Minos was the son of the princess Europa and Zeus, the father of the gods. From the city of Knossos he colonized many of the Cycladic Islands, and he was widely considered a just ruler.

In the most famous story about Minos, he refused to sacrifice a certain bull. The god Poseidon punished him by making his wife Pasiphaë fall in love with the animal, and she subsequently gave birth to the Minotaur.

According to Attic legend, Minos was a tyrant who took harsh measures to avenge the death of his son Androgeous at the hands of the Athenians. At stated intervals he exacted a tribute from Athens of seven youths and seven maidens to be sacrificed to the Minotaur until Theseus led the expedition and with the aid of Ariadne daughter of Minos, killed Minotaur. Minos eventually met his death in Sicily, and he then became one of the judges of the dead in the underworld.

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