Download the audio of the Minotaur
This is an exciting story of a duel between a monster and a man which took place in a dark underground labyrinth. It also has touch of a romance and the bitter after-taste of a betrayal. A little history about about King Minos of Crete is woven into the story. You can still see the remains of his palace today, at Knossos.
Read by Natasha. Duration 16 Minutes.
A long time ago – almost before history began – King Minos ruled the lovely island of Crete. The father of Minos was none other than Zeus, lord of all the gods, and he made sure that his son’s wealth and power only grew and grew.
Minos built a navy, and his ships sailed far and wide, bringing back goods, taxes, and something even more important than those – knowledge. For instance, when Minos wanted to build a palace that would strike awe and wonder into all who laid eyes on it, he asked his sea captain :
“Of all the palaces you have seen, on all your travels over the seas, which was the most magnificent?”
And the sea captain replied:
“Your majesty, the palace of Aegeus , King of Athens, surpasses all others for its beauty and grace. It was designed by Deadalus and the Athenians boast that he is the most brilliant architect who has ever lived.”
When he heard this, King Minos ordered the sea captain to fetch Deadalus to Crete. The sea captain sailed to Athens and told King Aegeus that Minos had need of his chief architect – and as Minos was the most powerful leader of those times, King Aegeus could not deny him his wish.
And so Daedalus brought his knowledge and great skill to Crete, and there he designed a wonderful palace for Minos. It was built on three floors, which was very high for buildings of those days, and the bathrooms and kitchens had plumbing that was far ahead of the times. Everywhere you went inside, you saw the double headed axe of King Minos which was his symbol of power. Upstairs, the walls were covered with bright pictures of dances and festivities. On them, you could see the young men and women of Crete leaping over the horns of bulls. It a dangerous sport indeed, but the Cretens loved to show off their skill and bravery.
The happiness of Minos was almost complete – there was but one sadness in his life. His wife gave birth to a child that was strange and unnatural. Although its face was human, it walked on four feet with hooves. Horns came out of its head, and in time it grew into a terrible monster – half man, half bull. When it bellowed the whole land of Crete shook, the walls of the palace trembled, and there were storms at sea. The people gossiped about his strange child of the King, whom they called the Minotaur. Minos wanted to have it killed, but he thought the gods would be angry with him if he killed his own son. Instead he ordered Daedalus to build a maze, known as a labyrinth, where the Minotaur could live out of sight and out of mind.
Daedalus built a Labyrinth underground that was so intricate and cunning in its design, that even he himself had trouble finding the way out.
The Minotaur agreed to live in the Labyrinth, but he demanded that human beings be sent into his maze at regular intervals, otherwise he would rage with hunger even until the walls of the palace fell down. And so Minos ordered the kings of the nearby lands to send ships full of their young people to sacrifice to the Minotaur. Every ninth year it was the turn of Athens to send its human tribute to Crete. Twice, King Aegeus agreed to this – for he was still afraid of Minos and the power of his navy – but on the third occasion, his son, Prince Theseus said to him:
“Father, this time, let me sail to Crete, and I shall kill the Minotaur and end this misery for our people. ”
Aegeus was very reluctant to send his beloved son to chance his life against the Minotaur but, as he could see no other way out of the terrible situation for his people, he agreed.
It was decided that the ship of Theseus would carry two sets of sails. If the mission was successful, it would return to Athens under white sails, but if Theseus was killed by the Minotaur, it would sail back under black sails. That way, the people of Athens would receive the news of the outcome all the sooner.
Prince Theseus sailed to Crete and stayed with King Minos in his magnificent palace. There, on occasion, he caught sight of Princess Ariadne, the lovely daughter of King Minos. When Ariadne saw Theseus she felt great pity for him.
“Certainly, he looks very nice,” she thought, “But what a shame that his life is about to end so soon and so terribly ! For even if he succeeds in killing the Minotaur, he will never find his way out of the dark and winding Labyrinth.”
And when Theseus saw Ariadne he thought:
“Surely the King’s own daughter knows some of his secrets. If only she could be persuaded to help me, I might stand a better chance of killing the Minotaur and escaping from the Labyrinth with my life.”
One day, when for a very short time Theseus found himself alone with Ariadne, he went down on his knees and begged her for any help that she could give him.
Ariadne promised to do what she could, and that evening she asked the advice of Daedalus, for if anyone knew the way out of the maze, it would surely be its architect. Daedalus too wanted to help Theseus – for they were both from the City of Athens. And so he gave Ariadne his secret plan of the Labyrinth – but she was dismayed when she examined it and saw the numerous twists and turns in the underground passage-ways. Even with a map it would be impossible to find one’s way through such a maze.
