The Minotaur in House of Leaves The Minotaur in House of Leaves The Minotaur or Minotauros was the son born of lust to Queen Pasiphae of Crete and a bull. He had the body of a man and the head of a bull and was more beast than human. The creature was banished by King Minos to reside in the centre of a labyrinth in Knossos built by the ingenious architect Daedalus and his son Icarus. The Minotaur was nursed by Queen Pasiphae as a child but grew to devour humans, so he was safely put away in the maze contrived so carefully and trickily that
Minotaur of the name (Minos) and the noun "bull", translated as "(the) Bull of Minos". In Crete, the Minotaur was known by the name Asterion, a name shared with Minos' foster-father. "Minotaur" was originally a proper noun in reference to this mythical figure. The use of "minotaur" as a common noun to refer to members of a generic species of bull-headed creatures developed much later, in 20th-century fantasy genre fiction. After he ascended the throne of the island of Crete, Minos competed with his brothers to rule. Minos prayed to Poseidon, the sea god, to send him a snow-white bull, as