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THE MINOTAUR 

Greek Mythology

Once upon a time, a powerful and evil king named Minos ruled the beautiful island of Crete. He lived in a big palace. Inside this palace, he commanded to build a labyrinth, and in the center of this labyrinth, he kept a terrible creature – The Minotaur. The Minotaur, the son of his wife Pasiphae, was a monster with the body of a man and the head of a bull and liked to eat the humans that Minos locked up in the labyrinth. They wandered lost in the dark and the long corridors until they met the Minotaur, who devoured them mercilessly.

One day, Theseus, the son of King Aegeus of Athens, decided to end these sacrifices and devised a plan. He postulated himself as an offering to be able to kill the Minotaur and free the people of the town.

When he arrived in Crete, Theseus met Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos. When she saw him, she fell in love with him because he was brave, so she decided to help him defeat the monster without her father knowing. Then she gave him a sword to kill the Minotaur and a ball of gold thread. She told him to tie the strand around his waist when he entered the maze so he wouldn’t get lost while exploring it, and that way, he could find the exit without any problem.

Theseus entered the labyrinth and walked carefully through its dark corridors until he found the monstrous creature. When the Minotaur saw him, he pushed him, attacked him with his sharp horns, and whipped him to the ground with his strong tail. But Theseus was not an ordinary man. He was the son of a King. He was brave and proud, so he got up, grabbed him by the horns, and plunged his sword into him, killing the terrible beast. It was all over. Then he left the labyrinth safely following the trail of the gold thread.

THE MINOTAUR – THE MONSTER OF THE LABYRINTH

CHARACTERS:

KING MINOS: The Ruler Of Crete, Who Demands That Every Nine Years, Seven Boys And Seven Girls From Athens Are Sent To Be Eaten By The Minotaur.

QUEEN PASIPHAE: The Wife Of King Minos And The Mother Of Ariadne And The Minotaur, Who Was Cursed By Poseidon To Love A Bull.

THESEUS: A Brave Hero From Athens Who Wants To Kill The Minotaur And Free His People From The Tribute.

ARIADNE: The Daughter Of King Minos And Queen Pasiphae, Who Falls In Love With Theseus And Helps Him Escape The Labyrinth.

THE MINOTAUR: A Monster With The Body Of A Man And The Head And Tail Of A Bull, Who Lives In The Labyrinth And Eats Human Flesh.

MESSENGER

GUARD

CAPTAIN

TRIBUTES

SCRIPT:

Scene 1: The Palace of King Minos

(King Minos is sitting on his throne, surrounded by guards and servants. Queen Pasiphae is standing next to him, looking unhappy. Ariadne is sitting on a couch, reading a book. A messenger enters.)

MESSENGER: Your Majesty, the ship from Athens has arrived. The fourteen tributes are here.

KING MINOS: Excellent. Bring them to me. (The messenger exits. King Minos smiles wickedly.) It is time for the feast of the Minotaur. Every nine years, I make those Athenians pay for killing my son Androgeus. They have to send me seven boys and seven girls to be devoured by my pet monster.

QUEEN PASIPHAE: (sighs) You know I don’t approve of this, my husband. It is cruel and unjust to punish innocent children for something they didn’t do.

KING MINOS: Silence, woman! You have no say in this matter. You are the one who brought this curse upon us. If you hadn’t fallen in love with that bull, we wouldn’t have this abomination in our palace.

QUEEN PASIPHAE: (sadly) It was not my fault, my husband. It was Poseidon’s doing. He made me love that bull as a punishment for your disobedience. You should have sacrificed it to him as you promised.

KING MINOS: Enough! I don’t want to hear any more excuses. You are lucky that I still keep you as my wife and not as a slave. Now, be quiet and watch the show.

(The messenger returns with fourteen young people, dressed in white robes. They look scared and confused. Among them is Theseus, who looks brave and defiant.)

MESSENGER: Here they are, Your Majesty. The fourteen tributes from Athens.

KING MINOS: (stands up) Welcome, my dear guests. I hope you had a pleasant journey. (He walks among them, inspecting them.) You are all very handsome and beautiful. Such a pity that you have to die so young. But don’t worry, it will be quick and painless. The Minotaur is very hungry and eager to meet you. (He stops in front of Theseus.) And who are you? You don’t look like the others. You have a fire in your eyes.

THESEUS: (proudly) I am Theseus, son of King Aegeus of Athens. And I am not here to die. I am here to kill your monster and end your tyranny.

