Minotaur

The Minotaur is a common werebeast (a werebull) found in later Castlevania games. He is usually armed with a battle axe (first seen in Rondo of Blood) or with a giant pillar (Bloodlines). He is occasionally paired up with another fellow were beast: the Werewolf.

Origins
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man. He dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus, on the command of King Minos of Crete. The Minotaur was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus.

The term Minotaur derives from the Ancient Greek Μῑνώταυρος, a compound of the name Μίνως (Minos) and the noun ταύρος "bull", translated as "(the) Bull of Minos".



After he ascended the throne of the island of Crete, Minos prayed to Poseidon to send him a snow-white bull as a sign of support. He was to kill the bull to show honor to the deity, but decided to keep it instead because of its beauty. He thought Poseidon would not care if he kept the white bull and sacrificed one of his own. To punish Minos, Poseidon made Pasiphaë, Minos' wife, fall deeply in love with the bull. Pasiphaë had craftsman Daedalus make a hollow wooden cow, and climbed inside it in order to mate with the white bull. The offspring was the monstrous Minotaur. Pasiphaë nursed him, but he grew and became ferocious, being the unnatural offspring of a woman and a beast. He had no natural source of nourishment and thus devoured men for sustenance. Minos had Daedalus construct a gigantic labyrinth to hold the Minotaur.

Athens was compelled by the cruel plague to pay penalties for the killing of Androgeos, Minos' son. Aegeus, king of Athens, had to avert the plague caused by his crime by sending young men at the same time as the best of unwed girls as a feast for the Minotaur. Minos required that seven Athenian youths and seven maidens, drawn by lots, be sent every seventh or ninth year to be devoured by the Minotaur.

When the third sacrifice approached, Theseus volunteered to slay the monster. In Crete, Minos' daughter, Ariadne, fell madly in love with him and helped him navigate the labyrinth. In most accounts she gave him a ball of thread, allowing him to retrace his path. Theseus killed the Minotaur with the sword of Aegeus and led the other Athenians back out of the labyrinth.

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
The Minotaur is the standard boss of Stage 3 and Stage 3'. In this game he has quite a few attacks:
 * A quick stab with his battle axe.
 * A high jump while swinging his battle axe overhead which covers more than half of the room's size.
 * A spitting attack which can petrify the player.
 * An attack where he rips off various slabs from the floor and throws them at the player.
 * A charging attack which can be difficult to dodge due to his massive size.

The player can move under him when he uses his jumping battle axe attack, and do a back-flip over him when he uses his charging attack. The Minotaur will embed his head into the wall when he finishes his charge, and will get stuck there, desperately trying to break free, giving the player an opportunity to score some free hits.

Once the Minotaur has been defeated, he will make a final strike by charging at the player in a last ditch uppercut attack, then he will impressively burst out in flames, his flesh being consumed while his now exposed skeleton drops slowly to the ground.

Defeating the Minotaur in any of these two locations will move the player to Stage 4.

Castlevania: Bloodlines
In this game, Minotaurs appear frequently throughout the Atlantis Shrine. In this stage the player will find Minotaurs wielding swords, naginatas, or charging about. A few Minotaurs appear in the Leaning Tower of Pisa as well, where some of them can break and grab a hold of marble columns and swing them around. Strangely, whenever the player kills them, the sound they make is the same as when killing a Skele-Dragon.

Castlevania: Dracula X
The Minotaur appears as a boss on Stage 4. Although it's not shown in game, it is implied the Minotaur was held prisoner in the stage due to the broken bars in the background.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
The Minotaur is a large beast summoned by a possessed Richter Belmont in the Colosseum, and he comes teamed with the Werewolf, impaling and slashing with his battle axe at the player, dealing heavy damage if not careful. Eventually, the Minotaur will ram from one corner of the room to the other, while the Werewolf dashes in the opposite direction.

In the Reverse Colosseum, Minotaurs appear again as regular enemies, using the same battle tactics and accompanied by more Werewolves. They are leveled-up versions of the ones faced before, but they are not as difficult to defeat because the player will also have a leveled-up character and acquired better weaponry. If the player attacks them repeatedly, they'll be locked on the attack until they are destroyed. Also, they are considered as werebeasts, so the Were Bane is extra effective against them.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
In Circle of the Moon, Minotaurs use a battle axe to create shockwaves that travel forward, hitting the player with great force. There is a room with seven of them in the Battle Arena, which is notorious for it's extreme difficulty.

