The Greece Antagonist

After listening to the whole account and combining it with what he knew, Luo En was finally able to piece together the complete truth. Discover more stories at m v l e mpyr

In fact, the images of a bull and the Minotaur are considered sacred and noble in many civilizations, representing authority and power.

This is even more so for the Minosians.

Because the mother of the three Minosian brothers—queen Europa, was taken away by Zeus transformed into a bull, which led to their union and the rise of the Minosian civilization.

Therefore, in their sacred emblems, in addition to the goddess incarnated by birds and snakes, there are frequently the symbols of a bull and the Minotaur.

If we take what King Minos said, he, as the king, was to sacrifice the bull transformed from the royal and divine power of Crete Island to Poseidon.

According to the logic of the Age of the Gods, this meant that Crete Island would henceforth be branded by Poseidon, dominated by him.

At the same time, this God of the Sea would replace the worship of the Great Mother Goddess and the Female Sovereign and become the primary deity worshipped by the Minosians.

Later, once Poseidon wanted to extend the reach of his marine divinity to the land, Crete Island and the Minosian people would undoubtedly become his best stepping stone and tools.

It must be said, this act of deception was nothing short of brilliant.

But in the end, King Minos noticed something was amiss and chose to fight back in kind, concealing the Cretan Bull and sacrificing an ordinary bull to Poseidon instead.

Yet, what is deemed rightful when done by Poseidon becomes sacrilege when done by King Minos.

The disparity in power determines the measure of justice, such is the cruel reality of the Age of the Gods.

Thus, infuriated by his failed scheme, Poseidon, under the pretext of blasphemy, cursed the bull, making King Minos's wife develop a lust for beasts, enticing her to mate with the Cretan Bull, and consequently giving birth to the notorious Minotaur.

If their faith was represented by such symbols, then to tarnish and defame them was the greatest insult.

Having sorted out the main clues, Luo En looked at the old man with a hint of pity in his eyes.

At that moment, Little Medusa, somewhat curious, spoke up.

"What about that child?"

"Anna!"

Luo En raised his voice somewhat, showing annoyance.

It was somewhat impolite to ask an old man who had suffered humiliation to revisit such a painful subject.

"It's alright."

King Minos waved his hand gently, looking at Little Medusa with a soft gaze, showing a senior's tolerance towards this little Divine Envoy, and he spoke in a deep voice.

"He's doing well, just locked in the underground palace. Because of the curse, he is covered in evil tendencies and can easily lose control, so he cannot be let out lightly."

"Does he eat people then?"

Another childlike yet offending question emerged, and Luo En couldn't help but smile wryly, covering his face.

"Haha, of course not! It is merely a slander spread by those city-states that fear us Minosians, to tarnish and defame our symbol."

King Minos laughed heartily and explained patiently.

Upon hearing this, Little Medusa patted her chest, muttering with evident relief.

"That's good, that's good…"

Being a creature of divine and monstrous nature, she feared becoming a bloodthirsty monster like those depicted in the rumors.

Luo En, noticing her concerns, reached out annoyedly and gave her little head a vigorous rub, then turned his gaze back to King Minos.

"So, was Daedalus also a part of Poseidon's plan?"

King Minos nodded, his eyes icy.

"That man was talented, but out of jealousy and fear of his nephew Talos surpassing him, he cunningly lured the boy to the walls of Athens and pushed him off, murdering the child. Eventually, his crime was exposed, and he himself was sentenced to death by the Athenians.

However, due to his status and contributions, he was spared death and was exiled to Crete Island.

At the time, I was troubled by Poseidon's curse and valued his talent, so I brought him in, hoping to give him a chance to showcase his skills in honor of the Goddess.

But unexpectedly, he somehow conspired with Poseidon, applying the secretions of a cow in heat to the device he was making…"

At this point, King Minos's face became terrifyingly grim, as he clearly wished he could tear Daedalus to pieces.

That moment, Luo En understood.

