''Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete'' () is a 1960 film based on the

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

legend of

Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...

, the

Athenian Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

who is said to have slain a

minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (, ''Mīnṓtauros''), also known as Asterion, 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 "par ...

Minoan Crete The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan palaces at K ...

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 k ...

and starred

Bob Mathias Robert Bruce Mathias (November 17, 1930 – September 2, 2006) was an American decathlete, politician, and actor. Representing the United States, he won two Olympic gold medals in the Decathlon, at the 1948 and the 1952 Summer Games. As a Re ...

Plot

The island of

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

lives in fear of the

Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (, ''Mīnṓtauros''), also known as Asterion, 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 "par ...

, a dreadful beast trapped inside a

labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth () is 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 h ...

under the

royal palace This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania {, class="wikitable" width="95%" , - bgcolor="white" !align=center, Residence !align=center, Photo !align=center, City !align=cen ...

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

Minos Main injector neutrino oscillation search (MINOS) was a particle physics experiment designed to study the phenomena of neutrino oscillations, first discovered by a Super-Kamiokande (Super-K) experiment in 1998. Neutrinos produced by the NuMI ...

' wife

Pasiphaë In Greek mythology, Pasiphaë (; , derived from πᾶσι (dative plural) "for all" and φάος/φῶς ''phaos/phos'' "light") was a queen of Crete. The daughter of Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse (mythology), Perse, Pasiphaë is notable a ...

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 (Cabanel), ''Phaedra'' (Cabanel), an 1880 painting by Alexandre Cabanel *House of Phaedra ...

, was not their only child: A

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

sister,

Ariadne In Greek mythology, Ariadne (; ; ) was a Cretan princess, the daughter of King Minos of Crete. There are variations of Ariadne's myth, but she is known for helping Theseus escape from the Minotaur and being abandoned by him on the island of N ...

, 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 is typically part of a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first record ...

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

, son of King

Aegeus Aegeus (, ; ) was one of the List of kings of Athens, kings of Athens in Greek mythology, who gave his name to the Aegean Sea, was the father of Theseus, and founded Athenian institutions. Family Aegeus was the son of Pandion II, king of Athe ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, and his Cretan friend

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

, 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 (; ) was the goddess of the sea, the queen of the sea, and her consort is Poseidon. She was a daughter of Nereus and Doris (or Oceanus and Tethys).Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). Under the influence ...

, 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 belonging to the family Hyaenidae (). With just four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the order Carnivora and one of the sma ...

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 Zoboli (19 December 1924 – 13 August 1984), known professionally as Alberto Lupo, 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 ...

as "Chirone" *

Rik Battaglia Rik Battaglia (byname of Caterino Bertaglia; 18 February 1927 – 27 March 2015) was an Italian film actor. Career Battaglia appeared in a number of historical and peplum films, such as '' The Mighty Crusaders'' (1958, Carlo Ludovico Bragagli ...

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. His brother Nando Tamberlani was also an actor. Life and career Born in Salice Salentino, Tamberlani was born ...

as " King

" *

Nico Pepe Nico Pepe (19 January 1917 – 13 August 1987) was an Italian actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1936 and 1981. Life and career Born in Udine, after a bachelor's degree in business Pepe got a job as a banking clerk, which he q ...

as "Gerione" *

Nerio Bernardi Nerino "Nerio" Bernardi (23 July 1899 – 12 January 1971) was an Italian stage and film actor. He appeared in nearly 200 films between 1918 and 1970. Life and career Born in Bologna, Bernardi started his acting career in 1918 with a loc ...

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 acti ...

as "Queen

" * Milo Malagoli as "

The Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (, ''Mīnṓtauros''), also known as Asterion, 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 "par ...

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, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...

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

* * {{tcmdb title, id=83550 1960 films 1960s fantasy films Italian fantasy 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 (mythology) Minotaur in popular culture 1960s Italian films