Minotaur

For the American satellite launcher, see Minotaur (rocket).

Fictional appearances

Minotaurs appear in fantasy and historical fiction far less frequently than other mythological beings such as centaurs. In the Divine Comedy Dante and Virgil confront "the infamy of Crete" at the entrance to the seventh circle of Hell. In Mary Renault's The King Must Die and Federico Fellini's movie Satyricon, minotaurs are merely men wearing bull's head masks. Terry Gilliam's movie Time Bandits is less clear on this point, since the minotaur is not unmasked and therefore might be real. Takashi Miike's 2003 film Gozu also features a Minotaur-like character ('Gozu' literally means 'cow head' in Japanese), but he is small, slim, and apparently harmless, unlike many of the times the creature has featured in fiction.

Related Topics:
Fantasy - Historical fiction - Centaur - The Divine Comedy - Mary Renault - The King Must Die - Federico Fellini - Movie - Satyricon - Mask - Terry Gilliam - Time Bandits - Takashi Miike - Gozu

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The second part of David A. Gemmell's The Lion of Macedon historic fantasy, The Dark Prince, features a sympathetic minotaur, one of three brothers cursed to remain in the forms they chose when warring amongst themselves. The minotaur, despite a fearsome reputation, becomes a trustworthy and honourable fellow in the quest of the lead characters. One interesting angle is the minotaur's need to emerge from the forest to change back to a man on occasion, without which he would quickly die.

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The Minotaur appears in many works by Pablo Picasso, particularly in the 1930s. Some of these depict him raping and killing, but in other pictures the Minotaur becomes a lover rather than a monster, appearing to be in a consensual relationship with a woman.

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Thomas Burnett Swann's novels Day of the Minotaur (1965), The Forest of Forever (1971) and Cry Silver Bells (published posthumously, 1977), which form a loose trilogy in reverse order and were later published as an omnibus volume in chronological order as The Minotaur Trilogy, depict the last two survivors of an ancient race of minotaurs dwelling in the forests of ancient Crete alongside other mythological creatures.

Related Topics:
Thomas Burnett Swann - 1965 - 1971 - 1977 - Trilogy - Omnibus

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Unlike the classical description, Swann's minotaurs are more intelligent, human-like and cultured. Rather than being purely half human, half bull, their bodies were more like satyrs, having hoof-like toes, bull's tail, fur-covered (usually naked) bodies, human faces, large pointed ears, and short horns that grow like antlers. They were fully able to speak, and reason, and fluent in Greek ("What did you expect me to do, moo or speak Hittite?").

Related Topics:
Satyr - Antler - Greek - Hittite

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The Minotaur plays a central role in Mark Z. Danielewski's book House of Leaves, although it is never directly seen.

Related Topics:
Mark Z. Danielewski - House of Leaves

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Steven Sherrill's 2000 novel 'The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break' has the minotaur working as a cook in North Carolina. 'M' lives in a trailer, repairs automobiles in his spare time and falls in love with a waitress.

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There were 3 minotaurs in Monkeybone.

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A lot of Minotaurs were in the Chronicles of Narnia.

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In 2005, a Minotaur film is to be released.

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As a race of monsters rather than a unique creature minotaurs feature in some fantasy role-playing games. In Dungeons & Dragons minotaurs worship the demon lord Baphomet, and whilst they mainly function as mere monsters, in the Dragonlance campaign setting they are a reasonably civilised and cultured race.In Warhammer Fantasy Battles Minotaurs are part of the Beasts of Chaos Army. In Warcraft, the Tauren are essentially a race of minotaurs. The card game features minotaurs as being both savage (the Hurloon minotaurs) and tribal yet somewhat cultured (the Talruum). In the online game Shadowbane, players are able to assume the role of a minotaur, and minotaurs in general form a key role in the backstory and lore and are depicted as a full range, from the savage to the civilized.

Related Topics:
Role-playing games - Dungeons & Dragons - Baphomet - Dragonlance - Campaign setting - Warhammer Fantasy - Beasts of Chaos - Warcraft - Tauren - Shadowbane

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