Customer Reviews

The Hero and the Minotaur

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This story of Greek mythology is about Aethra's son Theseus. He was brave. One day he moved a boulder and found golden sandals and a sword, which were left by his father, King Aegeus, which meant it was time for him to go to his father in Athens. Thesus met with many foes and monsters on his journey. In nearby Crete, King Minos kept a terrible minotaur, who wanted 14 young people from Athens to be sacrificed. Theseus volunteer to go, and when he arrived bravely in Crete, King Minos' daughter was impressed and sought help for him. He killed the minotaur during the night, then escaped with everyone including the King's daughter. Poseidon came to their aid in the escape.

Beautiful, detailed, colorful drawings.

A tasteful adaptation and blending of two myths. Read it aloud to K-2 and let it be an idependent read for grades 2-5. The interesting and imaginative illustrations highlight authentic archaelogical finds and themes. The story-telling flows nicely. Excellent job!
A good companion for grades 2-5 is Giovanni Caselli's "In Search of Knossos".

Mr. Byrd has created a masterful retelling of one of the greatest myths. This book has been a favorite of my now 7 and 5 year olds for 2 years! They love it, it has taught them new words, and given them an appreciation for the classical side of learning. Mr. Byrd is a wonderful man as well. We met him at a book signing in NJ and he treated my boys with respect and they really appreciated it. They still talk about the time they met Mr. Byrd. BUY THIS BOOK!

This beautiful picture book tells the tale of young Prince Theseus, always seeking out dangerous new adventures. On his way to meet his father for the first time, young Theseus defeats Cercyon the deadly strongman, Sinis the evil pine-bender, and Sciron the enormous ogre. When Theseus finally reaches Athens, the city of his father King Aegeus, he learns that his people are terrorized by the evil King Minos, lord of Crete, who demands fourteen Athenian children every year to feed to his pet Minotaur. The children are chosen by lottery and sent to Crete by ship, where they are sent one by one into the labrynth beneath the palace to meet their doom. Theseus, eager for a new foe, begs his father to send him to Crete so that he can kill the Minotaur once and for all. King Aegeus reluctantly agrees, and asks his son to replace the black sail of his ship with a white one if he is successful. When the ship arrives at Crete with its cargo of children, Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos, spots Theseus and is attracted to his confidence. She and Icarus, the son of the royal inventor who designed the minotaur's labrynth, scheme to help Theseus survive. Ariadne sneaks a ball of thread to Theseus in the dungeon and instructs him to unravel it as he navigates the maze so that he'll be able to find his way back out. Deep in the dark tunnels, Theseus manages to slay the minotaur, after narrowly missing being impaled on its horns. Ariadne, Theseus, and the other kids escape on the ship with a little help from the sea-god Poseidon, but Icarus chooses to stay behind with his father. Enraged that someone escaped the maze, King Minos blames its designer, Icarus's father Daedalus. He imprisons them both in a tall tower, where Icarus watches the birds and longs for the freedom of flight. Daedalus, inspired, fashions wings for himself and Icarus out of feathers, wax, and string. The two of them leap out of the tower and fly away, but Icarus is so happy to be free and feels so powerful that he ignores his father's warnings not to fly too high; he gets too close to the sun and melts his wings, and falls to his death. Meanwhile, Ariadne and Theseus are resting on the island of Naxos, where the god Dionysus visits Theseus in a dream and asks that he leave Ariadne behind so he can marry her. Theseus complies, and Ariadne is unhappy when she wakes up and realizes that she was left behind. Dionysus marries her and treats her well though, and in time she grows to love him. Theseus heads back to Athens, where King Aegeus is waiting anxiously for a glimpse of white sails on the horizon proclaiming Theseus's victory. Unfortunately, Theseus has forgotten to switch the sails, and when Aegeus sees the black sail he believes his son is dead, and flings himself off a cliff into the sea. Theseus names the sea the Aegean in his father's memory, and takes over the throne. The book is a little bit long for very young children, but my 7-year-old son enjoyed it very much. The illustrations are exciting, and the story is very educational. After reading this my son and I looked at a map and found all the places mentioned in the book; he was excited to find that all the places were real and even the sea is still called the Aegean. A great book for homeschoolers!