KING MINOS: (laughs) What? You are a fool, boy. No one can kill the Minotaur. He is invincible. He lives in the Labyrinth, a maze so complex that no one can find their way out.

THESEUS: I don’t care. I will find him and slay him with this sword.

(He shows his sword.)

KING MINOS: (angrily) How dare you bring a weapon into my palace? Guards, seize him!

(The guards try to grab Theseus, but he fights them off.)

THESEUS: Come on, you cowards! Is this how you treat your guests?

(Ariadne watches Theseus with admiration.)

ARIADNE: (to herself) Who is this brave young man? He is so different from the others. He is not afraid of anything. He is… he is… (She realizes that she is falling in love with him.) (To herself) Oh no! What am I thinking? He is an enemy! He is here to kill my brother! (She looks at the Minotaur, who is chained to a wall in a dark corner of the room. He is growling and snarling, trying to break free.) (To herself) My brother… the Minotaur. He is not a monster. He is a victim. A victim of a cruel fate. A fate that I share with him. (She remembers how she was born from the union of her mother and the bull.) (To herself) We are both children of a curse. A curse that makes us different from everyone else. A curse that makes us lonely and unhappy. (She looks at Theseus again.) (To herself) But he… he makes me feel something I have never felt before. He makes me feel alive. He makes me feel… love. (She decides to help him.) (To herself) I have to help him. I have to save him from the Labyrinth. I have to save him from my father. I have to save him from my brother. (She gets up and runs to Theseus.) (To Theseus) Wait! Stop fighting! I can help you!

THESEUS: (to Ariadne) Who are you?

ARIADNE: I am Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos and Queen Pasiphae. And I am in love with you.

THESEUS: (surprised) What? You are in love with me?

ARIADNE: Yes! The moment I saw you, I felt something in my heart. Something that I have never felt before.

THESEUS: (confused) But you are the princess of Crete. You are the sister of the Minotaur. You are my enemy.

ARIADNE: No, I am not your enemy. I am your friend. And I want to help you escape from this place.

THESEUS: How can you help me?

ARIADNE: Listen to me. There is only one way to kill the Minotaur and get out of the Labyrinth. You need a ball of thread.

THESEUS: A ball of thread?

ARIADNE: Yes, a ball of thread. It was given to me by Daedalus, the inventor who built the Labyrinth for my father. He told me that if I ever wanted to escape, I should use it.

THESEUS: How does it work?

ARIADNE: It’s simple. You tie one end of the thread to the entrance of the Labyrinth, and then you follow it as you go inside. The thread will guide you to the center, where the Minotaur is waiting for you. Then, you kill him with your sword and follow the thread back to the exit.

THESEUS: That sounds too easy.

ARIADNE: Trust me, it works. Daedalus knows what he is doing. He is a genius.

THESEUS: And what about you? What will happen to you?

ARIADNE: Don’t worry about me. I will be fine. Just promise me one thing.

THESEUS: What is it?

ARIADNE: Promise me that when you kill the Minotaur and escape from the Labyrinth, you will take me with you to Athens. To your home. To your people.

THESEUS: Why do you want to go there?

ARIADNE: Because I love you. And because I hate this place. I hate my father, who is cruel and greedy. I hate my mother, who is weak and foolish. And I hate my brother, who is a monster and a killer.

THESEUS: But he is your brother.

ARIADNE: No, he is not my brother. He is a beast that should have never been born. (She looks at the Minotaur with disgust.) Look at him! Look at what he has done! He has killed so many innocent people! He has killed so many children! He has killed so many of your people! (She looks at Theseus with love.) But you… you are different. You are brave and noble. You are kind and gentle. You are a hero and a leader. (She hugs him.) Please, take me with you.

(Theseus hugs her back.)

THESEUS: All right, Ariadne. I will take you with me. But first, we have to kill the Minotaur and escape from the Labyrinth. (He takes the ball of thread from her.) Come on, let’s go.

(He runs towards the entrance of the Labyrinth, followed by Ariadne.)

Scene 2: The Labyrinth

(Theseus and Ariadne enter the Labyrinth, holding the ball of thread. They walk cautiously, looking around for any signs of the Minotaur.)

THESEUS: This place is huge. How are we going to find the Minotaur?

ARIADNE: Just follow the thread. It will lead us to him.

THESEUS: And then what? How are we going to kill him?

