Poseidon and Minos

In Greek mythology, Minos was the first king of Crete and the son of Zeus and Europa. Minos and his brothers fought to rule the island. Minos evicted his brothers from his kingdom after winning a brief battle. Then, Minos prayed to Poseidon for a sign to justify his accession as king. Poseidon was happy to send the Cretan Bull to show his approval of Minos and his rule. The creature was stunning, majestic, and submissive.

Minos was required to sacrifice the bull in Poseidon's honor when Poseidon sent it to him from the sea. However, Minos became greedy and desired to keep Poseidon's gift. Instead, he offered the god a common bull in the hope that the god would accept the lower offering and let him keep his amazing gift. Instead, he clarified that it was a different bull.

Poseidon was enraged when he discovered this. He asked Aphrodite, the goddess of love, to punish Minos by making his wife, Pasiphae, fall in love with the bull. Pasiphae then fell madly in love with the bull and mated with it. As a result, a horrible monster named Asterius, who was a Minotaur, half man half bull, was born. The curses were eventually lifted from his realm. The Cretan Bull was taken prisoner by Hercules and transported to the mainland, where Theseus eventually slaughtered it close to Marathon.