Later on, she found Theseus walking alone in the gardens, and she gave him the map. When he unfurled the map and saw its complexity he said:
“Oh Princess. I trust in my courage and my skill with my spear and my sword, but doubt that I shall ever find my way out of a maze such as this.”
But Ariadne had thought of a second way to help Theseus. She gave him a ball of thread, and told him to unwind it as he went through the dark Labyrinth. And on the way back he should gather the wool up, and follow it back to the daylight.
Theseus was pleased with the plan, and he kissed the hand of the princess, thanking her for all her help. The next day he said to King Minos.
“You majesty. I have been honoured to be your guest for one whole week. Now I am ready to complete my mission, and meet either death or glory.”
King Minos would have been happy for the foreign prince to rid him of the Minotaur – but he thought he stood little chance. He led Theseus to the entrance to the Labyrinth and wished him goodbye, for he never expected to see him again. Then Theseus ventured into the maze, and a little way in, he tied one end of the ball of thread a beam. He went further, and soon he was in complete darkness. He had to feel his way along the walls, and around the twists and turns of the Labyrinth. All the while he unwound the ball of wool that Ariadne had given him. Somewhere, deep inside, the bull was stamping and snorting, impatient to meet its latest sacrifice.
At last, deep within, Theseus could hear that the Minataur was close by. He found a passageway that led to a dead end – as many of them did – but what made this one different was that there was a sudden turning just before the end. He had seen this passage on the map, and it was just the place he was looking for.
Theseus hid himself around this final twist and called out to the Minataur – it heard him and came charging down the passage – but it could not slow down before the turning and charged straight into the wall. While it was still stunned from the impact, Theseus thrust his spear into the beast’s neck and killed it – though it did not let up its life before letting out a terrible bellow. The the walls of the palace shook and trembled, and King Minos said:
“Thank Zeus ! It seems that Prince Theseus has rid us of the terrible monster. But he will never find is way out of the Labyrinth and will surely die there.”
But Theseus began to gather up the ball of thread, until at last he reached the exit where Ariadne was eagerly waiting for him.
“Princess, how can I thank you,” said Theseus, “For without your help I would never have found my way out of that terrible place.”
And Ariadne replied :
“Take me back to Athens with you, and I shall be your bride.”
Now these were far from the words that Theseus had been hoping to hear. For although Ariadne was extremely beautiful, he was due to marry a different Princess his return to Athens. But he could not quite find the words to explain this to Ariadne, and so he replied in haste:
“Come: we must leave right away before your father discovers the truth.”
And leading her by the hand he led her down to his ship that was ready and waiting.
They set sail immediately for Athens, and in her heart Ariadne was overjoyed because she would soon marry her hero – or so she believed. But he had different plans. On the way back, they stopped at the island of Naxos to gather supplies. Ariadne walked to the end of the beach, paddling in the waves, and Theseus told the sea captain to set sail as fast as he could. Poor Ariadne was marooned on the island of Naxos, abandoned by her faithless lover. She stood high up on the cliffs and watched his sail disappear over the horizon. As she shed bitter tears, Bachuus the god of wine heard her weeping and decided to cheer her as best he could. He led his procession to her – wild animals and dancing servants, banging on drums and sounding trumpets. He took her crown from her head, and cast it up into the sky – it soared up to the heavens and its jewels turned into stars and formed a constellation in the shape of a crown.
As Theseus sailed away, he was laughing with the sea captain about the trick they had played. But Poseidon, the god of the seas heard them and was angry with Theseus for his betrayal of the princess. He sent a storm to toss his ship. The white sales were ripped and torn and fell into the raging seas. The ship survived the storm, but the captain was forced to repair his ship and use the second set of sails – the black ones that were meant to signal failure.
As they approached Athens, they were spotted by fishermen who raced back home to report the dreaded news.
The ship of Theseus, the hope of Athens, was returning under black sails. When this news reached the ears of the old king he ordered his chariot to take him down the harbour to see the ship return. When he saw that it was indeed returning under black sails, he was filled with uncontrollable grief and threw himself from the top of the harbour tower and into the sea where he drowned.
And that is the story of how Theseus betrayed Ariadne who had helped him escape death in the Labyrinth of the Minataur.
Bertie says that if you ever visit the National Gallery in London, you can see a famous picture of Ariadne and Baccus on the island of Naxos – it’s by an Italian painter called Titian.
And that was not quite the end of the tale, because there is another story about what happened to Daedalus, the architect of the famous Labarynth. Bertie says it’s a much shorter story, but it’s a good one, with a moral to it.
242 Comments
its superb
Dear ” Storynory.com ”
I just adored this story.