ARIADNE: You have your sword, don’t you?

THESEUS: Yes, but he is a monster. He is stronger and faster than any man.

ARIADNE: But you are not any man. You are Theseus, the hero of Athens. You have faced many dangers and overcome many challenges. You have killed the bandits on the road, the bull of Marathon, and the giant Procrustes. You can kill the Minotaur too.

THESEUS: I hope you are right.

(They hear a roar from somewhere in the Labyrinth.)

THESEUS: Did you hear that?

ARIADNE: Yes, it was him. He knows we are here.

THESEUS: Let’s go faster.

(They run towards the sound of the roar.)

Scene 3: The Center of the Labyrinth

(Theseus and Ariadne reach the center of the Labyrinth, where they see the Minotaur waiting for them. He is a huge creature, with a muscular body and a bull’s head and tail. He has horns, sharp teeth, and red eyes. He is covered in blood and bones from his previous victims.)

MINOTAUR: (roars) Who are you? Why are you here?

THESEUS: (shouts) I am Theseus, son of King Aegeus of Athens. And I am here to kill you and free my people from your hunger.

MINOTAUR: (laughs) You are a fool, boy. You cannot kill me. I am the Minotaur, son of King Minos of Crete and Queen Pasiphae. I am the lord of this Labyrinth. I am invincible.

THESEUS: We’ll see about that.

(He charges at the Minotaur with his sword.)

MINOTAUR: (roars) Come on, then. Let me taste your flesh. (He swings his horns at Theseus. They fight fiercely, exchanging blows and dodging attacks. The Minotaur is stronger and faster than Theseus, but Theseus is smarter and more agile. He uses his sword to cut and stab the Minotaur while avoiding his horns and teeth. Ariadne watches from a safe distance, holding the ball of thread. They fight for a long time until Theseus manages to find an opening and thrusts his sword into the Minotaur’s heart.) (Screams) Aaaah! (He falls to the ground, dead.)

THESEUS: (breathes heavily) I did it! I killed him!

ARIADNE: You killed him! (She runs to Theseus and hugs him.) You are my hero!

THESEUS: (smiles) Thank you, Ariadne.  Come on, let’s get out of here.

ARIADNE: Yes, let’s go.

(They follow the thread back to the exit of the Labyrinth.)

Scene 4: The Palace of King Minos

(King Minos is waiting anxiously in his throne room. He hears a loud noise from outside.)

KING MINOS: What is that? What is going on?

(A guard enters.)

GUARD: Your Majesty, there is trouble at the port. The ship from Athens is leaving.

KING MINOS: What? How can that be? Who let them go?

GUARD: It was your daughter, Princess Ariadne. She helped them escape from the Labyrinth.

KING MINOS: What? My daughter? How could she do such a thing?

GUARD: She said she was in love with one of them. The one who killed the Minotaur.

KING MINOS: What? The Minotaur is dead?

GUARD: Yes, Your Majesty. He was slain by Theseus, son of King Aegeus of Athens.

KING MINOS: (shocked) No! No! This cannot be true!

GUARD: It is true, Your Majesty. I saw it with my own eyes.

KING MINOS: (angrily) How dare they? How dare they defy me? How dare they kill my son? How dare they take my daughter?

GUARD: They are gone now, Your Majesty. They are sailing away.

KING MINOS: (furious) Not for long. I will not let them get away with this. I will chase them. I will catch them. I will make them pay. (He stands up and grabs his crown.) Guards, follow me! We are going to war!

(He runs out of the throne room, followed by his guards.)

Scene 5: The Ship from Athens

(Theseus and Ariadne are on the ship from Athens, sailing away from Crete. They are happy and in love. They are surrounded by the other tributes, who are cheering and celebrating.)

THESEUS: We did it! We did it! We escaped from Crete!

ARIADNE: Yes, we did! We did it! We are free!

TRIBUTES: Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! (singing) We are the lucky ones / We are the chosen ones / We are the heroes of the day / We faced the Minotaur / We found the way out / We are the ones who got away

(They see a small island in the distance.)

THESEUS: Look, there is an island. Let’s stop there for a while. We need some rest and food.

ARIADNE: Yes, let’s do that. It looks like a nice place.

THESEUS: All right, then. Captain, steer the ship to that island.

CAPTAIN: Aye, aye, sir.

(The ship sails towards the island.)

