The Minotaur in House of Leaves it was impossible for anyone that entered to navigate or escape it. The Athenians were forced to pay a tribute to King Minos by sacrificing seven of their maidens and seven of their men, unarmed, to the Minotaur every nine years. The Minotaur eventually fell prey to the sword of Theseus. It is also rumoured that the Minotaur was in fact the offspring of King Minos but his unsightly and grotesque appearance was shameful to King Minos and was the reason why the Minotaur was banished under the pretext of inspiring fear and cannibalistic capabilities. Minos competed with his brothers
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