My age is 80, and having practiced English in the most unusual way, I thought it amazing. In fact with little school my life was maintained in the most primitive form, therefore I’m most happy for having reached the chance in being able to handle the computer for news reading, and a few other elements. Just to keep up with English I do help others who know less than me. By discovering this address, it will be recomended to others to follow, here in South Brasil where I live. Other stories will from now on, also explored by me. Thank you;
Sincerely yours; Mathias Arnold
Mathias – Many thanks for your comment. It is very nice to hear that you enjoyed the Minotaur. We like to cater to all ages !
Reed a book very fen doing,
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i am a korean,
i think that “storynory.com “is benefic of my life,
i sorry, my english`s ablity not good,
so think of much, bet i don`t know how write in english ,
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I have a news about the dress in golden dress i will tell you the news she said that she knows Birtie.this story is very interesting.
thank you
The story is great and it’s good for learning English.
Good story , a bit sad nonetheless worth hearing especially for my son aged 9 years.
i enyo the lisning to this story thank you to the resposible adoyt the wedsite help as to imrove our englich
hello , I,m iranian .the story was too good .good luck in continuing way for your site and I wish for all of my friend in all of world peace and success .good by
Thank you Natasha! I love your stories. And listen to them every day. This story is nice also. But I found the end of the story to be a little bit confusing. I wish the story finished with these words:
” Take me back to Athens with you, and I shal be your bride”. Then Theseus took his lovely bride back to Athens where they lived happily ever after…..
Dear Selene
It’s wonderful that you listen every day. Thank so much for your comment.
Sorry that The Minotaur has such a sad ending -but we are following the original Greek Myth. Theseus was a bit of a so and so, I’m afraid.
We are wondering about doing Jason and Media – but that is even worse !
Dear Bertie,
I am a Thai student who taking the Mythology coure at college..
Thanks a lot for your story..this help me remember the Greek myth much easier.
And comparing your version to the Edith Hamilton one,yours is more understandable.
Again..Thank you
hello Chutee
Very pleased to hear that the Minotaur was useful to you.
It’s a very nice story, I enjoyed it a lot =] A perfect story for a child ^^
Very nice and i had read it in school
hi i’am yara samer i’am living in kuwait but i’am lebanease this story i did it photocopy of this story and it is soooooo nice it was talking about the minotaur in our school they gave us holidAY HOMEWORK my mother she did this story for me from her office we have to write any story from 100 words or 150
words but still i didn’t do it
good buy
Thanks again for the wonderful stories. Our whole family enjoys them.:)
extraodinary
wow!!!!!!!!!! i dint expect this awesome……..
wow and cool
wow that was cool
wow that was cool
hi bertie i liked this story.
my name is anna maria and i am danish
i am 7 and in grade 4 (i skipped a grade)
and i read at an eith grade level! plese make your stories longer and reply
sincerly
amkb
anna maria
Hi Anna Maria
Many thanks for your comment. Well done on skipping a grade. We do have some longer stories – like the Snow Queen for instance. But it’s true that our stories have got a bitter shorter recently – so we’ll think about doing some longer ones too soon
Bye for now !
i can do better than that Natasha !
This thing is really great i love it. This is so cooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
This thing is really great i love it.
your website is great
Same story in different retelling has different moral meanings, but the love, betrayal and revenge theme seems never changed.
Great story and lovely comments gave by peoples from all of the world, especially the one by Mathias, who is now 80, his enthusiasm of learning is so encouraging!
this is excellent
tis is exelent
Exellent page. I love it. It´s greeat page to practice my english.
Thanks,
Nico
uuuuuummmmmm ok? not that interesting
i love it so much
good story
luvin this story we lisn to it at school ma frend camron broght it ta school lots ov luv livyxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I think:
The Theme=Betrayal because Theseus killed the Minotaur and then tricked Ariadne after he implied that he would marry her.
Thanks, : )
The story is getting better and better. I am really enjoying these.
the theme of the story is when theseus killed the minotaur which i think was a weird way cuz he didnt really do anything exept let him run into a wall then stabbed him while he was down. anyways the theme of the story is wen theseus killed the minotaur then said he wood marry ariadne and adandonned her on the island of naxos.
The theme is defenitly adventure and love.
betrayl is most of the theme but, there is a little bit of sorrow in between
I agree and think the theme is Betrayl because they talk about leaving or killing one to leave with the other.
The theme of this story would probbly have to be betrayal. This is because obviously it says it a couple of times, but Theseus betrayed Ariadne by marooning her on an island after she had just saved his life! Wow that was nice!
There were two themes in this story, betrayal and courage. Theseus betrayed Ariadne and left her on the island. Let me tell you, you have to have a lot of courage to fight a minotaur. Really great story 8 )
Betrayal, too =D
The theme is betrayal and strategy.
