The House of Asterion

In this story, Jorge Luis Borges expressed his point of view about the legend of the Cretan Minotaur. He wrote the House of Asterion as a monogue in which Asterion is the main character. Asterion is in Greek mythology the Bull of Minos. When Minos became king, he asked Poseidon for a sign. Poseidon sends him a white bull, but the condition was that when he got the bull; he will kill it as a gift to the Gods. Minos disobey Poseidon’s condition because he though that the bull was so beautiful to be dead. Minos, the king of Crete sacrifices other bull instead. Poseidon out of spite caused that Pasiphae, Minos’ wife fell in love with the bull. They have intimate relationship from that union and Asterion is born half man and half beast. Consequently, Minos constructs a labyrinth in which he can hold the beast. At the end of the story, Borges tells us clues that Asterion is the Cretan Bull who was defeated by Theseus. In the last sentence, “Would you believe it, Ariadne?” said Theseus.” The Minotaur scarcely defended himself.” Theseus was one of the seven men destine to died in the labyrinth of Asterion. On the contrary, Theseus kills the bull of Minos because Ariadne, the daughter of Pasiphae and Minos king of Crete, give him the power of the sword to protect Theseus from the beast. She was in love with him; she actually was Asterion sister.Thesus represent the weapon and the justice that stopped the abuse to the commoners was summit by the king Minos who is the intellectual author of the sacrifices.