Minotaur

For the type of Shadow in the Persona series, see Minotaur (Shadow Type).

Minotaur
Origin	Greek culture
Race(s)	BeastShin Megami Tensei IV JakiDigital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II ToukiShin Megami Tensei (Mega-CD) TyrantDigital Devil Story: Megami Tensei Majin Tensei
Alignment(s)	Neutral-NeutralShin Megami Tensei (Mega-CD) NeutralShin Megami Tensei IV

Minotaur is a Demon in the Megami Tensei franchise.

Profile

Origin

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The Minotaur is a monster from Greek Mythology. In order to win a competition with his brother for the right to rule the island of Crete, Minos prayed to Poseidon who sent a beautiful white bull so that Minos may win the right to rule. When Minos was victorious he was to sacrifice the bull to Poseidon, however due to the beauty of the bull he instead chose to sacrifice a common bull in it's stead and keep the white bull believing it would be a fair compromise. Poseidon was enraged by this and cursed Minos' wife Pasiphaë to fall in love with the bull and lust for it. She commissioned Daedalus to construct a hollow cow that she concealed herself within, luring in the bull so she could have sex with it. From this unholy union Pasiphaë became pregnant and gave birth to a child with a bulls head that she named Asterius. Due to it's nature as both man and beast, as Asterius grew he became ferocious and began to eat humans for sustenance. In order to contain Asterius Minos had Daedalus construct a maze of insurmountable complexity and trapped Asterius within it known as the Labyrinth, with prisoners being sent in to feed Asterius. These brutal actions led to Asterius being named the Minotaur, meaning "Bull of Minos".

After Crete defeated Athens in war, Minos demanded seven young men and seven maidens to be sent to Crete by boat as tribute annually who would be fed to the Minotaur. On the third call for sacrifices, the Athenian prince Theseus willing offered himself to go to Crete as a sacrifice so he may kill the Minotaur and free his people of it's tyranny. Upon arriving in Crete, Minos' daughter and the Minotaur's human sister Ariadne fell in love with the prince and sought out to aid him in his quest by providing a thread to help him navigate through the Labyrinth. Eventually Theseus encountered the Minotaur and was successful in killing the beast, allowing Athens to break free from under Crete's rule.

Design

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In Shin Megami Tensei IV and its related media, the Minotaur appears as blue-skinned with a human torso with the legs and head of a bull. It wears a harness across its chest that is connected to its ears and the skin around its legs is torn, resembling pants that are ripped at the sides. The head's nostril form into that of a human skull, even forming a human mouth with sharp teeth.

Gameplay

For complete gameplay information, see Gameplay:Minotaur.

Compendium

Compendium Entries
Shin Megami Tensei IV	A fabled creature of Greek lore said to have the head of a bull and the body of a man. Its name means "bull of Minos." Pasiphae, King Mino's wife, was cursed to fall in love with a white bull. She lusted for it, and eventually gave birth to the part-bull part-human creature. He was named Asterius, but became better known as the Minotaur. As he had the personality of a bull, he grew more and more violent. When he finally became uncontrollable, King Mino's ordered Daedalus to build a giant maze, the Labyrinth, to keep the Minotaur locked away. From there, he ate those who were rsacrificed to him until his eventual death at the hands of Theseus.
Persona 2: Innocent Sin	Half-human, half-bull guardian monster of the Cretan labyrinth.
Devil Children Light Book and Dark Book	Labyrinth-dweller that is half man and half bull. Very powerful and violent.

Game Appearances

Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei

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Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II

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Shin Megami Tensei IV

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Majin Tensei

Minotaur is the first tyrant faced in the game and arrives in the human world due to the Protagonist's efforts in combating the demons invading. He is fought in stage 8 and before he dies he denounces the Protagonist's strength despite being defeated.

Manga Appearances

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Demonic Gene

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Shin Megami Tensei IV: Prayers

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Trivia

• During development of Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, Minotaur was considered for use as a boss. He would have been of the Tyrant race and be fought in Area 1.

Nomenclature

Names in Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
English	Minotaur
Japanese	ミノタウロス	Minotauros. Original Greek reading of the word meaning "bull of Minos."

Gallery

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  Animated sprite from Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei

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  Animated sprite from Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II

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  Sprite from Kyūyaku Megami Tensei

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  Animated sprite from Kyūyaku Megami Tensei

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  Sprite from Shin Megami Tensei (Mega-CD)

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  Minotaur's stats in Shin Megami Tensei (Mega-CD)

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  Minotaur in Shin Megami Tensei IV: Demonic Gene

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  Minotaur's sprite from Majin Tensei

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  Minotaur's dialogue portrait sprite from Majin Tensei