I think =(
I dont like this one I think that its not goood sorry Mrs.Sprauge
The theme is courage for Theseus going up against the minotaur and also betrayal when Theseus left the princess on the island of Naxos
it’s good
thanks
it think the theme is betrayal because he said he would marry the kings daugther and keep her on that iland.
betrayal definitly because the king betrayed his son and the prince betrayed the princess,courage could also be one cause Theseus had to use courage to even step into the maze,not to mention kill the miotaur
Wasn’t able to post before. busy. Themes: romance, bravery, betrayal
I believe the theme is Betrayal. because theseus abandoned ariadne on an island.
adventure
i thought the themes were courage and betrayal
I think the theme is betrayal beacause they tried to send people to be a sacrifice.
(/__/)
(=0.0=)
(”)__(”)
There are a few themes in this story. One theme that ocurs more than once is betrayal. Theseus betrayed the princess on the island of Naxos. The king also betrayed his son because he was a monster. Another theme in this story is bravery. Theseus showed his courage when he stepped into the deep and dark labrynth to kill a monster he couldn’t even see! Finally the princess showed love because she loved
theseus; unfortuantely for her he marooned her on an island.
i think the theme to this story is bravery, courage,and grief.. i did not like that he left the princess on the island. i think he should have not taken her on his ship but should have left her on her own land.
I thought that the themes were betrayal and courage. There was also some adventure in there.
i think betrayal is a theme because the king betrays his son because he’s a monster and he leaves the princess on the island after she loved him.
the theme is definately betrayel because theaseus leaves adriadne on the island.
the theme is betrayal because Prince Theseus left Princess Ariadne marooned at an island
For what it’s worth, I agree with Andrew
The theme of this story is betrayal and for people to understand how hurtful it can be.
this is really good
i think the theme is betrayal because theseus left ariadne on the island
I think the theme is::::::
Courage(standing up to the minotaur)
betrayal ( leaving the princess, also tricking people)
All together adventure!!
the theme is a combination betrayal and bravery
betrayal is the theme
theme: betrayal and romance
betrayel,love,and i think death were some themes
i think there are a lot of themes here are the ones i came up with betrayal,bravery,courage,and romance and of course i thought there was a lot more themes
i believe there are two themes: betrayal and courage
the theme is betrayal he maroons her on an island when she saved him
betrayal is the theme he maroons her
betrayel
the theme was betrayal because the guy ditched the princess….at the island
hate is the conflict of this story
Bravery and Betrayel are the themes…minotaurs are cool
sweet stuff
er it was okay but kinda boring lmao
mainly adventure but inside of that would have to be bravery and betrayel
Courage and betrayal!? Are the themes
betrayal
man vs fate, and man vs natuare
i used this poem on a report!!!!
ok story
This is a cool story.
P.S. Go to My awesome website!
This is good!!!
is this in a book it is so cool super trooper i wish i could say that about troy
Isent this cool listining to minotor ay Nikhola
bit slow speek up a bit
i loved your storyy natasha
great (what do you think) i love it
good ok bad
good by carly
ok by liam
Thanks Carly and Liam – a balanced selection of views !
wtf is this a greek myth
I totaly love story nory like this is probaly the best reading website i have ever been to.
this is long and boring
very nice story good to know about the past
Greek Gods confuse me all the time. Such a good way (lisening) to catch up with the story. I have to say that Greek myth is so inconsistent itself. I find it hard to know the relationship between different Gods.
I really like this story!! It’s so AWESOME!!!!!!!I think this is one of my favorite stories!!!!!!!!
that was asome how many people do you know that are half bull half human
I think it is a great story but it is still a selfish story because King Minos only thinks about taxes and gold!
But I still like the story a lot and I think it is the best story I’ve ever read.
I think Theseus was very selfish to leave Ariadne on the island. I feel sorry for the Minotaur as he was born that way and people thought he was a monster.
I like this story even though I heard it several times.I like the minotaur because it is my 2nd favorite monster[My number 1 is the mummy.]
The story of Minatuar was interesting.It tuaght me a lot about greek history.
i think it was horrible that theseus killed minotaur because even if he looked weird he may have been a good person. and i think it was wrong of theseus to betray the princess!
I really enjoyed reading this story because it tought me about the past and that if you do something bad there are consequences.
very good story but duo sent sound very realistic and half bull half man???
I liked the story.
It was such a sad ending.
I like this story I feel sorry for the girl and the maze is so big I bet if I went in, I wouldn’t be able to get out
i just loved that story it had great language and description
I like the story. It is very nice to know what happend in the past.
I liked this story very much because it was fun and full of adventure. Also, I did not like the part where The Princess was betrayed. This IS very interesting.