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
In Harmony of Dissonance there are two Minotaur bosses:
 * 1) The Minotaur wields a traditional battle axe. Upon defeat, Juste will have access to a room where he can find the Wind Book to infuse his sub-weapons with the power of Wind magic.
 * 2) The Minotaur Lv2 is a bit different, as he uses a ball and chain. This form is harder to defeat, as the movements of his weapon are harder to predict. The Axe sub-weapon, infused with the magic from the Fire Book (which summons a Hydra), can be very helpful in this battle, as the player can keep their distance while the Minotaur receives heavy and constant damage, and the spell has a chance of knocking him back to the other side of the room. Upon defeat, Juste will have access to a room where he will find the Steel Tip whip enhancement.

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
There are two versions of Minotaurs in Aria of Sorrow:
 * 1) The first one is a common Minotaur. They can be found in the Study and in the Dance Hall. His soul is valuable, as it can be obtained relatively early in the game and grants Soma the Fighter's Power ability, which provides a Strength boost of +8.
 * 2) The other one is the Red Minotaur. These can be found in the Arena, Top Floor and Chaotic Realm (summoned by Stolas). His soul is one of the best bullet souls in the game, as it grants the Mega Twister ability, where Soma swings an oversized battle axe which covers most of the screen, dealing massive damage. If aimed properly, enemies can be hit twice by this attack.

The room with the two Red Minotaurs in the Arena will allow the player to level up very quickly, as each will provide 1,000 EXP points per kill. They can be killed with a single swipe of the Killer Mantle's soul, Astral Veil, and each one is positioned near one of the room's entrances, so one can keep entering to kill as many as needed. If the player has also acquired the Black Panther's soul, the Sherman Ring and the Erinys' soul, they'll be able to level up much faster (around level 55~60).

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
The Minotaur makes a cameo appearance in Lament of Innocence, this time only in statue form. In a couple of rooms of the Ghostly Theatre, Leon will find himself trapped while a series of boulders are launched at him from the ceiling. These rooms have many statues of minotaurs scattered about. Leon must then lure the boulders to be launched at these statues in order to destroy them. When all statues have been destroyed, the magical seals blocking the doors will vanish.

The second room has two sets of minotaur statues: red and white. Managing to destroy all statues of a same color will open a specific door in the room (the white ones being considerably more difficult to destroy).

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
The Minotaur (known in this game as Minotaurus) appears as he usually does, a gigantic were-monster wielding a massive weapon; this time around, a large pillar. Unlike his predecessors, this Minotaur has a wound on his back that reveals his dorsal spine, and also appears to be a zombie. His attacks are hard to avoid and he will eventually throw the pillar at the player, turning around looking for another one to tear out and continue the battle.

The Devil Iron material can be stolen from him while he's performing his special attack: a series of jumps which generate shockwaves. It is one of the hardest materials to obtain in the game and he'll only start performing this move once he has less than ½ health remaining.

Castlevania Judgment
His portrayal in Judgment is similar to his appearance in Curse of Darkness. He appears in a "Boss Battle" in both Story and Castle Modes. He's much harder to defeat than the Iron Gladiator, the other powerhouse of the game. He only does one of two attacks:
 * Swinging his giant pillar in a wide, horizontal way. Run to his left to easily avoid this.
 * Pounding the floor. This attack has a long, straight line range. Move to the side or dodge to avoid.

A difference from his Curse of Darkness incarnation is that he never throws the pillar he holds, as there are no others to grab.

Trivia

 * In the trailer for Castlevania Judgment, unveiled at the Tokyo Game Show of 2008, a Minotaur was seen fighting Simon Belmont. There was some speculation about the Minotaur being a playable character. However, Konami said that the Minotaur had been confirmed to be a boss character for Story Mode.
 * His name is occasionally spelled "Minotaurus", meaning "Bull of Minos" (sometimes mistranslated).

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