Monday, March 14, 2011

Theseus and the Minotaur

A long time ago, there was a king named King Minos. He had a very strong army, so he liked to attack Athens. One day, the king of Athens wanted to stop the wars, so he made a deal with king Minos that every year, he would sent seven boys and seven girls to the labyrinth, a huge maze that contained the Minotaur, a half man half bull that would eat all the children. Years passed, kids got eaten, then one year, Prince Theseus, a strong boy, wanted to be one of the kids to go to the labyrinth and kill the monster. His father didn't want him to go, but Theseus insisted. His father agreed, as long as if he killed the minotaur, his ship would have white sails instead of black ones. When everyone got onto the island, King Minos said that they could stay in his palace for the night before they got eaten. Also at the palace there was King Minos's dauter, Princes Ariadne. She admired Theseus and didn't want him to be eaten, so she gave him a note the next day:


Dear Theseus,

I am a beatiful princes that you probably saw in the palace. I am also looking for love. I want to save you so I thought of a plan. Meet me in one hour at the gate of the labirinth.

Yours Truly,

Ariadne


Theseus met her at the gate and she gave him a sword and some yarn. The yarn is to tie to the door, unroll it, then follow it to find the way back to the gate. Theseus went into the labyrinth, found the minitaur sleeping, and killed it. He found his way back to the gate, got out, and sailed back to Athens with Ariadne and the children. On the way to Athens, they stopped for some supplies on the island of Naxos. Ariadne was tired, so she lay down on the beech and had a nap. Theseus set sail quietly without the princes, then arrived in Athens, but he forgot to change the sails to white, so his father killed himself thinking Theseus was dead.