Nicole
This story is quite sad, it made me feel sorry for the princess because she was the one who helped Theseus with the maze but got nothing but was marooned by Theseus in return. But Iam a little bit confused with the story: Why would Theseus ditch the girl if she helped him? I enjoyed the story very much. I think I can work out the moral: When people help you, you must help them back. My questions are: How big is the Labyrinth? and
What happened to King Minos?
Dear Nicole ST Thank you for your comments on the Minotaur. Theseus betrayed Ariadne because he was engaged to marry a different princess in Athens – and he hadn’t told her this. It’s certainly a good moral to help people back when they help you. I’m not sure how big the Labyrinth was – but certainly big enough to get lost in. KIng Minos continued to rule Crete and had a powerful navy. He also appears in the story, The Boy Who Flew Too High http://storynory.com/2008/08/24/the-boy-who-flew-too-high/
great story i think it was absolutly cruel of Theseus to maroon Ariadne, by the way what happened to her please answer
Toni, According to one story Ariadne went up into the sky and became a consolation of stars. Titian painted a picture of this – and his picture is in the National Gallery in London
http://rbvhs.vusd.k12.ca.us/teachers/roswell/apeuro/unit1/images/bacchus_ariadne.jpg
Very good story. Theaus was very cruel to Ariadne.
The greeks loved ther powerful gods. i have a book caled ”percy jackson” mwhich has simular gods in.
The Minataur sounded a scary beast when it screamed and shook the Palace!
Hi Freya, yes Percy Jackson brings it all up to date. We can’t read it because it’s in copyright, but our sponsor, AudibleKids has some audio of it.
wasn’t Hercules Zeus’s son?
hi berty
does storynory have lots of copyrite coz i want to share the story with my frends.
Dear Goldfish, you can share our stories with your friends just so long as you don’t charge for them. So please do share them !
i really love this story its one of my very very very very favorite favorite favorite stories
this is a cool story it cool and just aliitle sad for me.
i love it
hey that was awesome dude join us again love ya bye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THE MINOTAUR IS BEASTY HE SHOULD BE A UFC FIGHTER
it was so cool! i loved it so much i want to read it again!i love this story for 2 resons:1. it is so interesting.2. it is also good for my english. thanks to mathias who wrote this nice story about minotaur!!!!!!!!!
I think it was so mean of Theseus to leave the princess in the island and I think the story is good.
If the princess helped theseus to go through the maze, why did theseus trick the princess?
these is a great story i cannot get it of my mind!!! and by the way natasha u r a great reader!!!!!!!i like this story .,.,..,.,..,.sorta!!
Ella, some men just are like that…. . it’s a lesson best learned through a story, rather than through real life.
that was great
love it but y was the minotor there in the first place? [o well]
thnx alot story nory please repley to me beartie
thnx anyway
Ed, Poseidon the Sea God sent the minotaur as a punishment to king Minos. Minos was supposed to sacrifice a bull to Poseidon, but he decided to keep it for himself.
thnx bertie! hey heres a very random question do you play monopoly and if so how do you do it?
thnx
Ed, I haven’t played monopoly for ages. The trick is to try and build as many houses and hotels as possible. You have to decide whether to concentrate on a lots of cheap ones, or a few expensive ones. Both strategies are good and there’s a lot of luck in the throw of the dice.
i like storynory.com!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i think this is a good story about the minatour i never knew it would be this good that i really liked this story but when the minatour and theuse felt in love everyone says uhhhh! but i know all people have to get in love dont they but then i said please everyone to keep there mouth shut but they did not listen what i said but the third .But when i said my teacher said well done elle then i said thank you miss i like tuesday because we go swimming
Hi elle thanks glad you like the Minotaur .it s a good anti love story actually because Theseus is so mean to Ariadne.well done from storynory too
scaryarrgh not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
to long comments
(Kayla) WHY DID THE PRINCE BETRAYED THE PRINCESS?
The long answer is that he wanted her help, but forgot to tell her that he was engaged to another. Some might say that the short answer is because he was a man.
I think the theme of this story was betral because Theseus ditched Ariadne on an island.
A Dual between a man and a monster
I think this Theme is courage because Theseus going up against the minotaur and also betrayal when Theseus left the princess on the island of Naxos
The main theme of this story is betrayal because Theseus left the princess on the island! HoW RuDe!
The tone of this story was Exsitment because he was able to get through the maze and kill the bull. Then he found his way back because he used yarn to get through. The mood of this story was happieness because he got asked to get merried. But when he got back he drowned and died and before he died he was in total grief.
THE END!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think the theme to this story is bravery, courage,and grief. I did not like that he left the princess on the island. i think he should have not taken her on his ship but should have left her on her own land. Also I liked the part were he was able to get out of the maze and got asked to get married.
Oh ya that other one i rote was the rong one i was looking at fridays homework sorry.
