Difference between revisions of "Minos"

<p> (n.) A king and lawgiver of Crete, fabled to be the son of [[Jupiter]] and Europa. After death he was made a judge in the Lower Regions. </p>

<p> a Cretan hero and lawgiver, figures in Greek mythology and legends. There are many writers who speak of two characters of that name, but [[Homer]] and [[Hesiod]] know of only one Minos, the king of Cnossus, and son and friend of the god [[Jupiter]] himself. We are told that [[Minos]] secured the throne by promising sacrifices to the gods, and that when he had acquired the power he was cruel and tyrannical; and that after he had subjected the [[Athenians]] he treated them mercilessly, and required their boys and virgins as sacrifices to the [[Minotaur]] (q.v.). Although these legends and fables are of but little interest, Minos deserves a place here as a benefactor of the race; and, if his existence be not mythical, he must be ranked among the wise men of the earth. To him the celebrated Laws of Minos, which served as a model for the legislation of Lycurgus, are ascribed. He is said to have dealt out justice, and to have so pleased the gods that he became a judge of the souls which entered the infernal regions. Minos has by some writers on antiquity been identified with [[Manu]] (or Menu), the great Hindu lawgiver. </p>