#minotaur myth retelling

[monstersandmaw]

A Star in the Dark - A retelling of the Minotaur of Crete story (m. minotaur x f. character, 3rd person, Chpt. 2, sfw)

Thank you for the lovely feedback on the first chapter! As promised, here is the second, from Asterius' point of view this time. 

Content: mention of the practice of human sacrifice, some mention of parental grief/death of a child, and imprisonment, as well as pining, mutual attraction, (idiots) and a bit of snarky back and forth. 

Wordcount: 4972

Part One here 

[mistakes-have-been-made]

I love it when even Greek mythology also affects my music taste because what is this-

I- look man it's just good idk what to say

If you happen to know any other Greek mythology musicals please let me know I would love to add more to the collection :3

[greekmythcomix]

Me: dislikes Theseus, likes minotaur, likes papercraft

Me: makes entire Labyrinth and Knossos Palace paper Playset so can kill Theseus at hands of minotaur

They also interlock to make one big Playset:

And by the way the Labyrinth walls move 👀 (and you can use it as a game board - game instructions included)

And also it’s also available in colour:

You can get your own here (https://greekmythcomixshop.Wordpress.com) if you fancy it. (These things are how I keep the rest of my main educational site free and free from ads)

[gryffindraws]

two headed calf by laura gilpin X baby minotaur, i heard yall like that kind shit

[lalalalupia]

no children of the labyrinth escaped out alive.

LISTEN, LISTEN TO ME, I WILL MAKE ICARUS AND MINOTAUR TO BE FRIEND….AND ALSO Apollo 🔥🔥

[rs-hawk]

More minotaur asterion pleeeeeease! They are so cute together istg

They're engaged aren't they 😈 their parents just arranged it I'm guessing

You would think, wouldn’t you? 🤭

Nobleman Minotaur Part Four

You leave Asterion’s dwelling in a haze, glancing over your shoulder to see the immoral talking to her son before the door shuts behind you. She said to go talk to your father, so you obey. Your head is too full of thoughts of Astreion’s lips being so close to yours for there to be thoughts of much else.

In almost a haze, you make your way through the garden towards the palace. In the sitting room, your father is sitting, obviously waiting for you. “Y/N. I’m glad you’re here,” he smiled at you as he shut the book he had been reading.

“Pasiphae told me to come see you,” you managed to say, eyes drawn to the large amount of wrapped presents on the table beside your father. You knew what they were. Gifts to butter you up so noblemen across the land could request your hand. You’d never bothered to open a single one. “She said I would want to hear what the two of you discussed.”

Your father chuckled, setting the book to the side and gesturing for you to sit beside him. You do so, leaning your head against his shoulder. It’s comforting. It reminds you of being a child.

“She had told me that she had a vision of you getting married by next year’s end,” your father said, making you still.

“Next year’s end?” you repeated, drawing away from him. “So soon?”

“I know that it’s soon, but a Goddess’ visions are rarely wrong,” your father said as he patted your back.

Your heart skipped a beat as you pulled away from him, your eyes hesitantly raising to meet his. “Did she… see who it was?”

Your father shook his head, a frown steeping his face. “No. Why? Did you have someone in mind?” You shrugged, face flushing brightly. “It seems like you might be holding something back.”

“Well, I’m not sure if you’d approve,” you hesitantly say, tugging at your skirt.

“It’s no matter. Lady Pasiphae told me she saw how the suitor would win your heart and your hand,” your father said almost smugly, like it was a game and he was winning.

This time, it was you who had a frown steeped into your face. “ ‘Win’?”

“Yes, child. Acts of bravery and strength, so that way you might have the protection of both the Gods and man.”

You nodded, a lump forming in your throat. You knew that you didn’t have a choice. Not really. Not only were you his eldest child, but the only daughter. You were not just an heir to the throne, but the one chance he might get at combining territories, or making alliances. You felt foolish. Of course you couldn’t have just blurted out who you wanted to be with. Even your father, kind as he was, wasn’t blind nor stupid. He knew how a kingdom with a monster as the king would look.

