

Notes

{{reflist

References

* Apollodorus, ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
*

Bacchylides Bacchylides (; grc-gre, Βακχυλίδης; – ) was a Greek lyric poet. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets, which included his uncle Simonides. The elegance and polished style of his lyrics have been noted ...

, ''Odes'' translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien. 1991
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
*Bacchylides, ''The Poems and Fragments''. Cambridge University Press. 1905
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Diodorus Siculus, ''The Library of History'' translated by Charles Henry Oldfather. Twelve volumes. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989. Vol. 3. Books 4.59–8
Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site
*Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca Historica. Vol 1-2''. Immanel Bekker. Ludwig Dindorf. Friedrich Vogel. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1888-1890
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Gaius Julius Hyginus, ''Astronomica from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus, ''Lives'' with an English Translation by Bernadotte Perrin. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. 1
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
*Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus, ''Moralia'' with an English Translation by Frank Cole Babbitt. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1936
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
*

Maurus Servius Honoratus Servius was a late fourth-century and early fifth-century grammarian. He earned a contemporary reputation as the most learned man of his generation in Italy; he authored a set of commentaries on the works of Virgil. These works, ''In tria V ...

, ''In Vergilii carmina comentarii. Servii Grammatici qui feruntur in Vergilii carmina commentarii;'' recensuerunt Georgius Thilo et Hermannus Hagen. Georgius Thilo. Leipzig. B. G. Teubner. 1881
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (12 February 1845, in Göttingen – 9 March 1923, in Dresden) was a German classical scholar. He specialized in studies of Greek and Roman mythology. He received his education at the Universities of Göttingen and Lei ...

(ed.): ''Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie''. Band V (T), Leipzig, 1916–1924, ss. 691 - 692; cf. also: **Band I (A-H), Leipzig, 1884 - 1890, ss. 370 (u. ''Anthylla'', ''Antias''), 656 (u. ''Asteria 9''), 661 (u. ''Astydamas''), 942 (u. ''Damasistrate''), 948 (u. ''Dailochos''), 988 (u. ''Demoleon''), 1243 (u. ''Empedo''), 1396 (u. ''Euanthe''), 1404 (u. ''Eunike''), 1431 (u. ''Eurysthenes''), 1441 (u. ''Euxistratos''), 1691 (u. ''Glyke''), 2434 (u. ''Hermippos''), 2672 (u. ''Hippodameia'' 11), 2690 (u. ''Hippophorbas''); **Band II.1 (I-K), Leipzig, 1890 - 1894, ss. 927 (u. ''Kallikrates''), 1390 (u. ''Koronis 5''), 1673 (u. ''Kydanos''); **Band II. 2 (L-M), Leipzig, 1894 - 897, ss. 2211 (u. ''Lysidike''), 2793 (u. ''Menestho'') **Band III.1 (N-Pasicharea), Leipzig, 1897 - 1902, ss. 2219 - 2220 (u. ''Phaidimos''), Band III.2, 1902 - 1909, (Pasikrateia-Pyxios), s. 3027 (u. ''Prokritos''); **Band V ss. 964 (u. ''Timo''), 965 (u. ''Timonike'') *'' Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft'', Band I, Halbband 2, Alexandrou-Apollokrates (1894), s. 2393 (u. ''Anthylla'') Attican characters in Greek mythology Cretan mythology Human sacrifice Articles about multiple people in ancient Greece Minotaur