Scene 6: The Island of Naxos

(The ship arrives at the island of Naxos. Theseus and Ariadne get off the ship and explore the island. They find a beautiful spot with flowers and trees.)

THESEUS: This is a lovely place. Let’s stay here for a while.

ARIADNE: Yes, let’s do that. It’s so peaceful and quiet.

THESEUS: Come on, let’s sit down and relax.

ARIADNE: OK.

(They sit down on the grass)

THESEUS: You know, Ariadne, I love you very much.

ARIADNE: And I love you too, Theseus.

THESEUS: You know what? I have an idea. Why don’t we stay here forever? This is a beautiful island. We have everything we need. We have each other. We don’t need anything else.

ARIADNE: But what about Athens? What about your father? What about your people? You are a hero. You have to go back to Athens and become king.

THESEUS: No, I don’t. I don’t want to be king. I don’t want to rule over anyone.

ARIADNE: But Theseus, you can’t do that. You can’t abandon your duty. You can’t ignore your fate.

THESEUS: I want to stay here with you. Come on, Ariadne. Say yes. Say you will stay with me forever.

ARIADNE: (smiles) Yes, Theseus. I will stay with you forever.

THESEUS: Oh, Ariadne! You have made me the happiest man in the world! Come on, let’s go back to the ship and tell them our decision.

(They get up and run back to the ship.)

Scene 7: The Ship from Athens

(Theseus and Ariadne arrive at the ship from Athens, where they find the captain and the other tributes waiting for them.)

CAPTAIN: There you are! Where have you been? We have been looking for you! We have to go now. The wind is favorable and we have to take advantage of it.

THESEUS: Wait, captain. We have something to tell you. We have decided to stay here.

CAPTAIN: Stay here? What do you mean?

THESEUS: We mean that we are not going back to Athens. We are going to live on this island.

CAPTAIN: What? Are you serious?

THESEUS: Yes, we are.

CAPTAIN: But you can’t do that. You have to go back to Athens. You have a duty to your father, your people, and your gods.

THESEUS: No, we don’t. We have a duty to ourselves. And our happiness.

ARIADNE: We have a right to choose our destiny.

CAPTAIN: But you are making a mistake. You are throwing away your future. And your honor. You are being selfish. You are forgetting your friends. And your country.

THESEUS: No, we are not. We are being true to ourselves. And our feelings.

CAPTAIN: (shakes his head) I can’t believe this, but I can’t stop you. It’s your choice. But I warn you, you will regret it.

THESEUS: No, we won’t.

CAPTAIN: Fine, but don’t expect me to wait for you. I have a mission to complete.

THESEUS: What mission?

CAPTAIN: To take the other tributes back to Athens and tell them that you killed the Minotaur and freed them from the tribute. Oh, and don’t forget to change the color of your sail. Remember that was the sign you agreed with your father before you left Athens.

THESEUS: What sign?

CAPTAIN: The sign that would tell him if you were alive or dead when you returned from Crete. You said that if you were alive, you would change the black sail of your ship to a white one. And if you were dead, you would leave it as it was.

THESEUS: Oh, I remember now but I think that doesn’t matter anymore.  So, I will not change it.

CAPTAIN: (rolls his eyes) Fine, then. Don’t change it. (He turns to the other tributes.) Come on, let’s go. We have a long way to go.

TRIBUTES: OK, captain.

(They get on the ship and prepare to leave.)

CAPTAIN: Goodbye, Theseus and Ariadne. Good luck with your life on this island. (He orders the sailors.) Sailors, raise the anchor! Set the sail! Turn the rudder!

(The ship starts to move away from the island.)

Scene 8: The Cliff of Sounion

(King Aegeus is standing on a cliff near his palace in Sounion, looking at the sea with a telescope. He is old and sad.)

KING AEGEUS: Where is he? Where is my son? When will he come back? (He sees a ship in the distance.) Is that him? Is that his ship? (He zooms in with his telescope.) Yes, it is! It is his ship! He is coming back! (He looks at the sail of the ship.) But wait… what is that? What is the color of his sail? (He sees that the sail is black.) No! No! It can’t be! It can’t be true! (He drops his telescope and covers his face with his hands.) He is dead! He is dead! My son is dead! (He cries out loud.) Theseus! Theseus! My son! My son! (He runs to the edge of the cliff and jumps off.) Aah!

(He falls into the sea and drowns.)

The End.

AUTHOR: K I D S I N C O

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