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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Amit Vyas, post: 8204685, member: 117268&quot;]Crete, Knossos, c. 2nd century BC, Æ12, Svoronos, Numismatique 105; SNG Copenhagen 385 (2.20 g, 12 mm) </p><p><br /></p><p>Probably the most famous legend of Crete is that of the Minotaur, and the Labyrinth that served as its lair. Several ancient coin types from Knossos depict the Labyrinth.</p><p><br /></p><p>According to the myth, Minos, the king of Crete, once boasted that he could receive any favour from the gods. To prove his claim, he prayed to the sea god Poseidon, who granted him a magnificent bull. The bull was meant to be sacrificed to Poseidon, but Minos liked it so much that he kept it for himself and sacrificed a different animal to the sea god. This invoked Poseidon’s wrath, who caused Monos’ queen Pasiphae to because enamoured with the bull. Their union gave birth to the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull monster.</p><p><br /></p><p>To avoid angering Poseidon further, Minos kept the Minotaur alive, instructing his architect Daedalus to build an impassable maze to house the creature: the famous Labyrinth.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Athenians, who had lost a war to the Minoans, had to pay an annual tribute of seven maidens and seven youths every year to Crete, all of whom would be devoured by the Minotaur. Theseus, son of the Athenian king, volunteered to go as one of the youth. Through the aid of Minos’s daughter Ariadne, who had given him a spool of red thread, Theseus managed to find his way through the Labyrinth and slew the Minotaur.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Obverse</b>: Laureate head of Zeus right.</p><p><b>Reverse</b>: Square Labyrinth; ( ΚΝΟΣΙΟΝ.)</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1438180[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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