| Theseus and the Minotaur is a type of maze designed by Robert Abbott. In this maze, you act as Theseus and attempt to escape the "labyrinth." The main difference
between this maze and others, beyond the fact that it's set on a grid, is the fact that
you're not the only one in the maze. The minotaur is also there, hunting you down,
taking two steps for every one you take. While he is faster than you, he's also quite stupid. His moves are always determined by
checking to see if he can get closer to you by moving horizontally, then he
checks to see if he can get closer by moving vertically. If neither move places him
closer to you, he will simply skip his turn.
This type of maze was first published in Robert Abbott's book Mad Mazes. The idea was later published in the British
magazine Games & Puzzles.
External links
The Myth
There was once Theseus, the son of great Poseidon, earthshaker. Although his father was one of the great Gods, he
only lived with his mother. His mother told him one day that if he can lift the boulder that stood near his house, she would tell
him who his other father was.
Theseus grew up and was soon able to lift the boulder. Under it, he found sandals
and a sword. He showed these to his mother and she told him his father put them there and that Theseus must take the long journey
to Athens where Aegeus, his father lived. His
father was the ruler of Athens. Theseus
took the long voyage to Athens and took the path along the coast. His idol, Heracles, was what inspired him to do so because along the coast of Greece lived all the omens and demons. One by one, Theseus
destroyed all the monsters, earning himself the reputation of a hero. When he finally reached Athens, his father, Aegean, was happy to see him but Athens was sad because of the upcoming tribute to the deadly monster: the Minotaur. Seven young men and seven young women were to be sent to Minos, the king of Crete where they were to be fed to this monster the
Minotaur: half human, half bull.
Theseus decided that he wanted to be a tribute to the Minotaur and went with the others that were doomed to die. His father told Theseus that if he should return, he was to sail with white sails so he can see from afar.
When Theseus arrived to Crete, women came
to greet the people who had come to die. One of them seemed beautiful to Theseus and
he said, “Hail the Princess!”
When Minos saw that such a big man, a hero, was to be sacrificed, he immediately
thought that the Gods destined him to die. Theseus explained how Poseidon was his father and the Princess,
Ariadne overheard them speak. When Minos
asked the princess who should be sent into the labyrinth first, she said that Theseus
should go because she knew he was the chosen one when he said he was the son of Poseidon, the great earthshaker. She gave him a
sword and a ball of thread. She advised Theseus to place the ball of thread near the
door. The thread will unroll, leading him to the beast. When Theseus was finished
with the monster, he would be able to follow the thread back out.
Theseus walked into the labyrinth with only a torch and the tools given to him by
the princess. As the Ariadne said it would, the ball of thread unrolled, leading
Theseus to the beast where he found the Minotaur sleeping. He immediately jumped on its back as if by instinct! He took a horn and turned it to expose the
throat. He stuck his blade into the Minotaur and it was done, he had won. Theseus crawled out of the labyrinth alive with his hands full of blood and he rejoined the
other tributes that were spared on the ship returning to Athens. However, while sailing
back to Athens, Theseus forgot to equip his
ship with white sails and so when his father, Aegean saw the black sails, he committed
suicide and jumped into the lake where he drowned. Theseus returned to Athens to take on his role as king.
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