The afflicted queen was King Minos's wife, and knowing this, he would undoubtedly have hidden her well, while also guarding against Poseidon's vengeance through the Cretan Bull.

But in the end, the queen did not actively seek out the Cretan Bull to commit infidelity; rather, it was the queen, who had hidden inside the wooden cow, that was precisely targeted by the Cretan Bull that broke into the palace. And then, it happened.

Clearly, there was something fishy about this.

If Daedalus hadn't tampered with it, it simply made no sense.

Therefore, his son's death as he crossed the Sea of Okeanos was also the retribution for his repeated wrongdoings.

Of course, it's also possible that Athena had a hand in it...

"Wait, if Poseidon did such an excessive act, what about Zeus? Doesn't he intervene? He is your father after all!"

At this point, Hestia, who was beside him, could no longer bear it and cast aside her promise of "eating without speaking," looking somewhat indignantly toward her great-nephew.

"Father?"

King Minos sneered, shaking his head expressionlessly,

"I have prayed to him countless times, but he never answered my call..."

"Could it be that he didn't hear you?"

As soon as Hestia spoke, she immediately shook her head subconsciously, dismissing her own suggestion.

The countenance of a god must not be looked upon directly.

The name of a god must not be called upon lightly.

Such matters relating to faith and divinity, repeatedly mentioned, couldn't possibly go unnoticed by Zeus, the god summoned by these calls.

Moreover, King Minos himself was of the pure bloodline of Zeus and the mortal divine consort, Europa.

Just by the connection between father and son, it was impossible for Zeus to feel nothing about it.

For a moment, Hestia, unable to think of an answer, was somewhat bewildered.

"Before, I also couldn't understand and thought it was because I had first broken my oath; he couldn't—and wouldn't—stand up for me, nor confront his own brother."

King Minos spoke lightly, as if he had anticipated this all along, then his words turned ironic.

"Until one day, the Lady Goddess told me—I shouldn't worship the Great Mother Goddess more than the Father God, nor should I think of offering the real Cretan Bull as a sacrifice to her to atone for my sins."

So that was it!

Luo En's eyes shone brightly as the final puzzle in his mind unraveled.

Zeus was not unaware; on the contrary, he knew from the beginning about Poseidon's trick!

For without his tacit approval, how could the God of the Sea extract the divinity and incarnate sovereign power of Crete Island from the promised land he had given to his sons?

And the reason for all of this was simple.

The belief of the Minosians in the Great Mother Goddess surpassed that in the Father God.

Even King Minos had planned to sacrifice the divinity, left by Zeus, to Athena.

This undoubtedly violated the taboo of the Divine King.

After all, the curse buried within the blood of the Titans is something that had always deprived the Divine King of sleep.

But Zeus probably never anticipated, despite his many precautions, that the Cretan Bull, which embodied the royal authority and divinity of Crete, after many twists and turns, would still end up as a sacrifice for Athena.

With the decline of the Minos civilization, the uncontrolled Cretan Bull ran rampant on the island of Crete, causing disasters with its fiery breath.

It wasn't until Hercules, burdened with the Twelve Labors, arrived on Crete and subdued the Bull, offering it, intact, to Hera.

However, the queen of the heavens, whether she was unaware of its value or deliberately wishing to humiliate, released the sacrifice that Hercules had made to her.

In the end, the Cretan Bull was captured by the Athenian prince Theseus and, as a sacrifice, offered to Athena.

With a cold smile in his heart, Luo En looked up at his brother, whose hair was almost entirely white, his face aged and sorrowful, and his eyes filled with pity.

"So, since then, you have ceased worship of the Father God?"

"If the gods no longer favor men, then men have no obligation to worship them."

King Minos nodded quietly, his calm words laced with a faint irony.

"Besides, it was Prometheus, the foreteller, who created our bodies, and it was the Great Mother Goddess Athena who gave us our souls. The gods merely crafted this diorama called 'the world'."

"..."

Hestia, one of the Chief Gods, opened her mouth to argue but ultimately found herself speechless, choosing to bite her lip and look down as she continued with her meal.