Introduction
Minos is a son of Zeus and Europa, the legendary king of Crete whose name is given to the Minoan civilisation by modern archaeologists. Renowned in his lifetime for his wisdom and just laws, he was honoured after death as one of the three judges of the dead in the underworld.
This figure marks the point where the genealogy of the gods gives way to the genealogy of heroes. A fuller account of their adventures belongs to a separate treatment of the Greek Heroic Cycle; this article covers their divine parentage and place in that transition.
Family
- Father: Zeus
- Mother: Europa
- Siblings: Persephone, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Dionysus, Ares, Hephaestus, Hebe, Eileithyia, Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia, Urania, Perseus, Heracles, Arcas, Epaphus, Aeacus, Dardanus, Rhadamanthus, Sarpedon, Pollux (Polydeuces), Helen, Amphion, Zethus
King of Crete
Minos ruled Crete from the palace at Knossos, and is credited with establishing a code of laws said to have been given to him directly by Zeus. He is also central to the myth of the Minotaur: his wife Pasiphae, cursed to desire a bull sent by Poseidon, gave birth to the bull-headed monster, which Minos had confined within the labyrinth built by the craftsman Daedalus, and to which Athens was forced to send periodic tribute of youths, until Theseus finally slew it.
Judge of the dead
For his justice and wisdom in life, Minos was made, after death, one of the three judges of the underworld, alongside his brother Rhadamanthus and Aeacus, weighing the deeds of the newly dead to determine their fate.
Later reputation
Later Greek literature, notably Homer's Odyssey, presents Minos favourably as a wise lawgiver, though other traditions, especially those centred on Athens (a rival power to Crete), portray him more harshly, as a tyrant demanding a cruel tribute.