“Okay,” you whispered, your voice tight and strained, but he didn’t seem to notice.

“I’ll get everything put together. The tournaments will start by next month’s end.” Your father sounded so proud when he announced this, as if this was something you should want. Something you should be excited for. “Every eligible man in the Kingdom will come to compete for your man.”

“Every… bachelor?” you asked, eyes lighting up as you thought of how you could tell Aestrion about the tournament. Your heart skipped a beat at the idea of how easy it would be for him to wipe the floor with any other contestant.

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” your father laughed, picking his book back up as he went to stand. “Take a look through the gifts. I want to know truly if there’s anyone that you’re interested in. While the Goddess say the tournament winner would win your hand, maybe the acts of bravery and strength weren’t in the tournament. Maybe he’s a soldier, or a General, even.”

You nodded along, contemplating. The Aestrion you knew had never shown strength. He was a soft, gentle man. Of course, you had no knowledge of his past, but still…

“Alright Father. I’ll look at the gifts,” you agree, mind racing. Wondering how you’ll be able to get him to agree to such a thing, or if he even wanted to.

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[superkooku]

hahaha … wdym there’s shipping of Ariadne with Asterius …

When I read that, I reacted the same way you did anon.

YES! You read that completely right and there's not one but TWO books that ship Ariadne and Asterius. I wish I was kidding.

For the second one, @just-1-scorpio made a readthrough of it and I laughed the whole way through. I should read the last posts btw because I'm kinda curious but the commentary made it more fun to read than the actual book would be.

Honestly it's just as weird and cursed as you'd expect it to be.

Why tf would your ship Ariadne with her half-bull brother who didn't get any education and needs FAMILIAL love, not romance, instead of shipping her with the beautiful festive lovecraftian horror that is Dionysus. Her actual husband. You have the wild creature part (here an ethereal god) too without tainting what could be a beautifully bittersweet sibling relationship.

Give me my tragic doomed sibling bond back !!!

[jack-o-laa]

Where are my greek myth enjoyers⁉️

[thetudorslovers]

"The gods do not know love, because they cannot imagine an end to anything they enjoy. Their passions do not burn brightly as a mortal's passions do, because they can have whatever they desire for the rest of eternity. How could they cherish or treasure anything? Nothing to them is more than a passing amusement, and when they have done with it, there will be another. " - Jennifer Saint, Ariadne

[secretsunbird]

Character Introduction:

🦋ASTERION🦋

Asterion, The Minotaur, Bull of Minos & Forgotten Prince of Crete! Asterion is a terrifying half-bull half-man who inhabits the labyrinth of Crete. He is feared by the Athenian people because of all of the people eating but I promise he’s actually…just a silly guy? Don’t worry I’ll make it angsty.

Asterion is the son of Pasiphae (Queen of Crete) and Poseidon’s sacrificial bull. After King Minos failed to sacrifice the bull given to him as a gift, Poseidon cursed Pasiphae and y’know Daedalus got involved and…let’s just say—not a great way to be brought into the world!

Asterion was raised in Minos’ palace for the first 12 years of his life before being trapped in the labyrinth. His life in the palace was spent mostly in the company of his mother and his best friend, Icarus. Asterion also had several siblings including Androgeus, Phaedra and Ariadne. The king would eventually request Daedalus to construct the labyrinth with the intention of trapping Asterion inside.

Asterion continued to live in the palace during the construction, eating mostly meat and suffering from an unruly appetite . Eventually his half-brother Androgeus would be killed in Athens. Minos, in anger, would demand tribute and after trapping Asterion inside the labyrinth, he would make it tradition to send Athenian youths inside to die— thus feeding the monster and also exacting his own revenge. Daedalus and his young son, Icarus, would also be trapped in a high tower above the labyrinth at this time, in an effort from Minos to stop Daedalus from spreading the secrets of the maze.

