Minotaur Flegetonte ("river of blood"), to continue through the seventh Circle. Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (, ; , , Etruscan: "Θevrumineś") is a mythical creature portrayed in Classical times with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "part man and part bull". It dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus, on the command of King Minos of Crete. The Minotaur was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus. The
HMS Minotaur (1793) M. W. Turner depicted the sinking, though the subject was not originally the "Minotaur", but a generic merchant ship. Turner had been producing sketches in preparation for the painting as early as 1805, but by the time he had completed the painting in 1810, the recent wreck of "Minotaur" was a subject of much discussion. He named the painting to capitalise on this public interest. The shipwreck of "Minotaur" remains the largest ever, in terms of loss of life, on the Dutch coast, with the possible exception of the loss of "HMS Hero" on 24/25 December 1811, on the same