Minotaur

The Minotaur (in Ancient Greek: Μινώταυρος, meaning "Bull of Minos") was a monster with the head of a bull on the body of a man. The Minotaur is one of the most famous monsters in Greek mythology. He is currently reforming in Tartarus.

History
The Minotaur was born of a human, Pasiphaë, and a white bull. Poseidon sent the white bull to King Minos for him to sacrifice in his honor, but King Minos did not sacrifice the bull because he saw that the bull had the most beautiful fur that he has ever seen and let the bull live. However, Poseidon was spying nearby and saw that Minos had left his white bull alive. Thereafter, mad with rage and anger that Minos had not sacrificed the bull, he cursed Minos by making Pasiphaë fall in love with the bull. Poseidon then left for Olympus and then Pasiphaë had Daedalus make a fake cow for her to hide inside and lure it. The result of their union was the Minotaur.

Pasiphaë nursed him in his infancy, but he grew rapidly and became incredibly ferocious. Minos, after getting advice from the Oracle at Delphi, had Daedalus and his son Icarus construct a gigantic maze, the Cretan Labyrinth, to hold the Minotaur. Its location was near Minos' palace in Knossos.

The Minotaur dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth and every three years, seven youths and seven maidens in Athens were taken from their families as sacrifices to him. Theseus, the son of Aegeas, volunteered to slay the Minotaur and was taken to the Labyrinth as a feast for the monster. The Minotaur was eventually killed by Theseus with the help of Ariadne and her thread. Ariadne helped Theseus out of the maze with the help of a thread that showed him his way in, and helped him on his way out.

The Lightning Thief
Percy Jackson is running to Camp Half-Blood when the Minotaur attacks him. It is described as having fur from about the belly-button on up and naked except for a pair of bright white Fruit of the Loom underwear.

Percy manages to jump onto the Minotaur's back, pull off one of the its horns, and kill it by stabbing it in the side. However, the monster manages to abduct Sally Jackson for Hades to hold as hostage. Percy decides to keep the horn as a spoil of war. It is also noted by Annabeth Chase that many campers have hoped of achieving such a task for many years.

Sally is released after the Helm of Darkness is returned to Hades by Percy.

The Last Olympian
The Minotaur had reformed and was made a general for one of Kronos' Titan armies. He attacked Percy again when leading the Titan Army across the Williamsburg Bridge in Manhattan. Even though his armor made him more difficult to kill, Percy was more experienced and stronger and so was the Minotaur. Percy also had the advantage of bathing in the River Styx, granting him invulnerability and increased stamina and strength. In the end, Percy won the battle and killed the Minotaur again.

Weapon
In The Last Olympian, the Minotaur wielded a huge axe with blades in the shape of the Greek letter, Omega. Percy guessed that it was because it would be the last thing the Minotaur's enemies saw (as Omega is the last letter in the Classic Greek alphabet).

The Lightning Thief
The Minotaur is seen when Percy, Sally and Grover arrive at Camp Half Blood. Unlike the books, when Percy broke the monster's horn on his own, the Minotaur's horn in the film is removed when it is stuck on a tree. Also, the Minotaur is not wearing the Fruit of the Loom Briefs that he is said to be wearing in the book.

Etymology
The Minotaur's name translates to "The Bull of Minos." The "mino" in Minotaur comes from King Minos' name. The "taur" in Minotaur means bull/cow.

Trivia

 * The proper name of the Minotaur was Asterion (or Asterios), meaning the starry one.
 * Both the Minotaur and his father, the Cretan bull, were associated with the constellation Taurus.
 * The name Minotaur, taur refers to Taurus the starsign of the bull. The name means The Bull of Minos, the Minotaur's step-father.
 * The Minotaur is the only monster to come back in a different book after being completely destroyed (not including species or monsters that instantly reformed, by Gaea's head).
 * In some version of the myth, it is said that Poseidon is the Minotaur's father.
 * In other myths, Poseidon told Aphrodite to make Pasiphaë fall in love with the white bull that created the Minotaur.
 * Theseus, also a son of Poseidon, fought the Minotaur. This could be why the Minotaur was the first monster Percy fought.

Gallery
Minotauro