(I know the labyrinth is traditionally under the palace but I’m going to exercise my right of fuckery and change that lol so the labyrinth is kind of outside and Icarus’s tower is in the center!)

Icarus and Asterion continue to grow up together. Icarus always sneaks out of the tower window by tying himself with blankets and rope to talk with Asterion at night. Daedalus knows about it and does his best to stop him but usually fails or wakes up to him already out the window. Asterion is always threatening to eat Icarus as a joke but he always threatens to eat Daedalus as a promise. He hates him…the rage he feels for being brought into the world is unbridled.

When Icarus and Daedalus escape the labyrinth, Icarus promises to return for his friend and free him from his prison. Icarus and Asterion have plans to go run away to the countryside and live in peace but unfortunately Asterion will have to die for the plot so…that won’t be happening. SORRYYYYY!!

Asterion is all around a pretty moody guy but he finds Icarus entertaining and Icarus will insist that he’s super friendly and great company. Asterion believes Icarus’s positivity is infectious and he can’t help but feel a little better when they talk.

Fun Fact: Icarus will randomly give Asterion random trinkets and gifts (usually stuff he steals from his father’s supply deliveries from Minos— the king sends them food and building supplies under the order that Daedalus still invent things for him while imprisoned). Icarus has given Asterion a lot of seeds over the years and in the center of the labyrinth, Asterion has a silly lil garden where he grows them!!

Asterion is my darlingest boy and he will get absolutely murked by Theseus 🥲💛,,,r.i.p. my bovine prince,,,

Also can you imagine your childhood friend being in love with your immortal grandpa? I just thought about that lmao crazy stuff

P.S. I know he looks super clean on this reference but that’s for ease of viewing, this man’s fur is probably caked in unfathomable amounts of blood. He’s pretty but like definitely eats people so…

P.P.S. He wears lil oxen shoes on his hooves, made by Icarus :3

[logandria]

So you’ve found me then, have you? I’m afraid you won’t be making it out of my labyrinth now…

⛓️🫀⛓️

[taraxippos]

I never touched it but I feel like i only ever hear positive things said about song of achilles.. in (rough strokes at least) what makes it dogshit to you?

Okay it's been a while since I actually read it so some of this might not be spot on accurate. Sorry if at any point I say 'the book never does xyz' and it actually does once or twice but I think my underlying criticisms are accurate

-Patroclus is made into like this soft gentle tender quivering little yaoi boy. In the source text, he's shown as compassionate and moved by the suffering of his own men (and apparently having some medical skill, tending to the wounded in the camp), but very much invested n combat and very, very good at it (pages worth of descriptions of the guys he's killing left and right). In this, the arguably more complex character from this 8th century BC text is flattened into Being A Healer, he doesn't want to go to war he just wants to help people, he only goes because Achilles has to but he doesn't want to fight he's a HEALER he's a gentle lover NOT A FIGHTER who just wants to help he just wants to help everyone around him he HEALS while Achilles is a doomed warrior who is so good at fighting and KILLING its a DICHOTOMY GUYS!!!LIKE THE BEAUTIFUL SUN AND MOON DOOMED LOVERS SO SAD patocluse HEALER . (I Think he's specifically characterized as being BAD at fighting but might be misremembering)

-I don't remember much about Achilles' characterization I think it just makes him less of a jackass while not adding anything of interest and levels out into being mad boring.

