Dec.07.2009 Theseus and the Minotaur

The Minoans lived on the island of Crete. Many years ago, the King and Queen of the Minoans had a baby, but the Gods played a trick on them. The baby wasn`t human - it was a terrible monster, half-man, half-bull! They called the monster the Minotaur. When it grew up, it was very dangerous and ate people, so they put it in a special place called a 'labyrinth.' It was impossible to get out of the labyrinth.

The Minoans were very strong and attacked other Mediterranean cities. The king of Athens was scared of the Minoans and wanted to give them a present. He decided to send some Athenian boys and girls to Crete for the Minotaur to eat. When it was time to send the children to Crete, their parents were crying.



Prince Theseus, the king`s son, decided to go with them. He wanted to kill the minotaur and save the children. His father didn`t want him to go, but Theseus got on the ship. The ship had a black sail to show how sad the people were. Theseus promised to change the sail to white when he came home to show he was alive and the Minotaur was dead.

When Theseus and the children got to Crete, Theseus met King Minos and his daughter princess Ariadne. She fell in love with Theseus and she wanted to help him.

Later that night, Ariadne gave Theseus a sword and some string.
"When you go into the Labyrinth, tie the string to the door so you can find your way back. And use the sword to kill the Minotaur."
Theseus thanked Ariadne and promised to marry her.

The next morning all the children were scared. Because it`s the time for them to be sacrificed to the minotaur.
"Wait here." said Theseus.
He tied the string to the door of the labyrinth and went to find the minotaur. When he found the monster there was a big fight between him and that monster. Theseus win by killed that monster with his sword and then he found his way back to the entrance of labyrinth thanks to the string.

The children were very happy to see him!
And they all back to the ship to get back home.

The ship got to the island of Naxos and they stopped to rest. When Ariadne fall asleep, Theseus left her on the island and returned to Athens. Maybe he wasn`t in love with her.

Theseus and the children hurriedly run to the ship so Ariadne didn`t know they have gone.
But Ariadne woke up and noticed they all were gone.
"I`m coming with you!" shout princess Ariadne through the sea while she was crying but they all have sailed to Athens and leave Ariadne.

When he got near home, he forgot to change the sail from black to white!
His father saw the black sail. "My son is dead!" He cried.
His father jumped to the black sail into the sea to save him and all the people on the ship.
And his father died. When Theseus heard the news, he was very sad because it was his fault.

And, Theseus was the new king of Athens, but he was not happy. He was the king for many years and he was a good and wise king.