This creature had the body of a man and the head of a bull, and was the spawn of the queen of Minos and a white bull sent to her by Poseidon. The Minotaur was imprisoned in a palace built by Dedalus called the Labyrinth, famed for having a layout so complicated that it was impossible to escape. The king Minos introduced a ritual to keep the Minotaur fed, ordering the city of Athens to provide seven young women and seven young men every nine years to be sacrificed as prey to the Minotaur.