-Not getting into the literal millenias old debate whether the mythological characters Achilles and Patroclus were being characterized as some type of lover by the original oral sources of the Iliad or its Homeric writers. We will never know. We don't even know what (if any) culturally accepted conventions of male homosexuality existed in bronze age Greece (we know much more about their descendants). But there are some interesting elements of their characterization in this direction, with how unconventional their relationship is WITHIN the text itself- Patroclus is described as cooking for Achilles and his guests (very specifically a woman/wife's job), Achilles chides Patroclus like a father, but there's also scene where Achilles' mourning of him directly echoes a passage of Hector's wife mourning her husband, Patroclus is explicitly stated to Achilles' elder, and is overall treated as his equal or near-equal, closest confidant and most beloved friend (to the point that pederastic classical Greeks would debate over who was erastes (older authority figure lover) and who was eromenos (adolescent 'beloved')- many took it as a given that this text depicted their present-day cultural norms of homosexual behavior but it existed so Outside of these norms that it had to be debated who was who). Their relationship is non-standard both within the text and to the descendants of the civilization that wrote them.

Basically what I'm saying is this book had opportunities to like, explore the unconventionality of the relationship (being presented here as explicitly lovers), explore the dynamics of why Patroclus wants to do 'women's work' (besides being a tenderhearted softboy), the weird dynamics where they take on paternal roles to each other but also roles of wives, how they feel about being this way, and just kind of Doesn't. Which I guess isn't an intrinsic fault (because it omits much of what I just talked about to begin with). it's just like.... Lame. This book takes jsut abandons everything interesting about the source text in favor of flattening it into bland Doomed Yaoi.

-The conflict that sets off the core story of the Iliad is Achilles and Agamemnon fighting over Briseis, an enslaved Trojan woman taken by Achilles as a war-trophy, Achilles spends most of the story moping because he was dishonored by his 'trophy' being taken. Achilles and Patroclus and everyone else are raping their captives, all the women in the story are either captured Trojans (or in the case of the free women within the walls of Troy, soon to be enslaved, and are slave owners themselves). Slavery as an institution and extreme patriarchal conventions are innate to the text and reflective of the context in which it was developed. You cannot avoid it.

But obviously you can't have your soft yaoi boys doing this, so the author has them capturing women to Protect Them from the other men. Their slaves are UNDER THEIR PROTECTION and VERY SAFE (and they might even Like And Befriend Them but I might be misremembering that. Briseis does though). Our heroes have apparently absorbed none of the ideals of the culture they exist in and the author seems to think "they're gay and aren't sexually attracted to their captives" would translate to them being outright benevolent (also as if wartime sexual violence is just about attraction and not part of a wider spectrum of violent acts to dehumanize and brutalize an accepted 'enemy')

In the source text, Briseis mourns Patroclus as being the kindest to her of her captors, who tried to get her a slightly better outcome by getting her married to Achilles (which probably would be the Least Bad of all possible outcomes for a woman in that situation, becoming a legal wife instead of a slave), and wonders what will happen to her now that he's gone. This is a really really sad, horrible, and compelling dynamic which could be fleshed out in very interesting ways but is instead is tossed entirely aside in favor of them being Besties. Like brother and sister.

All of the above pisses me off so much. If you don't want to engage in the icky parts of ancient/bronze age Greece then don't write a retelling of a story taking place in bronze age Greece. I'm not gonna get mad at children's adaptations of Greek myths or silly fun stories loosely based on them for omitting the rape and slavery but it is SO fundamental to the Iliad. If you're not willing to handle it, either fully omit it or better yet set your Iliad inspired yaoi in an invented swords-and-sandals setting where you can have all your heartbreaking tragic doomed lovers plot beats and not have to clumsily write around the women they're brutalizing.

-The author didn't seem to know what to do with Thetis and she made her just like, Achilles bitch mother who spends most of the story trying to separate our Yaoi Boys (iirc her disguising Achilles as a girl and hiding him on Scyros is made to be more about getting him away from Patroclus than trying to save her son from his prophesied doom in the Trojan War) until she sees how much they loooove each other and I think helps Patroclus' spirit get to the afterlife or something in the end?