Definitely a story about betrayal and heartache (theme). Kind of a dismal and gloomy feel. Not a “oh everybody’s happy and great!” ending.
Good story though!!!!
moral: making light of promises and lying will get you no where.
Theme: betrayal…honor…courage!
THE THEME IS BETRAYAL AND HATE..
SUSPENSFUL!!
I think the theme of the story is betrayl because Theseus got help from Ariadne them ditched her on the idland. That is the main one. Bravery can also be a theme because Theseus was brave enough to go kill the minataur during meal time!
i think the theme of this story was betral because Theseus ditched Ariadne on an island.
it was bettwen man and monster
I think the theme for this story is betrayal because these us betrayed Ariadne because he was engaged and going to marry a different princess in Athens and he hadn’t told her about it.
I think the theme is betrayal because Theseus Betrayed Ariadne, who had helped him escape the death of the Labyrinth,he had tricked her to thinking he was taking her back to Athens with her and making her his bride. But then he left her all alone on the island.
Or it could also be Bravery because he was brave enough to go inside the Labyrinth and kill the Minotaur.
I think it was betrayal, because he betaryed the princess. & left her alone on the island. It’s good the sea gods made a storm and the sails ripped.
It was betrayal because heleft thee princess alone on the island. & it could be a bit of revenge too,because the sea gods made a storm and the sails ripped,because of him leaving the princess.
I think that the theme of this story is betrayal because he tricked that girl.
I think its betrayal beause Ariadne was left on te island by Theseus, so he made his Dad commit suicide.
the theme was betrale because Theseus betreade Ariadne. it was a good story over all.
i think the theme is betrayal because he wanted to marry a different princess.
I think this story is about King Minos ruled the lovely island of Crete, This Genre is Adventure story about Princesses name is Ariadne who loved Prince Theasus and at the end Theasus and Ariadne had helped escape death in a Labyrinth of the Minotaur
I think that the main theme would have to be betrayal because Theseus left the princess all alone on the island. >:( But the other theme that would fit really well into this story would be courage because Theseus had much bravery to go and kill the Minotaur.
I think its betrayal because ariadne was left on the island by thessus , so he made is father commit suicide
i think there are two theams witch are betral because he left the princess on the island. it is also courage you have to have alot of courage to fight a Minotaur
i also did the boy who flew to high
i also did the madias touch
The theme of this story is bravery and betrayal, because even though the princess helps Theusus, he leaves her on an island alone to die. Theusus shows bravery though, when he goes into the labyrinth to kill the minotaur.
i believe that the theme of this story is betrayal because Theseus Betrayed Ariadne.
The theme of this story is definately betrayal because he betrayed the Princess who helped him and without her help he would have died.
The theme of this story is betrayal and grief because Theseus betrayed Ariadne, and Theseus’s father was sad because he thought his son was dead.
I think that the main theme is betrayal because Theseus told the princess to come with him after she said if she can come back with him, she will be his bride. On the island of Naxos, where they stopped to gather supplies, Theseus abandoned princess Ariadne, laughing as he sailed away.
i think the theme of the story is betrayel because theseus betrayed ariadne by leaving him on a island
The theme of the story is the evil Minotaur, the labrinth, and who the Miotaur eats because the minotaur the human beast is the son of King Minos who made a labrinth for his son to live in. Also who the Minotaur eats are young men and women and one prince who the Minotaur was going to eat killed him.This is a Myth and Legend becuase there was a King who had that beautiful castle Daedalus the good achitecturer made.
the theme of this story is beayal because the king betrays his son because he make hime stay in the labranth instead of being loved by his family also theseus betrys adriana by staranding her on the island. lastly the minator betrays his father by trying to colaps his palace by roaring,
The theme was Betraly by far i think because, Theseus had told Ariadne that he would Marry her and they sailed off together but once they stopped on a little island call Nixon he left her then and then sailed of without even a word or two to explain! I also think the theme was bravery because Theseus went and killed Zeus son and had to go through the horrile maze to do that
i enjoyed this story:)
-Jordan
The story was great and I think the theme is betrayal because the princess loved Theseus but Theseus was going to marry another bride when he returned home from killing the Minotaur.
I believe the theme is is betrayal because thesues betrayed ariadne.I also think the theme could be bravery because thesues was brave enough to go to the labrinth.
the theme would be both betrayal and bravery. It is betrayal because the prince said he would marry the princess even though he knew he knew he wouldn’t. it is bravery because the prince knew he had a good chance of getting killed but went to the labyrinth anyway
The theme of this story is betrayl since he turned his back on the princess who helped him. With out her doing this he would have died.
See, the thing is, with myths,they always make it seem like 2 stories were put together. So, I think the that there are two themes. One is bravery, and the other is obviously betrayal. Bravery, in the way that Theseus would risk his life for a noble cause. I thought it was betrayal in two ways. One, King Minos wanted to kill his own son. And two, when Theseus left Ariadne all alone on an island. What a jerk! I liked this story overall, though.
