the Minotaur

In Greek mythology, the Minotaur was a creature with the head of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "part man and part bull".

Greek mythology is the body of myths and teachings that belong to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices.

Publius Ovidius Naso, known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus.

Minotaur was a novel by Benjamin Tammuz first published in English translation in 1981.

The Minotaur dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus, on the command of King Minos of Crete.

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, 88th-largest island in the world and the fifth-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and Corsica.

In Greek mythology, the labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos.

In Greek mythology, Icarus is the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the creator of the Labyrinth.

The Minotaur was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus.

Theseus was the mythical king of Athens and was the son of Aethra by two fathers: Aegeus and Poseidon.

The term Minotaur derives fromAncient Greek Μῑνώταυρος, a compound of the name Μίνως and the noun ταύρος "bull", translated as "(the) Bull of Minos".

Ancient Greek includes the forms of Greek used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around the 9th century BC to the 6th century AD.

In linguistics, a compound is a lexeme that consists of more than one stem.

In Crete, the Minotaur was known by its proper name, Asterion, a name shared with Minos' foster-father.

In Greek mythology, Asterion or Asterius denotes two sacred kings of Crete, as well as a river and its god in Argos.

"Minotaur" was originally a proper noun in reference to this mythical figure.

The use of "minotaur" as a common noun to refer to members of a generic species of bull-headed creatures developed much later, in 20th-century fantasy genre fiction.