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Description
Minotauromatriarchy
Acrylic,oil,tempera underpainting on canvas
24x36inches

The term Minotaur derives from the Greek Μῑνώταυρος, etymologically compounding the name Μίνως (Minos) and the noun ταύρος "bull", translating as "(the) Bull of Minos". In Crete, the Minotaur was known by its proper name, Asterion, a name shared with Minos' foster-father. After he ascended the throne of Crete, Minos struggled with his brothers for the right to rule. Minos prayed to Poseidon to send him a snow-white bull, as a sign of approval. He was to sacrifice the bull in honor of Poseidon but decided to keep it instead because of its beauty. To punish Minos, Aphrodite made Pasiphaë, Minos' wife, fall madly in love with the bull from the sea, the Cretan Bull. She had the archetypal craftsman Daedalus make a wooden cow for her. Pasiphaë climbed into the bait in order to copulate with the white bull. The offspring of their coupling was the monstrous Minotaur. Pasiphaë nursed him in his infancy, but he grew and became ferocious; being the unnatural offspring of man and beast, he had no natural source of nourishment and thus devoured man for sustenance. Minos, after getting advice from the oracle at Delphi, had Daedalus construct a gigantic labyrinth to hold the Minotaur. …In this version, the “minotauress”, or the female equivalent of the minotaur represents the “venusian” alternative,and parody to the patriarchal myth. The astrological sign of “Taurus” (the bull) is also considered an earth sign and one of the four fixed signs. Taurus is ruled by the planet Venus (Aphrodite)(which also rules Libra), thus making it one of the "feminine" signs. The female bull, or Cow, has been a symbol of wealth since ancient Vedic times. The Cow is also a sacred animal or emblem ofHera, the Queen of the Olympian Deities. Hera is often associated with marriage and therefore Matriarchy. Hence we relate the chimeric creature “Minotauromatriarchy”.

Description
Minotauromatriarchy
Acrylic,oil,tempera underpainting on canvas
24x36inches

The term Minotaur derives from the Greek Μῑνώταυρος, etymologically compounding the name Μίνως (Minos) and the noun ταύρος "bull", translating as "(the) Bull of Minos". In Crete, the Minotaur was known by its proper name, Asterion, a name shared with Minos' foster-father. After he ascended the throne of Crete, Minos struggled with his brothers for the right to rule. Minos prayed to Poseidon to send him a snow-white bull, as a sign of approval. He was to sacrifice the bull in honor of Poseidon but decided to keep it instead because of its beauty. To punish Minos, Aphrodite made Pasiphaë, Minos' wife, fall madly in love with the bull from the sea, the Cretan Bull. She had the archetypal craftsman Daedalus make a wooden cow for her. Pasiphaë climbed into the bait in order to copulate with the white bull. The offspring of their coupling was the monstrous Minotaur. Pasiphaë nursed him in his infancy, but he grew and became ferocious; being the unnatural offspring of man and beast, he had no natural source of nourishment and thus devoured man for sustenance. Minos, after getting advice from the oracle at Delphi, had Daedalus construct a gigantic labyrinth to hold the Minotaur. …In this version, the “minotauress”, or the female equivalent of the minotaur represents the “venusian” alternative,and parody to the patriarchal myth. The astrological sign of “Taurus” (the bull) is also considered an earth sign and one of the four fixed signs. Taurus is ruled by the planet Venus (Aphrodite)(which also rules Libra), thus making it one of the "feminine" signs. The female bull, or Cow, has been a symbol of wealth since ancient Vedic times. The Cow is also a sacred animal or emblem ofHera, the Queen of the Olympian Deities. Hera is often associated with marriage and therefore Matriarchy. Hence we relate the chimeric creature “Minotauromatriarchy”.