Minos is the legendary king of Crete associated with Zeus, Europa, the Minotaur, and a harsh tribute imposed on Athens. Ancient authors give more than one Minos and disagree about parts of his family and rule. Archaeology confirms a major Bronze Age civilization on Crete, but it does not prove the biography of the mythic king.
King, bull, and labyrinth
Minos is usually a son of Zeus and Europa. To support his claim to rule, he asks Poseidon for a sign and receives a magnificent bull that should be sacrificed. When Minos keeps it, Poseidon causes Pasiphae to desire the animal. The Minotaur is born, and Daedalus constructs the labyrinth to contain it.
Athens must send young people to Crete as tribute after the death of Minos’s son Androgeos, though the cause and number vary. Theseus enters the labyrinth and kills the Minotaur with Ariadne’s aid. The story makes Minos both a powerful lawgiver and an opponent.
After death and modern naming
Later tradition places Minos among judges of the dead, alongside Rhadamanthys and Aeacus. In another story he pursues Daedalus to Sicily and dies there through a deceptive bath devised by the daughters of King Cocalus.
Archaeologist Arthur Evans coined “Minoan” for Bronze Age Crete after Minos. The useful modern label does not show that the palace at Knossos was the literal labyrinth. Read also about Daedalus and Icarus and Bellerophon.