The Minotaur

In ancient Greek mythology, Ariadne was the guardian of the labyrinth (maze). At its centre was
the monster named the Minotaur.

A cry went up as the ship from Athens was sighted. Waiting on the docks, Ariadne and
her father, Minos, the powerful King of Crete, were curious about the ship’s human
cargo. Minos was weary of war with Athens and had proposed a terrible bargain in
exchange for peace. If Athens would send seven of its finest young men and seven of
its finest young women to be sacrificed to the Minotaur, then Minos would spare the
rest of Athens. The Athenians had been shocked by the cruelty of the proposal, but for
the sake of peace they reluctantly accepted it.
As the young Athenians stumbled from the ship, trembling and with eyes downcast,
Minos observed them without pity. Ariadne gazed intently at each of them until her
eyes fell on one of the youths, the handsome Prince Theseus. He had volunteered to
take the place of one of his young countrymen and to attempt to kill the Minotaur.
Ariadne sensed he was the leader of the group, and she wondered if he could help her
escape from her island home.
That night she went to where Theseus and the others were being held. ‘If you agree to
take me with you when you leave, I will help you to defeat the Minotaur.’
Theseus was astounded. He had come with no plan, only a burning desire to save his
fellow Athenians. Suddenly he was being offered a way to succeed. ‘I will meet you
inside the entrance to the labyrinth tomorrow,’ she whispered, ‘and give you a sword
to kill the Minotaur and some string to guide you back to the entrance when you have
slain the beast. When you have done that, we must flee immediately.’
And so the hero, Theseus, defeated the Minotaur and escaped with the Athenians and
Ariadne.

• Who is Ariadne?

•  In the first paragraph, what attitude is shown by the Athenians in their response to the proposal? explain 
  boldness
  forgiveness
  persistence
  resignation

• What background information is implied in the first paragraph?
  Crete started the war against the Athenians.
  Minos believes that he will lose the war with Athens.
  The war between Athens and Crete is long-running.
  Athens secretly wants the war with Crete to continue.

• The use of the phrase human cargo to describe the people on the ship implies that they are members of the crew.
  regarded as objects. being sold as slaves.
  reluctant to leave the ship.
  

• According to the text, what is Ariadne’s main motivation in helping Theseus?
  She recognises him as an old friend.
  She wants to get away from Crete.
  She is impressed by his bravery.
  She has fallen in love with him.
  18 The word (maze) is in brackets to show it is
  an alternative term.
  a description.
  an opinion.
  a Greek translation