Theseus and the Minotaur

Long, long ago in Ancient Greece on the island of Crete there lived a fierce Minotaur, half man and half bull. The Minotaur was kept in a labyrinth underneath the palace of King Minos. Every nine years the King of Athens had to send seven youths and seven maidens to Crete to be sacrificed to the Minotaur.

Theseus, son of the King of Athens was angered by this cruelty. “Father”, the young man said, “let me go to Crete with the others and I will kill the Minotaur and save our people”. His father begged him not to go but Theseus insisted! Before he set sail he told his father that if he killed the Minotaur he would sail back home to Athens with white sails but if he failed his ship would return with black sails.

Eventually the ship arrived on the Island of Crete. King Minos and his daughter Ariadne were waiting to see the Minotaur’s next meal arrive. Ariadne immediately fell madly in love with Theseus and resolved to save him. As Theseus was about to be thrown into the maze Ariadne crept passed the guards and gave him a ball of magic thread . “This will guide you out of the Labyrinth”’ she whispered. Tying the string to the door, Theseus set off in search of the beast unwinding it as he went. He twisted and turned searching the cold, silent tunnels Suddenly Theseus came face to face with the hideous monster.

The enormous beast lunged forward. The struggle was fierce but Theseus was strong and too quick for the lumbering beast. Slipping behind it, he managed to trip the Minotaur and with a mighty chop he killed it with his bare hands. Then the glowing string led him safely out of the labyrinth. Ariadne was waiting him. Together they quickly released his friends, ran to the ship an

d set sail for Athens.

However, on the way home Theseus decided he didn’t love Aridane and cruelly abandoned her on an Island. As his ship got near to Athens Theseus was so excited to be home that he forgot to change to sails to white ones. When King Aegeus saw his son’s ship returning home with black sails he thought he was dead. The broken-hearted old man threw himself off the cliff into the sea and drowned. Nowadays, this sea is still known as the Aegean Sea.

Boxing –up Theseus and the Minotaur

Introduces the setting and the problem
The hero takes on the problem and sets off on his quest,
He arrives and is given something to help him tackle the problem
The hero faces the problem and with the help he has been given overcomes it
He returns safely but there is a twist