-This is more of a personal taste gripe but it has that writing style I loathe where the prose feels less like a story and more like an attempt to string together Deep Beautiful Hard Hitting Poetic Lines that will look great as excerpts on booktok (might predate booktok but same vibe). It's all very Pretty and Haunting and Deep but feels devoid of real substance.

I really like The Iliad and The Odyssey in of themselves. They're fascinating historical texts that give a window into how 8th century BC Greeks told their stories, saw their world, interpreted their ancestors, etc. And genuinely I think these texts have 'good' characters, there's a lot of complexity and humanity to it.

WRT the Iliad- all of the main Achaeans are pretty fascinating, the one singular part where Briseis Gets To Talk and laments her situation is great, Achilles fantasizing that all of the Trojans AND the Achaeans die so he and Patroclus alone can have the glory of conquering Troy (wild), Achilles asking to embrace Patroclus' shade and reaching out for him but it's immaterial (and the shade being sucked back underground with a 'squeak' (the squeak kinda gets me it's disturbing and sad)), Hecuba talking about wanting to tear out Achilles' liver and eat it in a (taboo, exceptioally pointed) expression of rage and grief for his mutilation of her son's corpse, just one tiny line where the enslaved women performing ritual wailing for their dead captors are described as using it as an outlet to 'grieve for their own troubles' is heartrending, etc. A lot of grappling with anger and grief and the inevitability of death, a lot of groundwork laid for characters that could be very interesting when expanded upon in the framework of a conventional novel.

And Song Of Achilles really doesn't do much with all that. I know a lot of my gripes here are kind of just "It's different from the Iliad", I would have thought of it as mostly mediocre and forgettable rather than infuriating if it wasn't a retelling (and I DEFINITELY have strong biases here). But I think the ways in which it is different are less just a product of a retelling (of course there's going to be omissions and differences) and more a complete and utter disinterest in vast majority of its own subject matter, to the book's detriment. I think a retelling has a point when it EXPANDS on the source, or provides a NEW ANGLE to the source. This book doesn't Really do either, it just shaves off the complexity of its source material, renders the characters into a really boring archetype of a gay relationship, and gives very little else. Its content boils down to a middling tragic romance that has been inserted into the hollowed out defleshed skeleton of the Iliad.

Bottom line: I definitely would not be as mad about it if I wasn't familiar with the source material but I think it's fair to expect a retelling to Engage with/expand on its source, and I also think it's weak purely on its own merits. This book was set up to disappoint Me specifically.

[the-fourth-nail]

Minotaur, Alone

The first time you bite, you're just a baby.

Mama smiles and tells you not to do it again.

You don't know you have a bull's head, not yet.

You know Mama loves you, she nurses you, and she feeds you the best grass.

The second time you bite, it's because you're scared.

You haven't bitten anyone in years. Mama taught you better, but

there's a strange man in the room, and he says he knows Mama.

Nobody has ever looked at you the way he is looking at you.

It scares you. He is holding a ring in his hand.

You are alone with the monster. Nobody is coming to help you.

Nobody listens when, screaming, snorting, you tell them he hurt you.

They carry you away, their hands hurting your arms and your legs.

Mama is crying. The man is smiling. You will never forget his face.

You have never seen Mama cry before. You call out to her, worried, but

she backs away. You bit the man, she screams.

Nobody notices the bloody ring in your nose. It hurts it hurts it hurts

and it's dark in here.

It's so dark in here and you're cold and you miss Mama.

You walk and you walk. You scream and you cry. Nobody comes for you.

You will never get out of this place.

The third time you bite is because you have to.

The rats are biting. You don't want to hurt them, but

they're hurting you, just like the man hurt you. And

you are cold and tired and lonely and hungry and you miss Mama even though she was mean and you're hungry and

you take a bite.

They don't taste like grass.

They taste worse.

Light. Flame. A torch in the darkness. You feel hope again, for the first time.

Maybe Mama isn't mad anymore, but

he's here again. The man with the bandage around his hand and you can still taste his blood and you can't take off the ring in your nose.

