#asterius deity

SO I’ve been writing poetry for a couple of months as part of my university coursework, and I’ve been writing about some Minoan deities. Now if you haven’t seen my posts about Asterius (the minotaur), you can find them here. I’ve worked with him for almost a year at this point, and these poems are a reflection on his family and some of the other characters that play a part in the Minoan section of Greek Mythology. 

What I’m wondering is if anyone would like to read the poems? The ones I have so far are about these deities; 

- Asterius

- Minos 

- Pasiphae

- Britomartis 

- Europa 

- Androgeus

- Theseus

- Glaucus 

- Dionysus Zagreus

So this came about after a lot of research because I really love doing up family trees. I did not know how extensive this family was going be, and I have actually left out some of the great grandchildren of Pasiphae and Minos because I wanted to include the ones that were directly (well, as close as possibly) related to Asterius the Minotaur. 

Grandparents: Helios (God of the Sun) and Perseis (the Oceanid Nymph) were the parents of Pasiphae and her siblings, whereas Zeus (God of the Heavens) and Europa (a Phoenician princess) were the parents of Minos and his siblings. Asterion was the King of Crete, who adopted Minos and his brothers when he married Europa (the minotaur, Asterius, is named after him).

Parents: Queen Pasiphae (mother), the Cretan Bull (father), and King Minos of Crete (step-father).

Aunts/Uncles Through Pasiphae: Circe (aunt), Aeetes (uncle), Perses (uncle).

Aunts/Uncles Through Minos: Rhadamanthys (step-uncle), Sarpedon (step-uncle).

Half-Siblings Through Pasiphae and Minos: Catreus (eldest son and heir to Crete, killed by his own son), Androgeus (killed by the Cretan Bull in Athens), Ariadne (wife of Dionysus, goddess of the Labyrinth), Deucalion (husband of Cleopatra, King of Crete), Glaucus (Prince of Crete, resurrected when he fell into a pot of honey), Phaedra (wife of Theseus, Princess of Crete), Acacallis (princess of Crete, mother of children to Hermes and Apollo), and Xenodice (Princess of Crete).

Half-Siblings Through Minos: Eurymedon, Nephalion, Chryses, Philolaus (children of Pareia, killed by Heracles), Euxanthius (son of Dexithea, he became King of Ceos).

Family of Catreus: Althaemenes (only son, he accidentally killed his father after years apart), Apemosyne (kicked to death by her brother, he believed she lied about being chased down by Hermes), Aerope (spared by Nauplius, she married Atreus and gave him two sons Agamemnon and Menelaus, she also gave a golden lamb to Thyestes who became King of Mycenae), and Clymene (became the wife of Nauplius and mother of Palamedes, Oeax, and Nausimedon).

Family of Androgeus: Andrgoeus sons were Sthenelus (companion of Heracles, killed in the war of the Amazons), and Alcaeus (Cretan general of Rhadamanthys, later became a companion of Heracles).

Family of Glaucus: The daughter of Glaucus was Deiphobe (a priestess of Phoebus Apollo and Diana Trivia).

Family of Deucalion: Deucalion married Cleopatra and they had two sons, Idomeneus and Molus (they led the Cretans to Troy).

Family of Phaedra: She married Theseus and their sons were Demophon (King of Athens), and Acamas (He was a part of the Trojan War).

Family of Ariadne: She married Dionysus (God of Wine), and became the mother of Oenopion (King of Chios, the personification of wine), Staphylus (associated with grapes, he was one of the Argonauts), Thoas (King of Lemnos), Phanus (one of the Argonauts), Enyeus (King of Skyros), Maron (Hero of Sweet Wine).

Here is a list of the deities that were involved with the myth of the Minotaur and the myths surrounding him (there are a lot, I’m building a list of myths that crossover with the myth of the Labyrinth and the Minotaur). 

I’m not saying this is a complete summary of each of these deities, I have just noted their connection to the myth of Asterius the Minotaur and their connection to him and his family. 

Zeus: Zeus is the father of Minos, as well as Minos’ brothers Rhadamanthys and Aiakos. Zeus took their mother, Europa, and transformed into a bull to take her to Crete. There, she married the King of Crete, Asterion, and he adopted her sons.

Helios: Helios is the father of Pasiphae, the mother of the minotaur. Ariadne pleaded with Helios to save her from an island, which he asked Dionysus to do. He is also the god that Icarus tried to fly and express his love to, if it weren’t for his wax wings.

Poseidon: Minos prayed to Poseidon for his help when he inherited the throne of Crete. Poseidon responded and sent his prized bull to the surface, in return for Minos sacrificing the bull back to Poseidon. When Minos did not sacrifice the bull, Poseidon asked Aphrodite to intervene. This bull becomes the father of Asterius the Minotaur. 

Aphrodite: Pasiphae was a priestess of Aphrodite, but neglected her duties to the goddess for months. When Poseidon was insulted by Pasiphae’s husband Minos and went to Aphrodite for help, she was very glad to curse Pasiphae to lust after the Cretan Bull and give birth to Asterius the Minotaur. 

Dionysus: When Ariadne is dumped on an island by Theseus, she pleads to the gods to release her from her predicament. Helios her grandfather heard, and asked Dionysus to collect her. There, Dionysus found Ariadne and fell in love with her, and asked for her to marry him. When she did marry Dionysus she became a minor fertility goddess. 

Here is my (incomplete) list of correspondence for Asterius the Minotaur. I will be adding to this as I keep going, but this is my initial thoughts. 

Colours: black, white, blue, red and gold.

Element: earth.

Plants and trees: pomegranate, mandrake, cow parsley, olives, oak, cotton.

Stones/gems: any cow/bull shaped crystals, Mooakite, marble, pyrite, blue goldstone , and smokey quartz, pearl, petrified wood, carnelian.

Incense: pomegranate, frankincense, cypress, Dragon’s blood, pine.

Symbols: labrys, labyrinth, mazes, horns, bulls, thread, octopus.

Star Magic: (general): enlightenment and inspiration, inner purpose, astral magick and self-reflection, self care, safety during sleep, inner-child magick, divination looking past lives and encouragement of astral projection, protection with exploration of the inner self, manifestation magick and clarity. (Taurus): life, nature’s cycles, fertility, abundance, wealth, beauty, glamour magick, regeneration, wealth and aid in consecration of tools and grounding.

Deities he’s close to: Pasiphae (mother, immortal), Helios (maternal grandfather), Zeus (paternal grandfather), Poseidon (father’s God), Aphrodite (cursed his mother), Dionysus (brother-in-law), Ariadne (sister, deified).