Hi Katie M, I think that is a smart answer because it’s true that the Minotaur story does seem to fall into two parts with different themes. “What a jerk!” is slightly rude, and I wouldn’t normally let it through, bit in this case I think it’s an appropriate response to the character of Theseus !
The theme of this story is betrayal and victory, because Theseus marooned Ariadne at the island of Naxos. He did this in order to honor Athens and marry the princes they chose for him. Also Theseus only wanted what was best for Athens, so he decided to go fight the minotaur to spare a persons life. In addition it seems as though Theseus wanted to fight minotaur, because he knew that he would stand a better chance at killing the minotaur, than the other people of Athens.
The theme is good versus evil since theseus is trying to kill the minotaur.
i think that there are two themes betrayal and sacrifice. I think that it is betrayal because Theseus left Ariadne on the island and King Minos wanted to kill his own son and i think that it is sacrifice because the people from Athens had to sacrifice men to feed to the minotaur and Theaeus sacrificed his life to defeat the minotaur
the theme of this story is that if you do something wrong you will pay the conciquences.
The theme is betrayal because Theseus t
left Ariadne alone after she helped him and because the king had a maze built to keep his son out of the publics way
I think the theme of this story is betrayal. The reason why I think this is because Theseus leaves Ariadne on the island.
Not very nice!
both very tricky, interesting, and very suprising and also ironic in a kind away.
i think this was betrayal because Theseus left the “bride to be” on the island.. which is by the way messed up!!
The theme of this story would be betrayal. I think this because Theaseus left Princess Ariadne on an island even after she helped him. I also think the theme could be sacrifice because they sacrificed many men. Also Theaseus’ father sacrificed his own son for the good of his people. So as you can see there can be two themes.
If there were a third theme it could be victory. I t could be victory because Theaseus won victory over the minotaur.
that the them is to good vs eivl whem thseus is kil the minotaur.
The theme of this story is trust. Ariadne trusted the hero, but he took advantage of that. The king trusted the hero to put up the certain color of sails. The hero betrayed the trust, so theme 2 is betrayal.
After I read this story, the theme that occured to me was romance because Thesues but it also could be betrayal because Thesues leaves the princess which is really rude!!!
i think the theme of the story is betrayal because he left the princess on a island instead of taking her to be his wife. also he brought dissapointment to his people by putting the black sails.
I think the theme is courage and betrayal because he had to have a lot of courage to kill the Minotaur and it was betrayal because king Minos wanted to kill his own son and that Theseus left Ariadne to die on Naxos.
WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND!
I think the Theme is betrayal because he left the princess on the Island when she thaught that he was going to marry her because thats what he promised
The main theme is betrayal because Theseus left Adriadne on the island and let her down, promising to marry her. ” And that is the story of how Theseus betrayed Ariadne..” the quote even says that she was betrayed .
I think the theme of this story is betrayal, because with out the help from the Princess, Thesues would had died. He just pretty much turned his back on the Princess.
I think the theme of the story is betrayal because Theseus betrayed Ariadne by leaving her on the island after she had helped him.
the theme of the minotaur is betrayal because theseus begs for help from adriadne to kill the mosnter and then when he survives she asks for his hand in marriage and so he tells her yes and she is full with joy. then they stop at a beach and he ditches her. rude rude man!! >:(
The story actually has two themes, Man Vs. Man and betrayal. Man Vs. Man, because Prince Theseus killed the Minotaur and Betrayal, because Theseus leaves Ariadne on Naxos.
the king goes against the his son so therefore i think it is betrayal
the theme of the story is betrayal because theseus begs for help from adriadne to kill the minotaur and then when he survives and makes it out of the maze adriadne asks for his hand in marriage and being a butt he says yes and they leave on his ship and she is overjoyed but theseus has something else on his mind. he ends up stopping at an island and ditching her there; leaving without her on the ship and she is devastated and watches hopelessly a them while he sails off into the sea. rude rude man!! >:(
For this story the theme is betrayal. Prince Theseus abandoned Adrienne on an island just after she had helped him escape the maze and survive. Also prince Theseus showed great courage and sacrifice because he went and fought the man eating beast called the Minotaur.
the theme of the story is love and betrayal.Love,because with out the love of Princess Ariadne, Thesuse would have been lost forever in Labyrith and would have died .Betrayal, bacause Thesus left Princess Ariadne on the island alone.
I think the theme is betrayal , love, and sacrifice. Sacrifice because he knows he may die in the labyrinth from the minotaur or not finding his way out.Betrayal because he doesn’t tell her his is suppossed to marry some other lady and love because even though he betrays her he truly does love Ariadne but hurts her deeply!
