In
Greek mythology,
Minos (
ancient Greek ?????) was a mythical king of Crete, son of
Zeus and
Europa. After his death, Minos became a judge of the dead in
Hades. The
Minoan civilization has been named after him. By his wife,
Pasiphaë, he fathered
Ariadne,
Androgeus,
Deucalion,
Phaedra,
Glaucus,
Catreus,
Acacallis, and many others.
Minos, along with his brothers, Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon, was raised by King Asterion (or Asterius) of Crete. When Asterion died, he gave his throne to Minos, who banished Sarpedon and (according to some sources) Rhadamanthys too.
It is not clear if Minos is a name or if it was the Cretan word for "King". Scholars have noted the interesting similarity between Minos and the names of other ancient founder-kings, such as Menes of Egypt, Mannus of Germany, Manu of India, and so on. There is a name in Linear A mi-nu-te that may be related to Minos. According to La Marle's reading of Linear A (see below), we should read mwi-nu ro-ja (Minos the king) on a Linear A tablet. The royal title ro-ja is read on several documents, including on stone libation tables from the sanctuaries, where it follows the name of the main god, Asirai (the equivalent of Sanskrit Asura, and of Avestan Ahura). The name mwi-nu (Minos) is expected to mean 'ascet' as Skr. muni, and this explanation fits the legend about Minos sometimes living in caves on Crete.[1]
Minos reigned over Crete and the islands of the Aegean Sea three generations before the Trojan War. He lived at Knossos for periods of nine years, at the end of which he retired into a sacred cave, where he received instruction from Zeus in the legislation which he gave to the island. This included the establishment of pederasty as a means of population control on the island community They "segregated the women and instituted sexual relations among the males so that women would not have children."[2] He was the author of the Cretan constitution and the founder of its naval supremacy.[3]
