Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete () is a 1960 film based on the Greek legend of Theseus, the Athenian hero who is said to have slain a minotaur on Minoan Crete around 1500 or 1450 BC. The film was directed by Silvio Amadio and starred Bob Mathias. The island of Crete lives in fear of the Minotaur, a dreadful beast trapped inside a labyrinth under the royal palace. The monster is venerated as a god, and to appease it, the Cretians regularly sacrifice a maiden to it. One day, Minos' wife Pasiphaë is
Greek hero cult Hera", even though he was tormented all his life by the queen of the gods. This was even truer in their cult appearances. Perhaps the most striking example is the Athenian king Erechtheus, whom Poseidon killed for choosing Athena over him as the city's patron god. When the Athenians worshiped Erechtheus on the Acropolis, they invoked him as "Poseidon Erechtheus". Greek hero cult Hero cults were one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion. In Homeric Greek, "hero" (, ) refers to a man who fought (on either side) during the Trojan War. By the historical period, however,