I thought he should’ve taken Ariadne to be hs bride instead of this other lady.
The theme is betrayal because thesues betrayed ariadne.He leaves her on the island.
I think that the theme of this story is betrayal. For one he left the princess who wanted to help him. Also, King Minos wanted to kill his own son, so I think that that represents betrayal.
good vs. evil becuse theause is trying to kill
minotaur
the theme of the story is betrayal because Theseus had promised Ariadne that he would Marry her but then he left her on the island
Ariadne loved Prince Theseus, however he was marrying a different princess and Ariadne didnt now that because he hadnt told her yet. Part of the theme is love because of how the princess loved Theseus. Also it is hatred because everyone who heard and lived by or near the minotaur hated it. Even Mino, the minotaurs father wanted to kill him because he was part bull and made so much noise because every time he bellowed the walls would shake. Theseus back-stabbed Ariadne because he was already getting married when she said to take her back to Athens and marry her. So he just left her on Naxos when they were getting supplies. Ariadne helped him get out of the maze and told him how he could pay her back, but he just dumped her on some beach. So I think that back-stabbing someone can also be the theme.
The theme Is Betrayal. Betrayal Is the theme because he betrayed the princess who had helped him and without her help at all he definitely would have died.
betrayal
That was a good, cruel story- I liked it!
The theme of the story was betrayal because Theseus abandoned Araidne on the island, King Minos betrayed his people by making them sacrifice PEOPLE for his embarisment of his son, and because the sea captain who betrayed the people’s thoughts (sails) and brought the king an early death.
The theme is also Heroic Humans/Great Beasts because Theseus killed the minotaur and saved the people from their sacrifices.
Other smaller themes were survival(Theseus LIVED through his journy), love(Araidne loved Theseus), and victory(Theseus beat the monster).
I’m so sorry this was late! I ran out of time this weekend. I really liked the story after reading previously about the maze. : )
IT HINK THE THEME IS BETERYAL AND SACRIFICE
I think the theme of this story is betrayal and sacrifice because Theseus left Ariadne on the island and it’s sacrifice because some of the people of Athens were sacrificed to feed the minotaur and Theseus sacrifice his life to kill the minotaur.
the theme of the story is revenge
I think the theme is betrayal because Theseus Betrayed Ariadne, who had helped him escape the death of the Labyrinth,
Sorry Mrs.Sprague my computer was down
I think the the theme is betrayal becuase Theseus left Ariadne on the islnad.
i believe there are 2 themes betrayal for ditching that princess on the island and courage for fighting the minotaur
I believe the two themes are courage and bravery because your not going to go attack the minotaur and win, it’ll tear you to shreds. From what i’ve read in myths is that the minotaur is half bull half human but 10 times stronger than a bull so its pretty high chances of dieing!
i think the theme is serival and betrayal becouse the prince had to serivethe dark Labarynth and having to leave the princess on the island
The authors purpose is to share a mythological story. The story is about a King in Crete thats wants a fabulous palace. He commissions an architect from a faraway land and builds a labyrinth that houses a Minotaur. Theseus sails in search to kill the Minotaur. Ariadne gave Theseus a ball of thread to help him through the maze. He found the Minotaur and stabbed him with his spear. Theseus found his way back through the maze and was greeted by Ariadne who was going to be his bride. He set sail back to land with Ariadne. They stopped at the island of Naxos where they gathered supplies and left Ariadne. The gods look over Theseus and set bad weather to wreck his ship. His ship was pulled through and he had to replace the sails with black ones which meant that he hadn’t killed the Minotaur. When he returned the old king drowned himself because of the bad news.
I think the theme is betrayal and victory because he is victorious over the Minotaur, but betrays and maroons his love on and island
I think the theme is betrayal and survival. Survival because Theseus had to kill the minotaur then escape the labyrinth. Betrayal because Theseus marooned Ariadne on an island because he couldn’t find a way to tell her that he was marrying another woman.
the theam is betrail and a little bit victory when thesias killed the minotaur.
I think the theme is betrayal some survival and some victory.
make one of these for ks3 people please
I love it it’s amazing we are learning about the ancient grecce in fefseddef bye
I loved it!My kids thought it was great.
too long
Cool were doing this for school heehee….
it was helpfull and good
this is a cool website i like it i think it is cool it is really cool so good bye ohh waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaait dont goooooooooooooooooooooooo away yet i also think that the minitor thingy mabbober is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ugly and it needs its teeth brushed.
sincerely lapicuta
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[...] too close to the sun. It continues the story of Daedalus, whom we first met in the story of the Minotaur. We hear how he and his son Icarus tried to escape from Crete with wings made of feathers and wax. [...]