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
Ariadne (poem) in the former, The poem's emphasis on 'true love', on shared values of courage and loyalty, may be seen as its primary theme. The realistic, psychological interpretation of the Minotaur story reflects Lucas's interest in the discoveries of modern psychology. The contrast between light-loving Athens and benighted Minoan Crete, hag-ridden with religion, reflects another authorial preference. (The epigraph, from Bacchylides, is "δίζησθαι δὲ φιλαγλάους Ἀθάνας", 'Set out for Athens, land that loves the light'.) Extracts from the poem were read on the BBC Home Service in 1934. "Ariadne" was reprinted by the Cambridge University Press in May 2014. "Ariadne" was,