WHEN King Minos of Crete promised to sacrifice to Poseidon whatever should next emerge from the sea, Poseidon kindly sent him a superb white bull.
Minos, however, could not bring himself to destroy so magnificent a beast, so he kept it for himself and substituted another from his own herds. At this, Poseidon’s bull went berserk, which is what gave Eurystheus the idea of sending Heracles to fetch it.
Poseidon was not best pleased either, and at his bidding Aphrodite induced Queen Pasiphaë to fall in love with the bull. A half bull, half man called the Minotaur was the result, which Minos eventually confined in the Labyrinth, an ingenious maze.
Meanwhile, Heracles wrestled its sire, Poseidon’s white bull, to the ground, and delivered it to Eurystheus – some say he carried it home on his shoulders. As soon as Heracles released it, the bull went mad again, causing havoc across all Arcadia before rampaging on to Marathon, where at last Theseus slew it.
Précis
Heracles was sent to Crete to capture a magnificent white bull, a gift to King Minos, which had gone mad after the king failed to sacrifice it to Poseidon - it was this bull that sired the dreadful Minotaur. Heracles delivered it to Eurystheus as required, but the bull escaped and ravaged the countryside until Theseus hunted it down. (59 / 60 words)