Some time later, King Minos is to sacrifice his most precious bull to the sea God Poseidon every year. Depending on the version of the myth, the bull may have been sent by Poseidon himself. But King Minos is too proud of his bull to have it sacrificed to Poseidon, and instead sacrifices a lesser bull. Poseidon is angered by the actions of King Minos, and decides to punish him. Whether by his own will or by the help of the goddess Aphrodite, King Minos's wife Pasiphae is inflicted with an unwavering lust for the beautiful bull. Day after day, Pasiphae's lust for the bull grew, until finally one day, she sought out the master architect Daedalus for help. Daedalus was a genius inventor and architect and could build a multitude of amazing things. He agreed to help Pasiphae and constructed a life size hollow cow that could hold Pasiphae inside. Each day, Pasiphae would climb into the cow until one day, the beautiful bull took notice of her. The result of their union was the monster known as the Minotaur. The Minotaur was a half human, half bull monster that caused King Minos great shame. Angry with the situation, King Minos ordered Daedalus to build a giant labyrinth, which may have also been a maze, under the palace of Knossos. It is in the labyrinth that the Minotaur would be imprisoned, eating the human sacrifices sent from Athens.
Every year (or nine years, depending on the account), Athens would send seven male youths and seven female youths to Crete to be sacrificed to the bull. King Minos' son Androgeus had been killed by Athenians during one of the annual games from jealousy. King Minos declared war on Athens, demanding they send him the Athenian youths for sacrifice every year. Athens complied with King Minos' commands.
The Minotaur would eventually be killed by Theseus, son of Aegeus and Poseidon. Aegeus, troubled by the fact that he had yet to bare a son, sent word for the oracle at Delphi who advised him against ever sleeping with another woman again, should he die of grief. Aegeus went to see king Pittheus at Troezen, who immediately set him up with his daughter, Aethra. On their wedding night, while Aethra was bathing in the sea, Poseidon rose up and seduced her also. Their son Theseus would therefore be from dual parentage, a mortal and a God. When Aegeus realized Aethra was pregnant, he left to go back to Athens. He feared for Aethra and her unborn child's safety. Aegeus' brother Pallas had fifty sons and was waiting with an evil eye to overtake the throne, and Aegeus knew if they found out about Aethra, they would cause great harm to her. Before leaving Troezen, Aegeus buried his sandals and sword, symbols of royalty, in the sand and covered them with a huge boulder. If Aethra gave birth to a boy, she was instructed never to tell him of his real identity until he was old enough to lift the boulder and find the gifts buried beneath. Aethra would give birth to a son, named Theseus.
One summer, Aethra led Theseus to the boulder where Aegeus had buried his sandals and sword. Aethra told him that when he could move the boulder, he would find out who his real father was. Theseus worked to move the boulder everyday until one day, the boulder moved, and Theseus retrieved his symbols of royalty. Off he went to Athens, in search of his father. Along the way, Theseus killed Periphetes, Sinis, Phaea, Sciron, Cercyon and Procrustes, who were the villains of the area. Aegeus was now with the witch Medea; his brother Pallas and his fifty sons eagerly waiting to attend the throne. Theseus approached the King, who was impressed with his heroic deeds. Medea however, was not impressed and guessed immediately who Theseus really was, and attempted to poison him. However, Medea was thwarted and finally banished from Athens. Theseus, eager to prove himself to his father, decided that he would go to Crete with the Athenian sacrifices to kill the minotaur.
As Theseus boarded the ship that would take him to Crete, Aegeus asked that should he return alive, that he switch the ships black sails to white ones in signal of his victory. Theseus agreed and sailed off. Aegeus would wait everyday on a cliff, watching the ocean for signs of Theseus.
When Theseus arrived in Athens, he met the beautiful princess Ariadne, daughter of King Minos. Ariadne fell in love with Theseus and decided to help him. She asked the architect Daedalus for help. He complied and gave her a clue- a spool of thread that Theseus could use to trace his path in the labyrinth in order to find his way out. Ariadne gave the clue and instructions to Theseus, asking only one thing in return. She made him promise to marry her and take her back with him to Athens. Theseus agreed, and was lead into the labyrinth.
Theseus was able to kill the Minotaur at the centre of the labyrinth and find his way out, along with the surviving Athenian youths. Ariadne waited for his return, and together they boarded the ship back to Athens. The ship would stop at the island of Naxos, and here the myth splits into many versions. In some versions, Ariadne is left there by Theseus, either on purpose or by accident. Other stories tell of the God Dionysus and his infatuation with Ariadne, suggesting to either Ariadne or Theseus that Ariadne be left on the island for him to take as his own wife. Whichever the case may be, Ariadne remained on Naxos and Theseus returned to Athens. However, Theseus had made a special promise to his father Aegeus that should he return alive, he would hoist a white sail. In his hubris, Theseus forgot about the white sail. Aegeus, watching from the cliff as the ship approached, saw the black sails on the horizon. In his sorrow, Aegeus threw himself off the cliff, to his death. That sea is now called the Aegean sea, after Aegeus. Theseus would become the new king of Athens, and would become their hero, performing many famous deeds that would lead him to ultimate fame and remembrance.
