In Greek mythology Asterion denotes two sacred kings of Crete. The first Asterion (Ἀστερίων) or Asterius (Ἀστέριος)^[1] ("ruler of the stars"), son of Neleus and Chloris by the Greeks called "king" of Crete, was the consort of Europa and stepfather of her sons by Zeus,^[2] who had to assume the form of the Cretan bull of the sun to accomplish his role. The sons were Minos the just king in Crete who judged the Underworld, Rhadamanthus, presiding over the Garden of the Hesperides or in the Underworld, and Sarpedon, likewise a judge in the Afterlife. He was the son of Tectamus. When he died, Asterion gave his kingdom to Minos, who promptly "banished" his brothers after quarelling with them. The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the Ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. ... Neleus was the son of Poseidon and Tyro, brother of Pelias. ... As she talks, her lips breathe spring roses: I was Chloris, who am now called Flora. ... For the famous World War II battle, see: Battle of Crete For other uses, see Crete (disambiguation). ... This article is not about the daughter of Tityus and mother of Euphemus (by Poseidon), who was also named Europa. ... The Statue of Zeus at Olympia Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall statue of Zeus at Olympia about 435 BC. The statue was perhaps the most famous sculpture in Ancient Greece, imagined here in a 16th century engraving Zeus (in Greek: nominative: Zeús, genitive: Diós), is... The worship of the Sacred Bull throughout the ancient world is most familiar in the episode of the idol of the Golden Calf made by Aaron and worshipped by the Hebrews in the wilderness of Sinai (Exodus). ... Front face of the MINOS far detector. ... // In the study of mythology and religion, the underworld is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term afterlife, referring to any place to which newly dead souls go. ... In Greek myths, Rhadamanthus (Ῥαδαμάνθυς; also transliterated as Rhadamanthys or Rhadamanthos) was a wise king, the son of Zeus and Europa. ... For the ancient Greek city Hesperides see Benghazi. ... In Greek mythology, Sarpedon referred to several different people. ...

According to Karl Kerenyi (Kerenyi 1951 p 111; Kerenyi 1976:105) and other scholars, the second Asterion, the star at the center of the labyrinth on Cretan coins, was in fact the Minotaur, as the compiler of Bibliotheca (III.1.4) asserts: "And she (Pasiphaë) gave birth to Asterius, who was called the Minotaur. He had the face of a bull, but the rest of him was human; and Minos, in compliance with certain oracles, shut him up and guarded him in the Labyrinth." "Minotaur" is simply a name of Hellene coining to describe his Cretan iconic bull-man image: see Minotaur. Coins minted at Cnossus from the fifth century showed the kneeling bull or the head of a goddess crowned with a wreath of grain^[3] and on the reverse— the "underside"— a scheme of four meander patterns joined at the centre windmill fashion, sometimes with sickle moons or with a star-rosette at the center: "it is a small view of the nocturnal world on the face of the coin that lay downward in the printing process, and is, as it were, oriented downward" (Kerenyi 1976:105). One of the founders of modern studies in Greek mythology, Karl (Carl, Károly) Kerényi (January 19, 1897 - April 14, 1973) was born in Hungary but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1943. ... A Roman mosaic picturing Theseus and the Minotaur. ... In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (Greek: Μινόταυρος, Minótauros) was a creature that was said to be part man and part bull. ... The Bibliotheca (in English Library), in three books, provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends. ... In Greek mythology, Pasiphaë (Eng. ... In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (Greek: Μινόταυρος, Minótauros) was a creature that was said to be part man and part bull. ... Knossos Knossos (alternative spellings Knossus, Cnossus, Gnossus, Greek Κνωσσός) is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete, probably the ceremonial and political center of the Minoan culture. ...

As long as it is recalled that the myth of Asterion, who appears in no anecdotal Hellenic context, is Minoan, it will be perceived that the figure of Zeus is an interloper, and that rather than the "stepfather" role to which he has been displaced, Asterion is originally the father of the Underworld progeny. Minoan may refer to the following: The Minoan civilization The (undeciphered) Eteocretan language The (undeciphered) Minoan language The script known as Linear A An old name for the Mycenean language before it was deciphered and discovered to be a form of Greek. ... In Greek mythology, the underworld indicates the kingdom of deaths. ...

There is a short tale written by Jorge Luis Borges ("The House of Asterion") telling the story of Theseus and Ariadne from the point-of-view of Asterius. Jorge Luis Borges (August 24, 1899 – June 14, 1986) was an Argentine writer. ... The House of Asterion is a story by Jorge Luis Borges. ... Theseus (Greek ) was a legendary king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, with whom Aethra lay in one night. ... Drinking scene with Dionysus and Ariadne on his lap. ...

Notes

The Bibliotheca (in English Library), in three books, provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends. ... Diodorus Siculus (c. ... Pausanias (Greek: ) was a Greek traveller and geographer of the 2nd century A.D., who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. ... Carme is a moon of Jupiter. ...

References

• A.B. Cook, Zeus, i.543ff.
• Karl Kerenyi, 1951. The Gods of the Greeks.
• Karl Kerenyi, 1976. Dionysus: Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life: p 105
• Sara Douglass, 2002-6. The Troy Game Series. (Asterion referred to as the name of the Minotaur)