The man sneers. Do you understand me, you stupid animal? he says. You will never get out of here, he says. Built by a genius, he says.

You back away. You're scared. Nobody taught you to fight back.

The next time the man comes, you smell him first. You know by now that you are an animal.

He smells like strong drink. He is crying.

My son, my son, my son, he says. Dead, dead, dead.

His eyes blaze. Why are you alive? he says.

You don't know why.

Mama is never going to visit you here,

is she?

This is the last time the man comes, but you don't know it yet.

He is wearing fine clothing, he looks so beautiful. You remember Mama showing you pictures, telling you you could dress that fine one day.

Your father is a king, she said. You wonder if you will ever meet him.

The man brings a torch, and guards. You know of guards. They brought you here.

There are people with them. Seven and seven. They smell like flowers and oils and sweat and fear and piss and shit.

You back away from the jabbing spears.

Come on, the man roars. You're a beast, he says. Bite them, bite them, bite them, he says.

You can't run far enough away. They hurt you and hurt you while the children watch.

A woman steps forward. Stop, she says. Leave him alone, she says.

A blade catches your nose. The pain is red. Everything is red.

Afterwards, you realize you're holding the woman. She is bleeding from so many bites.

You are alone with the monster.

It will never leave.

You think they have forgotten you. You hope. You are wrong.

There are different guards this time. But still seven and seven.

You are quick this time. Dead and dead, while the guards are still running away.

The rats come to gnaw on them, and the grubs, too. You eat those. It is better than eating the dead.

Seven and seven. Again and again.

The only thing that will save you is prayer, but

nobody ever taught you how to pray.

Seven and seven. One smells different. He smells like flowers and love and no fear and no piss and no shit.

You watch him and he watches you. He is fiddling with a ball that smells like your sister.

You forgot you had a sister.

The guards don't wait. They run. Seven and seven all chained together rattle and fall.

The man is quick. He gets back up.

You come close. Nobody ever taught you the word "friend," but

his hands are around your neck. You are scared, but

you don't bite him. You don't bite him you don't bite him you don't bite him. Maybe this is what a friend does.

I am not an animal, you say. Please take this ring out of my nose, you say.

You look into his eyes. He is crying. I have to, he says. I have to, I have to, I have to, he says.

You need air, you need air, you need air.

I know, you say. There is a monster here, you say. I will help you get rid of him, you say.

I was alone with the monster, you say. You are here to rescue me, you say.

[circethefirstwitch]

Poll:

[lonely-shine]

The Land of Plenty: JAGR- character concepts IV

Next batch of characters is here and following a clear thematic! Also, I am contemplating every decision that led me to having to learn how to draw minotaurs 🤣

Anyway, my Asterion here isn't a blood-thirsty monster, but a sweet cinnamon roll unjustly imprisoned for the crime of his existence (we love angst in this house). Also, side note, I'm pretty proud of how he came out :3

Ariadne, I must admit, I didn't know a lot about before doing this… In fact, the only version of her fate I knew is the one where she takes her own life after Theseus abandons her… So she's not gonna be Dionysus lover in JAGR… But she will be alive and well!! Just in a different, new way.

And about Theseus/Perseus… Welp, my greek mythology was very rusty when I started this, and I thought the dude who killed the minotaur and the dude who killed Medusa where the same dude, so there's that. I know being in the early stages of planning I could have easily fixed this by just making the two actual characters, but this was a way funnier solution and I'm nothing if not up for the bit xD

But anyway! There's still more characters to be introduced, so stay tuned for that!! 💕

[rs-hawk]

How I’m looking rn plotting out the next 11 parts of Nobleman Minotaur and trying to incorporate all of my favorite people from the original Minotaur/Labyrinth myth and trying to see if I can incorporate my Apollo x Icarus obsession into this or if I should just go back to writing their fluff